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HARRY MARTIN 1ST/5TH, 2ND/5TH LEICESTERSHIRE REGIMENT

My father Harry (Henry) Martin was born in Leicester on 4th September 1918. After leaving school he became a shoe-hand. He joined the Leicestershire Regiment on 15th July 1939 at Loughborough (Headquarters Company). He trained at the Infantry Training Centre at South Wigston and was posted to the 1st/5th Battalion.

The 1st/5th were posted to Raby Castle, Staindrop, County Durham in the autumn of 1939. Harry was to meet his future wife Joan Nicholson in Staindrop. In April 1940 the 1st/5th left Durham and moved to Scotland to prepare for their part in the disastrous Norway Campaign. The 1st/5th were part of 148th Infantry Brigade. The troops were loaded onto and unloaded from several ships, and each time they left a ship part of their equipment was lost. It was very badly organised. My father's company (B company) sailed in the second waive, he was on the ship St. Magnus. The transport ship which accompanied them, the Cedarbank was sunk by a U Boat. This ship contained most of their winter clothing and ammunition and so they had a disaster
before they even landed in Norway. The troops arrived at Andalsnes in Norway poorly equipped and with minimal training for the campaign.

It was a real baptism of fire. After ten days of fighting and withdrawing it was decided to evacuate the division. My father described walking over 60 miles back to the Norwegian coast, along a railway line, taking it in turns to carry the wounded. They had no food, inadequate clothing and severe weather conditions. My father and a couple of mates managed to steal a small boat and were luckily picked up by a destroyer at sea. My father's relatives said on his return he was severely traumatised, he lost a lot of his friends. A couple of weeks later he had to be hospitalised.

My father was then posted to the BTNI, in Northern Ireland. He was stationed at Caledon and Carrickfergus. On leave from Northern Ireland, he married Joan on the 3rd September 1941. Joan by then was an ATS girl.

In 1942 Harry was posted to the 2nd/5th Leicesters. He was sent to Blakeney on the Norfolk coast. On December 23rd 1942, they set sail for North Africa as part of 139th Brigade, 46th Division to serve as part of Xth Corps in Tunisia. They were to take part in the battle for Kasserine Pass. The Kasserine Pass had been the scene of the first battle for the Americans in North Africa. They were beaten by the Germans there.

In July 1943 Harry had a serious accident on his motorbike, he was a despatch rider. He damaged his ankle and was in hospital for a month. His company then began training for the invasion of Italy.

The 2nd/5th Leicesters landed at Salerno on 9th September 1943. There was severe fighting and Harry received a shrapnel wound to his left knee on the 14th September. The Leicesters took part in the tough 1st Italian Campaign (the Gustav Line), Harry was wounded for the second time on the 2nd December 1943, he had a shrapnel wound to the head and a gunshot wound to his shoulder.

In April 1944, the Leicesters were sent to Syria, for rest and more training. They returned to Italy in July 1944 and were stationed at Bastardo in Umbria. They paraded for King George V at Perugia Airport, Harry said the King looked terrified and was covered in makeup.

The Leicesters then began intense training for the forthcoming Gothic Line Battle, the 2nd Italian Campaign. The Leicesters crossed the River Foglia at the start of the battle and then they were involved in the most memorable battle for them in the Italian Campaign. This was the battle for the hill town of Mondaino. There then followed many weeks of battles and river crossings.

In December 1944 the battalion were sent to Greece as part of Arkforce. Their job was to deal with the civil unrest. They returned to Italy in April 1945, and then in May they were sent to Austria. They were stationed at Deutschlandsberg, Graz and Villach. They were helping with the mass movement of refugees.

My father told me of an incident in Austria. He was a driver at this time. The drivers were told to load lorries with refugees — who included Cossack women and children and other nationalities. They were told to drive these lorries into the next valley - the Russian Sector. As my father and his colleagues were driving back they heard the sound of machine gun fire. They realised
the Russians were shooting these refugees. My father and the other drivers refused to drive the next batch of people, and were told they would be shot for disobeying an order. I could not believe the British would allow this to happen - but evidence has come out that this was true.

Harry was released from the army in January 1946; he became a miner and then a milkman. The experiences he had during the war made an indelible impression upon him. When he was old he suffered from a form of dementia and many of the traumatic experiences he had during the war came back to haunt him. It was then I began to realise how life-changing these experiences
had been. I now know why his generation was so special.

Harry died on the 28th April 2004.

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