Daughter of hero WWII soldier backing campaign to save Staffords name
THE daughter of a soldier who was smuggled back to England during the war is backing a campaign to save the name of his former regiment.
Susan Tatton's father, Samuel Pointon, was one of a group of eight men to go missing in action during the Second World War.
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The group of glider troops, from the First Staffordshire regiment, were on the way to Arnhem in 1945 when their glider became detached from its plane and crash-landed in France.
The men were smuggled through various countries in fishing boats until they reached Norway where they were hidden in a hotel room and kept safe.
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A few days later the men were put on a boat back to England where they were reunited with their families.
Sixty-three-year-old Mrs Tatton, below, said: "My dad told me all about his time in the Staffords and he had quite a story to tell.
"Dad was reported missing in action and my mum, Annie, was never informed he had been found again. She feared he had died. So when dad was making his way back home to Dresden on a bus, he was spotted by one of my mum's neighbours.
"This lady ran around saying she had spotted him and when she got back to her home, she was so overwhelmed that he was still alive she had a heart attack and had to go to the hospital.
"It is just one of many funny little tales that I imagine every former soldier has."
Samuel died in 1971, aged 53, after suffering three heart attacks.
In honour of her father's memory, Mrs Tatton, of Manor Street, Fenton, is throwing her support behind The Sentinel's fight against Government plans to wipe the 3rd Battalion of the Mercian Regiment (Staffords) from the Army's Order of Battle as part of plans to cut the number of soldiers by 20,000.
The mother-of-one, who has retired from running a caravan and camping site, said: "I feel very strongly about saving the Staffords' name.
"If you look in many graveyards around the county I am sure you will find the headstone of a former Staffords soldier.
"They sacrificed so much for us because they are so passionate about the area.
"Soldiers are proud to be part of a regiment which has achieved so much and nobody should take that away from them. The whole of Staffordshire needs to get behind this campaign."
Frederick Reader, of Meaford Road, Barlaston, is also supporting the campaign.
He said: "The regiment has stood proud and supported the country in many conflicts down the ages and young men have paid the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. The Staffords deserve better from today's Government."
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