- Contributed byÌý
- nottinghamcsv
- People in story:Ìý
- Mr Edwin / Ted Lane and Mrs Freda Lane
- Location of story:Ìý
- Newark, Nottinghamshire. Capetown, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, Sicily, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland.
- Background to story:Ìý
- Army
- Article ID:Ìý
- A4897524
- Contributed on:Ìý
- 09 August 2005
This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Nottingham on behalf of Mr Edwin / Ted Lane with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.
I joined up in April 1940, I was 19 years old, I joined up at Woodall Spa the 1st Division Ammo Company and finished up in the 404 General Transport at Bradford. I went abroad with them in 1942.
We started off 4 days in Capetown, then Tahae Egypt, we were stationed there behind Alamein after that we went to Iraq, Baghdad, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Palestine where we waterproofed the trucks then went onto the invasion of Sicily. We were in Sicily for a year and then we went across to Italy. We went through Rome on the night of D Day. We went right up through Italy in the German Gothic line, they pulled us out of there and we boarded an American landing ship down to Marsaille from there we went to France, Belgium, Holland right up to Berlin.
While in Germany we captured Belsen Camp. It was a terrible place, I can still smell dead bodies, there were piles of bodies. It was surrounded by beautiful countryside, you wouldn’t think it was there. Opposite the camp there was a village, the Germans fetched the people out of the village and made them drag all the bodies out, dig a big massive grave and bury the bodies.
After the war was over we went to Brussels, from there to Germany and on a boat home to Hull where I was demobbed in York.
In 1942 I got 7 days embarkation leave and we got married and I never saw her again for 3 ½ years — we’ve now been married for 63 years.
We were moving all the time while we were overseas. We were in the Gothic Line, we were at Bailey Bridge we had to creep up at night secretly with no lights or anything. Eventually they pulled our truck out of the line as it was in such a bad state. We were never stopped long enough to do any maintenance — we were always moving.
I saw some beautiful places some of the scenery was amazing. The Iraq border of Iran through to Russian border, there weren’t really any roads there, it was amazing how we could drive. Your arms would be aching trying to drive along the tracks.
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