WWII veteran Reginald Pye, from Burry Port, Carmarthenshire died on 18 February aged 101. Reg or Reggie, as he was fondly known served with the 224 Field Company, Royal Engineers as a driver carrying sappers, mines and ammunitions.
Normandy veteran Reg, like all those involved in WWII saw many experiences that would be forever imprinted on their minds but Reg also had a fleeting meeting with a young French girl in 1944 which would stay at the front of his mind for the following seven decades.
Reg landed on Sword beach on D Day plus 14 and one night as he moved through Normandy his convoy was held up in Virgny in France for an evening. Their food that night, the first in two days, was a meagre piece of bread with jam and a tin of pilchards. As he was about to eat his, he saw a young girl staring at him. She looked as if she was desperately in need of food so without hesitation Reg offered her the tin of pilchards but her eyes remained fixed on the sandwich and he gave her his bread and jam and she hurried away. The next morning, he awoke to find a picture of her, with a message on the back and his mess tin half full of milk. A beautiful gift to thank him for sharing his dinner with her.
During the annual Taxi Charity trip to Normandy in June 2022 volunteer taxi driver Paul Cook heard the incredible story of this chance meeting and of Reg’s greatest wish to meet her again. Paul spoke to the charity and they launched a media campaign to try to find her. Aided by people who had read the moving request for help and the Taxi Charity’s French advisor Nathalie Varnière, Huguette was finally found later that year and Reg travelled to Normandy to meet her.
The reunion was very emotional and when they met again, almost eight decades later Reg presented Huguette with a jam sandwich, just as he had when they first met. As well as the bread and jam, Reg also brought a can of pilchards but just as she did in 1944, Huguette rejected them again with a smile. He then showed her the faded picture that he had kept in his wallet for 78 years and there was not a dry eye in the room.
In 2022 WWII Veteran Reg Pye said,
“The memory of my very brief encounter with this young girl will stay with me forever. In the bleakest of times this bit of human interaction made a huge mark on my life. I have carried her picture in my wallet for 78 years always hoping we might meet again. I went back to Normandy about fifty years afterwards to try and trace her but unfortunately, I wasn’t successful I cannot believe that she has finally been found and I wish to thank everyone, including our friend Emma Newton, our cab driver Paul Cook and the Taxi Charity’s French Advisor Nathalie Varnière, who have helped to make my dream come true.”
Paul Cook, London taxi driver and Vice Chairman of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans said,
“There were no words to describe how elated I was that Reg found Huguette after hoping to reunite for so many years. He was a wonderful gentleman who I was delighted to spend time with in Normandy and I will always be so proud that we were able to make his greatest wish come true. I join everyone at the Taxi Charity to thank him for his service. Rest in Peace my friend Reggie your duty is done.”
To view a video of Reg and Huguette’s reunion www.taxicharity.org/post/veteran-reg-pye-finds-the-french-girl-he-has-been-looking-for-since-wwii
To find out more about the support the Taxi Charity offers to veterans or to donate visit www.taxicharity.org
