大象传媒

My dad was a member of 45 RTR, part of 24th Armoured Brigade, 10th Armoured Div, at the start of the battle of Alamein 23rd October 1942. Although not a member of the R.A.M.C., he was the unit 'medic', and just before the start of the artillery barrage that started the battle, he had to take an infantry soldier to the R.A.P. The soldier had been disembarking from a truck, and had caught his thumb in a chain link as he jumped. His thumb was torn off.Was he the first casualty of the battle? The barrage started just as he got back to the leager. He admits that he was absolutely terrified at the noise. Later when the Axis artillery started to respond, he lay in his slit trench, wondering what would happen if two shells met in the air above him. He told me that due mainly to fear, he actually fell asleep during this mayhem. The only other recollection of the battle that he shared with me was that when one of their Shermans was hit, he saw the crew bail out and take shelter behind the tank to avoid machine gun fire. They were thought to be safe, but were never seen again.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.