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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Tina Stevenson from The Folkestone School for Girls and has been added to the website on behalf of Denis Hawes with his permission and he fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.
The battle for Regalbuto Ridge was a typical infantry battle for the high ground, which dominated the Italian campaign. We advanced from the outskirts of Regalbuto and dig in between shell, mortar and nebelwafer fire. Miraculously, we only get one casualty. A reserve company advances through our lines to attack, but fall back decimated. At dusk, a man is shot going to the toilet by an over zealous sentry. I volunteer to get the ambulance, together with a fellow runner, John Dill. Barrage starts again and despite being, but deafened and nearly blinded, we get through. That night, the 2nd Devon’s attack up hill on the flank over scrub, mines … great soldering. We hear the sound of the battle in the valley. Next morning, we are to relieve the Devon’s under cover of a creeping barrage. We lose about six men. We get to the battlefield and see the bodies of the dead German and Devon soldiers, intermingled. They were killed at close quarter and they were already beginning to smell. Soon after we arrived, we beat off a German counter attack, but shell and mortar fire continues. Next day at dawn the CSM is killed by a sniper, shot through the throat and he falls on top of me, his arterial blood gushing like a jet. We wrap him up in an Italian blanket I have been carrying. Later, I run for water to a farmhouse, carrying 4 bottles, we have had no water for 48hrs.Tanks start to fire at me near the well so I only manage to fill two of them. That afternoon, the Canadians attack with panache, but the German’s withdraw after losing the high ground. We return to the original farmhouse. I fall asleep in an old slit trench. No shower or bath despite dirt and sweat, but MUST shave. We go on to complete the campaign to take part in a diversionary attack and later in 1944, to capture Arromanches on D-Day.

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