Appeal to buy medals for 'beastly' WW2 battle

In November 1944, soldiers of the Dorsetshire Regiment fought and won a little-known but gruesome battle in a wood on the Dutch-German border.

The 4th and 5th battalions had been tasked with breaking into the Nazi defence line, which was 400 miles long and 2.5 miles deep.

Among the men was 23-year-old L/Cpl Frank Boyce who was seriously injured at the start of the operation but bravely continued, earning him a Military Medal.

Now The Keep Military Museum in Dorchester is fundraising to buy his medals for its Dorsetshire Regiment collection.

Frank "Biddy" Boyce was born in the New Forest on 24 August 1921.

When his 5th battalion arrived at the wood, near Geilenkirchen, they had already suffered heavy losses at Hill 112 in Normandy in July, and again at Arnhem in September.

Their target, the German Siegfried Line which blocked the way into Nazi Germany, was filled with bunkers, pill boxes, guns, mines and tank obstacles.

The battle was fought at great cost and, after breaking through, the Dorsetshire soldiers held their position, fighting in conditions likened to World War One.

Their Corps Commander, General Sir Brian Horrocks, later wrote: "The Battle of Geilenkirchen is barely mentioned in military histories, yet it was one of the hardest fought actions of the whole war.

"This was warfare at its most beastly with continuous cold rain turning the ground into a sea of mud and constant counter-attacks from experienced German troops."

The citation on L/Cpl Boyce's Military Medal reads: "L/Cpl Boyce was No.1 on a 2-in Mortar with a forward company.

"He was wounded very shortly after crossing the start line but carried on with his platoon.

"He maintained his mortar in action with great effect throughout the attack and reached the final objective with his platoon.

"By this time he had suffered considerable loss of blood but still made no complaint of his wound.

"His courage and self-sacrifice were a magnificent example to the men of his platoon."

Since the war, the site of the battle has been known as Dorset Wood, in a tribute to the soldiers who fought there.

Biddy died in Southampton in 1999.

The Keep was originally the gatehouse for the Depot Barracks of the Dorsetshire Regiment and, with the exception of World War Two, it served as regiment's administrative centre from 1879 and 1958.

The museum, which is temporarily closed, features thousands of original exhibits of military history relating to the regiments of Devon and Dorset.

To raise funds for the medals, the museum is hosting a talk by historian and author Christopher Jary where the story of Biddy and his Dorsetshire comrades will be brought to life.

Details of the event, in Dorchester on 7 March, can be found on the museum's website.

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