A World War II veteran who claims he was the first Allied soldier to receive a message that the Nazis had surrendered has vowed to keep the historic document in his family despite intense interest from museums.
Bernard Morgan – who turns 100 on Wednesday – was working as a codebreaker for the Royal Air Force around May 6, 1945, when he received a world-changing message via his Typex machine.
“The German war is now over. In Rheims last night the instrument of surrender was signed giving effect to the surrender of all German military personnel – all equipment and shipping and all machinery in Germany,” the message read, according to The Mirror.
“Nothing will be destroyed anywhere. The submission takes effect tomorrow. This news will not be communicated to anyone outside the service nor to members of the press.”
Morgan first “had to decode” the message while working in the German town of Schneverdingen, which is about 200 miles outside the Reich Chancellery, where Adolf Hitler had killed himself days earlier on April 30 in his secret Führerbunker as Soviet Union troops closed in. . on it during the Battle of Berlin.
Bernard Morgan said in the run-up to his 100th birthday that he planned to keep the message in his family, opting not to give it to a museum for display. Lee McLean / SWNS
“It was a surprise. We can’t tell anyone until we get the final message to say the war in Germany is now over,” the former serviceman said.
Following the news that the war in Europe was over, Morgan said he and members of his code-breaking unit celebrated the end of the bloodiest global conflict in human history while being careful not to draw attention.
Although unable to tell anyone about the news, Morgan said, “It’s great to see no more soldiers, sailors or airmen giving their lives… and also thankful for the civilians who gave their lives for the same cause.”
For 50 years, Morgan has been sworn to secrecy about the messages he received in the last days of the Nazi regime. Lee McLean / SWNS The message marks the first sign of the end of the bloodiest global conflict in human history. Lee McLean / SWNS
It would be 50 years after the war ended before he was able to tell anyone that he was the first Allied service member to receive news of the Third Reich’s surrender due to a document he signed while working as a code breaker — which became invalid. in 1994.
Before his 100th birthday, Morgan vowed to keep documents showing Nazi surrenders in his family, despite interest from organizations interested in obtaining the historic piece.
“The Imperial War Museum in London and in Manchester both wanted the original – they weren’t interested in a photocopy – but I kept it for my family,” says Bernard.
Morgan was working as a codebreaker for the Royal Air Force around May 6, 1945, when he received a world-changing message via his Typex machine. Courtesy Bernard Morgan / SWNS
Although he will not be donating his historic message to any organisation, Morgan, who is also a Royal British Legion Ambassador, said he was “always keen for the younger generation to know exactly what happened during the war and appreciate the sacrifices our children made so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today.”
Morgan, like some 133,000 World War II heroes, landed on the Normandy Beaches in France on D-Day — which remains the largest amphibious invasion in history.
The RAF sergeant was just 20 years old when he landed on Gold Beach on June 6, 1944.
He would later be transferred to Germany towards the end of the war after the Allies pushed the once-conquering Nazi forces back to Berlin.
Morgan was just a 20-year-old sergeant when he landed on Gold Beach on June 6, 1944. Courtesy Bernard Morgan / SWNS
As a codebreaker, Morgan used a once-classified Type X machine to encrypt messages telling aircraft where they were needed for immediate action before sending the coded messages back to Britain for execution, according to The Manchester Evening News.
The Nazis officially surrendered in the late afternoon of May 8, 1945, after Hitler’s successor, Admiral Karl Dönitz, ordered the German military chiefs to sign unconditional surrender documents in France and Berlin — marking the end of the war in Europe.
Although the war in Europe had ended, World War II would not officially end until September 2, 1945, following the surrender of the Empire of Japan.
(LR) Nazi Maj. Wilhelm Oxenius, General Alfred Jodl, and Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg signed Germany’s unconditional surrender documents at Allied headquarters in Reims, eastern France on May 7, 1945. Jodl would later be sentenced to death and executed at Nuremberg in 1946. AFP via Getty Images Nazi Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs the unconditional surrender of German forces at Soviet Headquarters In Karlhorst, Northeast Berlin May 8, 1945. Keitel will later be sentenced to death and hanged. 1946 after being found guilty of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity during the Nuremberg Trials. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
When he returned home at the end of the war, Morgan said one thing that surprised him was how he came to affect his parents because he was “their only child.”
“My parents thought the war was like World War I, ankle-deep in mud, and they never asked what I was doing in the Air Force.”
After the war, Morgan worked on the railways and as a turnstile operator for Crewe Alexandra, a professional association football club based in Crewe, Cheshire, England, for 57 years.
“We are very proud of father. He will always be a war hero but he was also a brilliant father, grandfather and great-grandfather,” said his daughter, Sheila Morgan.
Sheila Morgan, 71, also shared that her father plans to return to Normandy in June for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
“Our D-Day veterans are a dwindling brotherhood, so it is vital that we take every opportunity we can to celebrate the achievements and bravery of those who helped liberate Europe 80 years ago,” said Nancy Kay, Branch Chair for the RBL in Crewe .
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
