March 7, 2015

Finest Hour 157, Winter 2012-13

Page 50

By Bill Perlmutter

Growing up in the Forties I had three heroes: Franklin Roosevelt, Mayor la Guardia and Winston Churchill. I never thought that some day I would photograph WSC, let alone near the infamous Bergen Belsen concentration camp.

Churchill was in Germany on 9-13 May 1956 to receive the Charlemagne Prize, meet with Chancellor Adenauer, and visit British troops. Attached to the 2nd Armored division in Bad Kreutznach, I had been sent to Bergen Hohne to photograph our Army tanks practicing on a former Wehrmacht tank range. In May I was assigned by our division paper, Hell on Wheels. to photograph Churchill, who was in the area between Belsen and Hohne to visit the Fourth Queen’s Own Hussars, the celebrated regiment of which he was Colonel.

I took these photos with my Rolleiflex. The band was playing while officers bedecked with ribbons stood to attention as Churchill’s car passed in review. I raced ahead to catch him before he entered his limousine, but was too late. Seeing my distress, he left the car, leaned on his cane, smiled and posed for me. In 2001 I met lady Soames, who was delighted to receive a copy of the photo and was able to identify all those who were with her father.

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Mr. Perlmutter ([email protected]) seeks a publisher for his book, Through a Soldier’s Lens.