大象传媒

I was in the 40th Royal Tank Regiment (R.T.R.) 23rd Armoured Brigade. North of Naples we were pulled off action and went into League nearer Naples and after a rest all the tanks and transport were loaded onto railway flats.

The date was 27th March 1944. It was my 21st birthday and Vesuvius was blowing his top.

On the train we moved to the east side of Italy and made a lot of fuss on the radio.

We were kept busy destroying the mosquito鈥檚 larvae in our designated area. All wells were checked and one kept one for village use. All tins were spiked and troughs tipped up and wells sprayed with oil, apparently done and proved in Israel.

After a few months we eventually pulled out and moved right back to Taranto. We were all inoculated for typhus and as we had to guard the City (they had an epidemic).

At this point the word came through from an HQ orderly officer that someone was enquiring about me. So I was sent to C. Squadron on the docks at Brindisi. The following day two officers took me out in a jeep to the countryside and on a section of road wire fence each side we stopped and the office said it鈥檚 somewhere along here. At that point a hundred yards ahead a gate opened and out stepped my brother Jack. Of course I flew up the slope and lept at him. He was in the R.A.F. in radar. I spent the weekend with him and his mates and went into town and photos were taken to send home. I also had a really hot bath.
We eventually left Italy and the whole regiment went to Gaza for training. I caught pneumonia and finished up in hospital and finished up near the sea convalescing for about 3 weeks.

When I got back to the unit I was sent on leave to transit camp at Jerusalem for a week and also a week in Alexandria.

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