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this story was submitted to the site by a neighbour of Franks', Mike Taylor.

A gunner's story - Life in the 146th Field Regiment Royal Artillery - the memoirs of Gunner Frank Jefferson

Basic training began in December 1941 in Whalley, Lancs. I wanted to be in the artillery so I was sent for specialist training in firing artillery guns, but never actually fired a real round until in action in El Alamein. Artillery crews consisted of 7 men, but sometimes only 5; number 2 was the loader and 3 and 4 moved the shells into position. There was also a sergeant and someone who set the range and trajectory and someone to fire. On active service we fired mainly 25lb shells. After basic training I was posted to the 146th Field Regiment and we trained in the practice ranges near Dorchester on the South Coast. Not long after being sent to Dorchester I was sent on embarkation leave for 2 weeks before travelling to Liverpool to board a troop ship "The Strathmore" which was a former passenger liner. We travelled for about one month in total and there was not much room on board - we slept either in hammocks or on tables or even the floor. All the ships in the convoy were only 200 yards apart. At breakfast time you had to pack up quickly for the next shift to get their sleep. At breakfast we ate at long tables, 20 men to each side and the diet was primarily fish. The ship had to go out into the Atlantic before heading back in to the coast of Africa, so that the U-boats were avoided, with our first stop being at Freetown early in July 1942. We used to fool the locals with pennies wrapped up in silver foil, in which the cigarettes were packed in those days, and which we threw into the sea. They were great divers and gathered in most of what we threw, but I can tell you the air was blue when they discovered they were only small coins and not real silver ones! Our next stop was Durban. Everyone disembarked with their rifles over their shoulders, except for me as being a rookie I had not yet been issued with a rifle. I therefore had to march 2 miles to camp with a PIAT which was extremely heavy and normally carried by two soldiers! We billeted at the Kingsmead Football Ground, which I think is still there today, and set up camp there for 2-3 weeks. While in Durban we used to march up to the sea to go for a swim. The local black people outnumbered the white people by about 10:1. It was quite an experience for us. A lot of the blokes bought photographs of the tribe leader, but when I got to Durban I only had three pounds and could not afford to pay for a photograph. We used to get ten shillings a week. You could "sacrifice" three shillings, which would be sent home to your family and I did this, but instead of spending it my mother saved it all up for me while I was on active service so there was a good pot of savings when I got back home.
After Durban we boarded a smaller ship, HMTS Salween, to go up the Red Sea. One night when I was on night duty the call went up "man overboard". The Navy man sent up a flare and circled around for a while but he was never found. It was well-known that deserters would head for Durban - the M.P.s would go there, find them and return them to action in the western desert. We travelled on up the Suez Canal to dock at Port Tewfik after which we boarded a train and we got turfed off into a camp in the desert.
At Alamein we were fitted out for desert warfare. I remember at night we would run up to the front at night to dig the guns pits in preparation for the attack. We were put under the command of an Australian sergeant at Alamein. At Alamein I fired my first ever live rounds! I can remember vividly a 3 day sandstorm whilst in Egypt, you couldn't see nor do a thing. Also, whilst at Alamein we were visited by the King - he travelled around in a pickup truck and everyone joked he was sitting on a commode the whole time. We were supposed to give him a cheer, but I reckon they were the weakest three-cheers he'd ever had because we were downright miserable stuck out in the desert for three days at a time. We also saw Monty once during our spell in the desert. Alamein lasted for about 10 days and then we went into the 7th Armoured Division as we fought through to Tripoli and Tunis before the Germans escaped through Sicily to Italy. On 13th May 1943 the war for us was over in North Africa; next stop was Salerno, via LST (Landing Ship Tank) from Tripoli after we had spent several weeks re-fitting in a place called Homs. Later in the war Brigadier Mews wrote the Regiment a special thank-you for our efforts in the desert. He especially thanked the regiment for action during the battle of Medinine "…where you covered yourself with glory and were very largely responsible for the complete defeat of the Germans. That battle is called a "one-day model battle" thanks very largely to you. It had a great effect on the final defeat of the German forces in North Africa…"
On landing at Salerno, part of two divisions (1 US and 1 British) we found we were no longer with the 7th armoured Division but had become a part of AGRA.
Action in Italy involved supporting infantry attacks up the western side of the country (the 8th Army entered in the South of Italy) as far as Monte Camino, where we experienced some of the bitterest fighting of our war. At the end of January 1944 we were sent in troop carriers to Naples where we set sail for Glasgow, via Gibraltar on the way. After arriving in Glasgow we had a short period of leave before heading by train to Brighton at the end of February.
After re-training to use the new 5.5 guns with 120lb shells, we finally landed up at Southend and on the 12th July we were anchored off the French coast on board a LCT (Landing Craft Tank) in our new role as a medium regiment. After a few unsuccessful attempts to land the guns using the LCT ramps, we eventually elected to land using the Mulberry Harbours and we then set off down the road in the direction of Caen.
The new 5.5's required two men to lift the shell onto the tray. A sergeant would then ram the shell in, close the breach then a gunner would pull the lever at the side when the sergeant said "fire". I remember we were moving back and forwards around Caen. The Americans were coming down our right hand side and the Germans were about to be encircled at Falaise - when eventually they made their famous escape through the Falaise Gap.
Then it was on to Belgium. I recall the welcoming folk of Brussels who let us stay in their houses for maybe three days at a time.
Then it was on into Germany where our guns were used to give them a hell of a pounding in support of the Rhine crossings. We were about 14 miles back from the Infantry front line, firing over their heads, ahead of a huge airborne drop. We couldn't have knocked out all of the German guns as they were still firing back at us when we'd done! When we finally got closer to the front the Germans were firing on us from close range - we survived by diving into their abandoned shelters. We crossed the Rhine using the pontoon bridges - all 60 of them linked together. I think we only survived because we fired more at the Germans than they fired at us.
I ended the war in Germany at a place called Rheinfeld, but did not de-mob until 1947. The older fellows were let out first! There was no big party in the end. I got back home in 1947 and got married to Dorothy on 14th August 1948. Dorothy had written to me once very week the whole time I was away on active service and she herself had helped in the war effort working at an ammunitions factory in Manchester, starting there ironically on the 6th June 1944 - D Day!
I didn't meet many of my relatives during the war. I had a brother-in-law in the Royal Horse Artillery who I met up with briefly in France. Also I had a cousin in the Grenadier Guards who was wounded at Arnhem. He was the sloppiest Guardsman in the Regiment! I recall an officer playing hell with him for not saluting him, in a town in Germany after the fighting was over.
Food was boring - we got plenty bully beef, porridge and tea - loads of tea! But not much wine or beer. Once whilst in the Middle East we got to a spot where the troops were making their own wine - it made us extremely sick!
I was lucky in that I was never injured in action - the worst injury I had was whilst playing football in France where I injured my knee - and it has plagued me all my life! If there is one humorous moment I can recall it was when I was on guard duty one night - it the pitch black desert night. I heard a noise and I called out "stop or I'll shoot" - when there was no reply I moved in the direction of the noise and found to my relief that it was a pair of underpants on a washing line, flapping in the breeze! So I guess I really was lucky to come through unscathed as there were many from the 146th who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Their names are recorded in the roll of honour which can be found on the unofficial website of the regiment put together by Mike Taylor a neighbour of mine - it can be found at www.146fieldregiment.co.uk. The website also has several pictures from my time at war and has a full Regimental Itinerary which gives details of all the places we served in and battles we were engaged in - it is well worth a visit.

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