Brian Hatherley Pear

.

Additional information

Grave location: Row 2, Grave 6

Aged 25. Son of Tom Hatherley Pear and Catherine Pear. Widow, Muriel Elizabeth Pear, of Didsbury, Manchester.

Early in the morning, 3rd Troop, using mine clearers, began clearing the road of mines in the vicinity of (coordinate 698083) somewhere between the Paalberg and the Scheper Jannebaan. Sergeant Albert Georg Birch led the way, followed by Corporal Shaw, with Lieutenant Brian Hatherley Pear bringing up the rear. They passed a Churchill tank and an armoured car, which had driven over landmines the day before, forcing them to take a detour to the right across a meadow. As Corporal Shaw’s tank had collided with a tree, rendering the mine-clearing equipment inoperable, Lieutenant Brian Hatherley Pear took his place.

Suddenly, just as the mine clearance was almost complete, Sergeant Albert Georg Birch’s tank came under fire from a German anti-tank gun; although the crew remained unharmed and the tank did not catch fire, Lieutenant Brian Hatherley Pear ordered Sergeant Albert Georg Birch to abandon the tank. Every attempt to leave the tank was met with machine-gun fire from the Germans, preventing them from exiting. Several Churchill tanks from the Grenadier Guards then laid down a smoke screen around Sergeant Albert Georg Birch’s tank, and Lieutenant Brian Hatherley Pear drove towards him so that his tank could act as a shield against the German machine-gun fire and the crew could safely leave the tank. The smoke screen made it difficult to see exactly what was happening, but both tanks suddenly caught fire; in addition, Corporal Shaw’s tank drove over a mine and was also unable to move. Corporal Shaw also ordered his crew to abandon the tank and, despite the fact that there were also some casualties amongst the Grenadier Guards, they once again provided covering fire and laid another smoke screen, enabling Corporal Shaw and his crew to leave the tank safely. Of Lieutenant Brian Hatherley Pear’s and Sergeant Albert Georg Birch’s crew, there was only one survivor; this was also noted in the Westminster Dragoon’s war diary, namely the wounded Trooper Whitford, who was taken prisoner by the Germans.

However, in the Kriegstagebuch (German war diary) of Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 115 dated Friday 3 November 1944 at 09:15 (see below), the Germans report two British prisoners of war, including an officer; it is assumed that this refers to Lieutenant Brian Hatherley Pear. During the liberation of Maasbree on 22 November 1944, the British found Lieutenant Pear’s body; it later transpired that the Germans had done everything in their power to save his life, presumably in the former boys’ school which the Germans had converted into a military hospital. Pear was buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery in Maasbree.

Excerpt from “The Westminster Dragoons in NW Europe”

Early in the morning, 3rd Troop began firing, with Sgt Birch in the lead, Cpl Shaw next and Lt Pear bringing up the rear. They passed a Churchill tank and an armoured car that had been blown up by mines the previous day. To avoid these, they had to turn into a field to the right of the road; Cpl. Shaw’s tank struck a tree, which temporarily put his flail out of action, and Lt. Pear therefore took his place.

Suddenly, just as the clearing operation was nearly complete, Sgt. Birch’s tank was hit by fire from an anti-tank gun; the crew were unharmed and the tank did not catch fire, but Lt. Pear ordered Sgt. Birch to bail out. Sgt Birch replied that every time he tried to do so, a machine-gun opened fire on him. Hearing this, the Churchill tanks of the Grenadiers laid down smoke around Sgt Birch’s tank. Lt Pear then announced his intention to move forward and use his tank as a shield in front of Sgt Birch’s tank, enabling the crew to bail out.

The smoke made it very difficult to see exactly what was happening. Through gaps in the smoke, both tanks were suddenly seen to be on fire. Meanwhile, Cpl. Shaw’s tank hit a mine and was unable to move. He ordered his crew to bail out, and a few minutes later their tank, too, was set alight by the anti-tank gun. The Grenadier Guards provided fire support and laid down smoke for another hour, despite the fact that they themselves were suffering casualties. This enabled Cpl. Shaw and his crew to crawl back to safety. Of Lt. Pear’s and Sjt. Birch’s crews, there was only one survivor: Tpr. Whitford. He was wounded and taken prisoner. The loss of this excellent officer, his Sjt. and their very gallant men was a sad blow.

The volume of fire produced by the Germans that morning was so great that all operations by the 15th Scottish Division were postponed for 48 hours. It was decided to launch a full-scale attack
on 5 November, and for this, No. 1 Troop, commanded by Lt. Hoban, took the place of No. 3 Troop in support of the Grenadiers.

Kriegstagebuch (German war diary) of the 115th Panzer-Grenadier Regiment, 3 November 1944 – 09:15, reporting the capture of two British prisoners of war, including an officer.

Brian Hatherley Pear in uniform.