Looking for a British soldier
To whom it may concern
I should like to ask you for your help regarding a WWII episode that I witnessed in 1944 as a German soldier during the Normandy landing.
In August or September of 1944 a comrade of mine, Herbert Schmidt, and myself found a wounded British soldier our age ( 19 at that time, I am born in 1925, thus 82 years of age now) in a Norman wood leaning against a tree. His legs were both wounded, he was wailing and he could not walk any more. He shouted to us: “Don’t kill me!” And we replied: “We won’t kill you!” We were all very scared of being killed. Then he sang the German national anthem composed by Haydn based on a poem by Ferdinand von Freiligrath. And we sang the British hymn “God save the King” in order to calm him. Then he said: “I am a flutist of the London Symphony Orchestra.” We answered: “We are also musicians!” He seemed to be glad about this.
Then we put him onto our bicycle and transported him to the nearest German military hospital where he was operated on. Unfortunately we never heard of him again.
Now I should very much like to find this British comrade and to invite him to my home near Avignon where I live as a pianist.
Would you be so kind as to help me finding this comrade?
Thank you very much in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Jochen Nubel
14 rue van Dongen
F 84310 Morieres-les-Avignon
France