Ralph Power (far
right) with friends
during World War
Two
Ralph Power was born in the family
home on Water Street, Brindle on
the 6th April 1922. His father,
Charles Power, had served in World
War One and a year later helped
erect the Parish Institute on land
next to the cottage. On the 29th
March 1927 Ralph was admitted to
the local Parochial School, a few
yards away on the opposite side
of the street. In 1942, Ralph was
called up as Private 10695165 in
the RASC (Royal Army Service Corps)
serving with the Royal Corps of
Signals. His main role was as a
Driver and he remembers training
in the New Forest in Hampshire in
readiness for the Dieppe raid which
took place in August that year;
however he did not take part - that
was left mostly to Canadian troops.
He saw service in France after
D-Day, landing via the Mulberry
Harbours on the Normandy coast on
D-Day + 10 (after spending five
very uncomfortable days on a ship
in the English Channel). He was
part of the support column that
never reached the bridges at Arnhem
and Nimejen in Holland, as part
of Operation Market Garden in September
1944 (known thereafter as A bridge
too far). In the spring of 1945
he crossed the River Rhine into
Germany, ending up in Bremen. He
returned to Ghent in Belgium before
being told his unit would be shipped
to the Far East, earmarked for the
invasion of the Japanese mainland;
fortunately the dropping of the
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima ended that.
After the War he served in Palestine
and the city of Haifa. He returned
to Brindle at the start of 1947
where he has lived ever since.
Ralph Power, 2007
His two brothers Ted (Edwin)
and Tom both served in the Second
World War. Ted was taken prisoner
by the Germans in North Africa,
whilst Tom served in the Household
Cavalry and saw action in the Ardennes
at The Battle of the Bulge in
late 1944, early 1945 (contrary
to popular belief, the British were
there with the Americans).
In 2006 he was Guest of Honour when
he officially opened the new Brindle
Community Hall at a ceremony on
the 18th August, duly recorded on
a plaque over the main door to the
Hall.
Ralph Power sadly passed away after a short illness on Wednesday 31st March 2010. He was 87.
