Brit soldier who saved a pregnant mum during World War Two tank battle reunited with her daughter – 72 years later
Heroic Alan King, 92, shouted a warning to stop his 30 ton tank from reversing over four-year-old Toos Kacken's mum
A BRIT soldier who saved a pregnant mum during the chaos of a World War Two tank battle has been reunited with her daughter - 72 years later.
Heroic Alan King, 92, shouted a warning to stop his 30 ton tank from reversing over four-year-old Toos Kacken's mum.
The drama happened when he was a wireless operator on a Sherman tank as British forces liberated the Dutch town of s-Hertogenbosch in October 1944.
Mr King met Toos last week when he was invited to Holland by the Dutch Government to mark the 72th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem.
She rewarded him for saving her mum by giving him a cream cake topped with chocolate.
The veteran said “When I saw Toos last week, she was very grateful to see us. She nearly smothered me.
“It was really emotional to see her again. I am just happy that I got my tank to stop so it didn’t hit her mother.”
Mr King first realised he had saved Toos’ mum years ago when he spotted an iconic wartime photograph of her taken at the time.
The picture captured the moment when her father was carrying her and dragging her sister past a tank in Mr King’s squadron in the town’s market square.
It was taken as the family fled from their home to get to a nearby shelter as shells exploded around them in their home town.
Seconds after the iconic picture was taken, Mr King’s tank was reversing when Toos’s pregnant mother stumbled and fell in its path.
He was then alerted by another radio operator and shouted ‘Halt’ to make his driver stop just as he was about to run into her.
Recalling the incident 72-years-ago, he said: “We were involved in a huge tank battle against the Nazis. I was in a tank myself.
“We had crossed a bridge which was blown up behind us. There were shells exploding everywhere and rubble falling off buildings.
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“And then a family of five appeared around the corner right in the middle of the battle. There were were pushing a pram as they were running down the street
“I had a squadron leader in another tank who was fluent in six languages and could swear in all of them.
“He stuck his head out and was yelling and swearing at them to get out of the way.
“As a wireless operator we could only look through a narrow slit at the front so we would keep an eye out for the tank in front.
“All of a sudden the wireless operator in the tank behind came on my radio telling us to stop reversing as this heavily pregnant woman had fallen down.
“I yelled, ‘Halt’ at my driver and he came to a stop just before we hit her.
“Two Welsh soldiers came out with a door which had been ripped off and quickly carried her to safety. I think she gave birth the next day.”
Dad-of-three Mr King of Thornham Magna near Eye, Suffolk, said he was delighted to meet Toos who is now a married mother-of-two.
The pair first met up with Toos after the war in 1984 at an event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem. They always exchange Christmas cards.
Retired engineer Mr King who has seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren was in a tank with the East Riding Yeomanry as part of 27th Armoured Brigade.
He survived D Day, even though his tank was hit by shellfire, and fought his way through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany until the war ended.
The battle to liberate to s-Hertogenbosch raged for three days, killing 253 civilians, injuring 2,100 and destroying 722 buildings.