A NORTH-East war hero will be
honoured at the scene of his
greatest act of bravery.
In May 1940, the 2nd Battalion
Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was
defending a bridge over the River
Dyle, in Belgium, against the
German advance.
Under enemy mortar and machine-
gun fire, Captain Richard
Annand, then a 25-year-old Second
Lieutenant, attacked the
German lines, throwing handgrenades.
He reached the top of the
bridge and inflicted 20 casualties.
Later, when his company was
retreating and, although wounded,
he returned to save an injured
comrade, bringing him to safety
in a wheelbarrow before fainting
from blood loss.
In recognition of his valour,
Capt Annand, known as Dickie,
was awarded the first British
Army Victoria Cross of the Second
World War.
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However, for more than 60
years, the bridge had no sign of
its bloody past. That will change
on Thursday, when a memorial to
the 35 allied soldiers who lost
their lives in the battle will be unveiled.
It will have an inscription in
English and French, detailing
Capt Annand's actions.
The memorial has been paid
for by the people of the Belgian
district of Grez Doiceau and the
South Shields branch of the DLI
Association.
It will be unveiled by the Count
and Countess De Liederkerke,
on whose land the bridge is located.
A total of 27 DLI veterans will
travel to Belgium for the ceremony.
Sir David Chapman, Richard
Annand's nephew, will lay a
wreath.
He said he was delighted
his uncle's bravery and the sacrifice
of those servicemen who
lost their lives was to be recognised.
John Davis, president of the
South Shields branch of the DLI
Association, said: "It's a nice setting
in the Belgian countryside,
but where 35 people lost their
lives - there was nothing commemorating
that. This will mean
we have put a memorial to where
they sacrificed their lives.
"We were interested as DLI
people in setting up a memorial
and, when we talked to the people
out there in Belgium, they
were very interested too.
"The Belgian people are very
friendly and supportive and certainly
the older ones are very
grateful for Britain's involvement."
The DLI defended the position,
but German advances at other
points on the River Dyle forced a
retreat.
Capt Annand was born in
Westoe Village, South Shields,
and later lived in Durham City.
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