Joseph
" Joe" Holt
16.12.21. 26.12.06
Survived
by his wife Mary, son Brian, daughters Valerie and Pamela
and 5 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.
Joe's Funeral took place on Friday 5th
January, 2007.
At
the service his grandson Nick Lawson read the eulogy thus:-
"I
mentioned the war, so what of these war stories?
As
you all know he was in the Lancashire Fusiliers.
He
was in the Second Battalion.
As
you also may know, I've been spending the last year with
Granddad, and
he
has achieved a goal which he has had for a long time,
to write his stories.
The
memories of his childhood and his
war stories.
Now
obviously, due to physical conditions it was difficult
for him to write those himself, so I have been helping
him with those.
We
made a lot of headway. I'm not going bring up any of those
stories.
Especially
not any that would embarrass him…
I'm
not going to talk about the time he got his own back on
the
bully
in the Battalion by filling his face cream with boot black
I'm
not going to talk about the time when he was swimming
with
fifty
other soldiers in the river in Scotland, training to swim
(intheir
birthday suits) and he heard a lot of giggles, and all
the
women
from the local artillery factory had come down and they
had
come down to watch them. I'm not going to talk about that.
And
I'm not going to… Well, no I'm definitely not going to
talk about that.
But
the over whelming message from his stories is coming back
to what I said before.
That
he was a man who saw the bright things in life and the
positive things.
And
for all the pain and difficulties that he had gone
through
the most poignant stories from the war camps, are human
stories:
How
he gave up a week's supply in the prison camp in Germany
of
tea-bags,
feeding them through a fence to a boy who wanted to
give
them to his mum.
A
little German boy (whose mum was from Manchester!)
Another
story - he gave up his chocolate (from Red Cross food
parcels)
one of the prison guards who didn't have any legs.
"The
poor bugger" he said, he'd been forced back into
the army
after
losing them both in the Great War. Granddad used to look
after him, and give him chocolates.
These
are the stories that stand out, the human stories.
He
was a hero in many ways, but most particularly, a hero
for
being our role model, and a shining example for us grand
kids,
and
the great grand kids.
He
was a hero in every way not least because he was in a
very bad
battle
- the Battle of Medjez El Bab in North Africa.
I
can't sum up those experiences, and this isn't a military
funeral,
but
I do want to read a couple of comments that have been
made
by fellow members of his Battalion and fellow members
of the
Lancashire
Fusiliers
Captain
Joe Eastwood wrote "Your Grandfather was indeed a
hero
having survived the battle of Medjez El Bab. My prayers
are
with
your family. Stand easy Joe".
Somebody
else has written "I have a great respect for men
like
your Granddad who fought in the wars and made sacrifices
for
us.
They made the world a better place and have my eternal
thanks"
And
then last, a woman called Barbara, whose father was a
Major
in
charge of Granddad's Battalion, in charge of his actual
second
battalion..
He
worked alongside him, and he knew Joe. She sent me a letter
saying
"My Dad always was proud of being a Lancashire Fusilier
and
always said what good blokes he had with him in those
times".
I'd
like to finish with a reading, written by another new
friend of
Joe's,
a guy called Fred Hirst (8th Army Veteran) who was also
a
former
prisoner of war in Italy until he escaped.
|
Oh!
Desert soldier do not fear, you're for final posting,
collect your gear.
With
uniform pressed and boots that shine, Hurry along
there, keep in line.
Soon
you'll reach your destination, with your new Commander
of all creation.
Look
to your front with head held high as you join that
Regiment in the Sky.
Goodbye
dear soldier, goodbye dear friend. Now you have
reached your journey's end.
Our
thoughts of you we will fondly keep, whilst in your
new barracks you soundly sleep.
|
I
know Joe as he passed he was very peaceful.
He
was surrounded by the love of the family.
Gran,
he had great peace because you were with him every
day…..every
day.
I
want to finish by echoing the words that were spoken to
him by
the Major he fought with in the battle.
These
words were spoken just before they were captured, just
after
the battle.
And
this is to you Gran… Mary, as well as to Granddad,
"Don't
worry. You did all that could be expected of you, and
none
could ask any more than that." Thank you! "
