大象传媒

Our journey back into the line was not a very pleasant one as far as I can remember, I seem to recollect that it was raining most of the time as we moved up along the Adriatic coast towards Rimini and we finally took up our positions near I think it was the town of Firenzuola.
We found out that we were going to part of the Fifth Army and going to relieve some of the US forces. The weather was still very bad and we had a job trying to get our carriers up close enough to our positions.

We were shelled quite heavily and had to dig ourselves in. At one point while I was laying our firing sites some shells came over and I threw myself down with such a force that my glasses came off and when I found them again one of the lenses had come out and the frame was badly twisted.

I looked for the lens but couldn't find it, and I tried to straighten the glasses frame without much luck,so I was stuck without them and peering rather short sightedly trying to line up my sightings.
I had to ask for somone to go back to our rear echelon go in to my kit and bring me my spare pair.
This was easier said than done for a runner to go back because of the terrain we were in, stuck on top of a mountain and of course the weather we were having did not help matters, we were slipping and sliding around in the mud.
It was two days before I received my spare glasses, it was not very easy to carry on in a state of blurriness but I managed it somehow.

We went into attack some points on ridges that the Germans held we were told that 11 brigade had tried but got beaten back with heavy casualties and now it was 36 brigades turn, we put up a heavy firing in support, and very happy to find out that attack had gone well and the position was taken without too much trouble and with as far as I knew few casualties.

We were now on Monte Spaduro, I remember that name because that is where I eventally got hit.
This whole area was overlooking the Lombardy plain and the way to Imola and then on to Bologna and when the weather cleared sometimes I could see some of the villages in the distance.

By the end of October it had snowed a little, then it started to rain again, and it was very cold and we had a job keeping ourselves warm.

We had dug in and there was plenty of shelling going on from the German batteries. My slit trench wasn't exactly home from home being waterlogged most of the time I baled out the water with my mess tin and had a hard time keeping dry especially my feet.
I always made a point of caring for my feet because my father who was in the trenches in WW1 told me 'Always look after your Feet" if they are fine you'll be fine, I had lots of jokes made about me regarding my concern over this part of my body, but I found out all through my army service that Dad was right! there quite a number of sufferers during that time up there with foot problems because of the wet conditions, but I glad to say I was not one of them.

Towards the evening on one day, I am still not sure what day it was, there was the usual shelling,I was in my trench with another squaddie, a signaller who was on his way back to his platoon who jumped in when it started. I could hear the woosh of the shells coming over, then a big bang and the the next thing I knew I was outside the trench with a tremendous ringing in my ears, my glasses hanging on one side of my face, my helmet was off my head, and a feeling of if hundreds of needles were sticking in me.

I managed to get myself up though quite dizzy, several of my mates came up and I remember someone saying "Cor! you don't half look a mess! and someone taking me to the Regimental Aid Post.I asked where's the other chap that was with me is he alright?
and voice don't worry about him he's OK.
I found out afterwards that he was killed.

I don't remember much after that, other than being in an ambulance, and thinking this must be a lot worse than the one I got at Trasimene, which was I suppose quite light as I was back with my unit after a few days.

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