 was to no avail. At the end of his leave, Paddy said goodbye and rejoined his regiment.
Some months later the 6th Airborne division landed by glider across the Rhine near Hamminkeln.
Across the Rhine
There was fighting immediately the glider landed. They all got out safely. Paddy and others were firing. They moved out. Paddy was carrying a heavy Bren gun, and fell a little behind the main party.
Near some trees he suddenly noticed two German soldiers raising their weapons. He was hit on the arm and in his side. He remembers perfectly clearly falling on his face with his arms in front of him. He had a clear thought that the day was Saturday and his mother would be at the market as usual. Who would tell her what happened to her son?
By coincidence Mrs Devlin was at the market. A neighbour came up to her and told her that she had heard on the BBC that morning that the 6th Airborne had gone in over the Rhine.
On her way home Paddy’s mother called in to the Dominicans and had a Mass said for her son’s safety.
‘ He’s alright’
Exactly one week later a Mr Hughes was sorting the post at Eglinton Street post office. He saw a letter addressed to the Devlins with a Red Cross emblem. He asked permission to deliver the letter that evening. He knew it was important.
When Mr Hughes arrived at Frenchville the Devlins were sitting down to tea. He handed the letter to Michael James. There was complete silence. Paddy’s father read the letter to himself, before saying, “He’s alright. He is wounded but he’s alright.”
Recalling that incident Paddy’s eyes filled with tears. “And you would be surprised at how many people called to the house and congratulated my family that I was safe.”
NOTE: Paddy’s friend Jimmy Jordan was captured in Sicily and spent the remaining months of the war as a POW. He then went to live in Australia to be near his children and grandchildren.
Pat Gillen, brother of the legendary Chick, lived in Cork where he worked as a press officer with Fords.
After the war, Paddy transferred to the RAF, and progressed to become a warrant officer. When he retired he lived with his wife Kathleen near Moycullen. When I met him he was a widower, tending to his garden and home which he kept immaculately neat and tidy.
He had a avid interest in all aspects of the World War II story.
It is difficult to estimate how many Southern Irish men and women fought for the Allies in World War II. Historian Roy Foster estimated that the number was about 47,000.