Joe Ekins during the War
Joe in recent years
Joe Ekins was a typical British soldier of the 2nd World War. Basically a civilian in uniform with a healthy disdain for authority and privilege, combined with a total disdain for the values and extremism of his enemy. He was certainly a reluctant soldier although he had no compunction about volunteering for service, he saw his war very much in terms of good versus evil.
For many years in deepest Northamptonshire his amazing exploits during those famous 12 minutes in Normandy in 1944 were hardly the topic of conversation, and Joe was not one to re-live the past. His pastime of teaching judo and latterly his prominent role in the sports administration, along with his family, were his main concern.
However in recent years, as military history became more popular many historians and others have beaten a path to his modest door in Rushden. At last Joe was prepared to tell his story. Never for glory and never for fame. Many believe he was the man that fired the fatal shot that killed the famous Nazi tank commander, Michael Wittmann, but Joe was not interested in the claim. Unlike thousands of military historians Joe cared not if he were the man who could make the claim. He was just not interested, as he said they were all Nazis and he was doing what he was ordered, to get the war finished.
The Wittmann claim is a cause celebre but of far more interest was the fact that a 'shoe operative', actually a cobbler, from Northamptonshire, fired two practice rounds on the Normandy beaches, and then three rounds in action in twelve minutes. Of those three rounds every one destroyed the supposedly unstoppable German tiger tank. Actually, the British Firefly, a Sherman with a 17 pounder gun fitted, was a match for anything on the battlefield.
The film “Ekins versus Wittmann” goes some way to proving Joe’s part in the death of Wittmann, but to the man himself the question was irrelevant and the answer not worth considering. This British soldier just wanted to get the thing over and done with and get home to what he loved and fought for. Noble sentiments indeed.
He modestly thought himself quite a good gun aimer with his regiment The Northamptonshire Yeomanry, especially so after this famous exploit, but his opinion of the chain of command was confirmed when after the action he was made radio operator for the rest of the war.
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