Douglas Baines

1924 - November 2013

A lot has already been written about Douglas Baines. He has been the subject of a TV news piece and is held in near-celebrity status in a small town in France. So it is with deep regret that we write about his untimely death in November 2013.

Douglas was born in Goole, South Humberside in 1924 and was conscripted into the Army in 1942. He originally joined the West Yorkshire Regiment before transferring to the Parachute Regiment after he found out they paid two shillings a week more.

On 6 June 1944 (D-Day) Douglas was part of an assault into France and, like many of his comrades, was dropped in the wrong area. He was one of a number of soldiers who landed in the River Dives, dried out but essentially a bog. It took Douglas and his fellow soldiers a long time to get out of the river, and when they did it was only the help of a local farmer who was later captured and shot for helping the British.

Dougie was eventually captured by the Nazis. He was being transported by train when he escaped by cutting a hole in the floor of the carriage and dropping onto the railway line. He then joined the French Resistance movement and was later decorated by them for his services.

Dougie survived another catastrophe when he returned to the frontline. He was in a glider that was shot down over the River Rhine as it was landing. He was the only survivor of the five-man crew but lost his leg in the process. (Dougie used the same prosthetic leg that he had fitted in 1947 until the day he died).

Dougie returned to France every year as part of the D-Day celebrations and always made time to lay a wreath on the graves of the farmer and labourer who had saved him. This year Dougie’s widow, Lorna, will travel to France to honour Dougie’s wish of laying a wreath at the farmer’s grave.