Latest news with #Spandau
Daily Mail
11-08-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
The puppy rescued from the Nazis on D-Day: Heartwarming story of German Shepherd-cross Spandau after he was found hiding under bodies of enemy machine gunners by British war hero
The heartwarming story of a British war hero who adopted a puppy after his German owner was killed on D-Day and cared for him for the rest of his life can be revealed. Trooper Donald Wakefield discovered the pet hidden underneath the body of the enemy soldier after his unit wiped out a German gun emplacement with no survivors. He and his colleagues took pity on the German shepherd-Airedale terrier cross and named him Spandau. The pet accompanied the unit through Normandy becoming a good luck mascot as the Allied forces marched westwards towards Germany. At the end of the Second World War, Trooper Wakefield remained stationed in Germany, so he became Spandau's official owner. Whilst there, he met his wife Erika and they returned to Britain together with Spandau when he left the Army in 1947. The dog first had to spend three months in quarantine before joining them in Hull, East Riding, Yorkshire. Spandau, who was largely known as Span, lived for another 13 years. He played in the front garden with Trooper Wakefield's young son and developed a taste for John Bull beer. He died aged 16 in 1960 and his story is being told for the first time 65 years on by Trooper Wakefield's family, who are selling his wartime mementos. Trooper Wakefield's son, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: 'After my dad rescued Spandau he survived the rest of the war and went on to become our beloved family dog. 'As soon as dad saved him he became very much his dog. 'How he stayed with him during his time in France and Germany I'll never know, but squaddies are nothing if not resourceful. 'Who knows what would have happened to Spandau without my dad. 'There was no doubt he was going to bring him home with him. 'By the time I was a baby, Span would have been 14. 'We had a big front garden and there are photos of me playing with him. 'By all accounts he was a great dog, very loyal, and even developed a taste for John Bull beer.' When Spandau died, he was buried underneath the willow tree of the family home in Derby. A photo of Spandau was tucked in Trooper Wakefield's wartime diary, which charts the progress of The Westminster Dragoons, Royal Tank Regiment, throughout 1944. The first half of the diary covers his gruelling training as final preparations were made for Operation Overlord. He then recounts the moment on June 6, 1944, when he lands near Cherbourg on Sword Beach. He writes: 'On move to French coast. H Hour 7.25, landing near Cherbourg .. slight gun raid, two shot down.' That evening, he writes that he was 'unable to sleep owing to an air attack, two near misses'. A Squadron had orders to push inland along with the tanks of the Staffordshire Yeomanry. June 8 saw more more enemy air activity with 'plenty of flak'. He was attacked by aircraft and his unit had moved back to the coast. Later entries describe an attack on St Nicholas farm at Fontenay-Le-Pesnel. The entries become shorter as he becomes embroiled in heavier fighting. His son added: 'Dad didn't talk much about his experiences in the war and when he did I was only funny anecdotes, never any of the horrors he must have seen. 'It will be difficult to see this collection go but it is a part of history and deserves to be fully appreciated rather than just kept in a shoebox at home.' Trooper Wakefield's archive, which also includes his medals, beret and collar badge, is being sold at Hansons Auctioneers, of Etwall, Derbys. Hansons Auctioneers' militaria expert Matt Crowson said: 'It is a real story of triumph over adversity. 'For Spandau to have been taken into the care of a brave British soldier, who protected him throughout the rest of the war before giving him a loving home in the UK, is testimony to the character of Trooper Wakefield. 'Aside from his bravery at D-Day, this story will bring a lump to the throat of every dog lover. 'The diary is quite 'matter of fact' with entries relating to air attacks, comrades being killed or injured, and simple little things like acquiring eggs to make a breakfast. 'Men like these would have endured unimaginable horror at times, but Trooper Wakefield noted them down like they were an everyday occurrence.' Trooper Wakefield died in Derbyshire in 2008.
Edinburgh Live
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Martin Kemp addresses making 'worst mistake of our lives' in candid confession
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Live Aid was a monumental event in rock history, not only for its humanitarian impact but also for its effect on the careers of many musicians. But Martin Kemp has recently confessed how his band made "the worst mistake of their lives" during their performance as part of the unrepeatable Wembley line-up. Martin, known both for his role as Steve Owen in EastEnders and as a member of Spandau Ballet alongside his brother Gary and Tony Hadley, shared a candid moment with his son Roman on their podcast 'FFS! My dad Is Martin Kemp'. He recounted how the band's position in the Live Aid lineup plummeted as more acts joined the bill. "Bob Geldof asked us to do it," Martin reminisced, "and we were one of the first to be asked. So we thought we were closer to the end of the show. But the more people that got asked, the lower down the list Spandau got." (Image: Getty Images) Despite being among the era's biggest stars, Spandau Ballet found themselves sixth in the running order. They performed two of their hits, 'Only When You Leave' and 'True', but also decided to introduce 'Virgin' from their forthcoming album 'Through The Barricades'. Unfortunately, this decision didn't go down too well. "It was the worst mistake of our lives," Martin told Roman. "It was terrible, because Virgin was a track that we'd rehearsed. It was going to be on a new album coming out.." Martin revealed the moment Spandau Ballet took a misstep during their performance with top ten hits like "True" and "Only When You Leave." (Image: Redferns) He recounted the moment when they introduced the new number, saying: "Then Tony goes up to the mic – with two billion people watching – and goes, 'Here's a new one'." "And two billion people around the world go 'Oh b******s.' You know when you go to see a band and they play a new song off the latest album? You don't want to know." Spandau Ballet, alongside Adam Ant, were among the few acts to showcase new material that day, a decision Martin attributed to the fact the band's "egos were bigger than everyone else's". (Image: Hulton Archive, Getty Images) He mentioned that his older brother Gary picked the song for the set, although in another interview Gary has previously pointed the finger at band manager Steve Dagger. Despite his critique of Spandau's choice, Martin looked back on that sunny Saturday in July 1985 with fondness, describing it as a career highlight. Watching Status Quo from the side of the stage brought him immense joy. "Probably the happiest that I ever knew my band," he expressed. "We were standing on the side of the stage watching them, and it was absolutely beautiful. It's my favourite memory of being in the band." (Image: Redferns) Martin also cherished a quiet moment at home with his wife-to-be-Shirlie, who had just completed an extensive tour with Wham, before returning to Wembley for the event's grand finale. "When I went back, I saw the best thing that I'd ever seen in my life," he reminisced. "Queen were probably the best thing that I'd ever seen. That 20-minute show they were better than everyone else. "They were cleverer. Because everyone went out there doing their singles, but Queen did a medley. So they squashed in about 10 of their best songs." (Image: Getty Images) Queen's performance from that day is still celebrated as one of the most phenomenal live shows ever, captivating an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion. Journalist David Hepworth, who was at the helm of the UK TV broadcast for the BBC, has gone on record to say that this iconic 20-minute performance "cemented Queen's position as the most-loved British group since the Beatles". While the concert accumulated millions for famine relief, it faced criticism post-event because of the theft of funds by corrupt officials. Nonetheless, organiser Bob Geldof remained undeterred, stating: "I'll shake hands with the Devil on my left and on my right to get to the people we are meant to help."
Wales Online
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Martin Kemp admits 'it was the worst mistake of our lives' in Live Aid confession
Martin Kemp admits 'it was the worst mistake of our lives' in Live Aid confession The actor and musician says that the internationally-broadcast concert provided both a career highlight – and an embarrassingly poor choice of material Live Aid was the biggest, most ambitious rock concert ever staged. Along with the enormous amount of good it did to alleviate the suffering in famine-hit Ethiopia, it also transformed some musicians' careers – for good and for bad. Martin Kemp performed that day as one part of the iconic band Spandau Ballet. But he has now admitted they made "the worst mistake of their lives" on the Wembley stadium stage. Martin, also for his years as Steve Owen in EastEnders, was in the band with his older brother Gary and Tony Hadley as guitarist and main songwriter. He wryly told his son Roman, on their FFS! My Dad Is Martin Kemp podcast, how the band's place on the star-studded bill declined as more and more acts agreed to take part in the history-making gig. "Bob Geldof asked us to do it," Martin recalled, "and we were one of the first to be asked. So we thought we were closer to the end of the show. But the more people that got asked, the lower down the list Spandau got." The band were at their happiest on that day, Martin recalls (Image: Redferns ) In fact, the band were sixth on a bill that included most of the biggest stars of the era. They chose to play two of their recent hits, Only When You Leave and True, along with Virgin – a cut from their then-upcoming album Through The Barricades. But the latter didn't go down well. Article continues below "It was the worst mistake of our lives," Martin told Roman. "It was terrible, because Virgin was a track that we'd rehearsed. It was going to be on a new album coming out..." Martin told how Spandau took to the stage with top ten hits such as True, and Only When You Leave. But then came the band's fatal error: "Then Tony goes up to the mic – with two billion people watching – and goes, 'Here's a new one.' "And two billion people around the world go 'Oh b******s.' You know when you go to see a band and they play a new song off the latest album? You don't want to know." Spandau were, along with Adam Ant one of the only acts to perform new material that day. They made that mistake, Martin said, "because our egos were bigger than everyone else's". Queen frontman Freddie Mercury electrified the worldwide audience (Image: Getty Images ) He said that older brother Gary chose the song, although in another interview Gary laid the blame on band manager Steve Dagger. Despite his disappointment in his own band's performance, Martin recalled that sunny Saturday in July 1985 as one of the highlights of his musical career. Watching openers Status Quo from the side of the stage was "probably the happiest that I ever knew my band," he said. He continued: "We were standing on the side of the stage watching them, and it was absolutely beautiful. It's my favourite memory of being in the band." Another treasured moment from that day for Martin was a brief rest at home with his wife Shirlie, who had just returned from a lengthy tour with Wham, before heading back to Wembley for the climax of the show. Martin and future wife Shirlie took a short break at home before returning to the stadium to see Queen's performance (Image: Getty Images ) "When I went back, I saw the best thing that I'd ever seen in my life," he recalled. "Queen were probably the best thing that I'd ever seen. That 20-minute show they were better than everyone else. "They were cleverer. Because everyone went out there doing their singles, but Queen did a medley. So they squashed in about 10 of their best songs." Article continues below Queen's performance from that day has been widely hailed as one of the greatest in history, and broadcast to a worldwide audience of an estimated 1.9 billion fans. Journalist David Hepworth, who anchored the UK TV broadcast for the BBC, said that 20-minute set "cemented Queen's position as the most-loved British group since the Beatles". The concert raised millions for famine relief, and although it was widely criticised after the event because so much of the money raised was stolen by corrupt officials, organiser Bob Geldof was defiant, saying: "I'll shake hands with the Devil on my left and on my right to get to the people we are meant to help."
