Queen tells veteran how father survived being shot in face

Telegraph

05-05-2025

The Queen has described how her father had a lucky escape after being shot in the face during the Second World War.
Her Majesty invited Douglas Cracknell, a 99-year-old war veteran, to Clarence House to hear his stories, telling him that future generations 'wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you'.
She spoke of her father, Major Bruce Shand, and his wartime experiences, reading an extract from his diary in which he described the thrill of receiving letters from friends and family back home.
Major Shand served with the 12th Royal Lancers during the Second World War and was awarded the Military Cross in 1940, during the retreat to Dunkirk, and again in 1942 for his efforts in North Africa. He was later wounded and taken prisoner that same year while fighting in the same region.
He died in June 2006, aged 89, and the Queen told Mr Cracknell that he had a narrow escape at El Alamein in Egypt in 1942.
'My father, who was captured at El Alamein, he was shot at and the bullet went through one side of the face, came out the other,' she said. 'He was so lucky because it didn't hit his teeth or his tongue.'
As the Queen welcomed Mr Cracknell to Clarence House, she told him: 'You look very young – you belie your 99 years.
'I'm always fascinated to talk to any of the survivors of the war. Do you go back and think about it?'
Mr Cracknell replied: 'I do. We went over to France and went onto Hill 112 [in Normandy], and that was where we lost a lot of men. I lost all my mates.
'I got hit with a machine gun, and I held my Sten gun like that [across his face] as I went down and a bullet hit the Sten gun. My face was just all bits of shrapnel. I always done what my father told me to do – keep your head down.'
The Queen smiled and said: 'All I can say is that it must have been very sensible advice, because here you are today to tell the tale.'
The pair chuckled as Mr Cracknell admitted that he had woken up in a bath in Bruges two days after VE Day in 1945 with no memory of the celebrations.
'They read it out that the war was over, and it was chaos,' he recalled. 'They were flocking around you, and I woke up two days later in the bar. Two days of my life I lost.'
The Queen told him: 'Well, they were probably lost for a very good reason. At least you were celebrating.'
'Linchpins of our existence'
Last week, The Queen sat down with veteran Douglas Cracknell at Clarence House ahead of #VEDay80 commemorations.
Douglas was awarded the Legion d'Honneur for his service during the Second World War, when he served as a rifleman in the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.… pic.twitter.com/FhRNdFcNlv
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 5, 2025
Mr Cracknell was part of the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a rifleman and landed in Arromanches, Normandy, on June 22 1944.
He was wounded twice, first in the Netherlands when a bullet hit the weapon he was operating and wounded his face, and again in Hamburg when a shell blast caused shrapnel wounds and a temporary loss of hearing.
He had previously described feeling 'scared stiff' to be fighting in France, saying: 'To think that we were in a foreign country and didn't know where we were and you didn't know who your enemy was,' he said.
The Queen described how her father had written a diary during the war, reading out an extract about how letters were 'the linchpins of our existence', their regular arrival always causing excitement.
Describing the thrill he felt when he was told he had a dozen letters waiting for him at the camp, Major Shand wrote: 'To later generations its hard to understand the emphasis, particularly in wartime, that was put on the amenity of correspondence, not to mention the art of precis writing imposed by the limits of letter cards and the sheets of prescribed lengths.
'People in England were incredibly considerate and consistent about all this and I remain eternally grateful to my many correspondents, family and otherwise, and especially to Ursula Wyndham, whose letters I wish I could have preserved, as they were models of wit, interest and style.'
Mr Cracknell agreed that soldiers had 'really looked forward' to the letters and admitted that, like Major Shand, he had rarely spoken about the war after returning home.
'I think really, it should be talked about,' he said. 'Let the younger ones know what we went through.'
The Queen told him: 'We need it for future generations. I think that's so important, very important. Because they wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for all of you. So thank you.'
Last year, the Queen was named Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers and has paid tribute to her late father's service.