大象传媒

Having left Normandy and having crossed the River Seine, we were now chasing up through France towards Belgium enjoying the role of 'conquering heroes'. Every stop we made we were smothered with handshakes and flowers and best of all kisses. Strangely every girl we saw looked like a film star. Now we knew how the Yanks felt in England, we didn't have any chewing gum or silk stocings but i began to understand that a tin of bully beef or cigarettes worked just as well!

It was tomato season and as we were travelling some locals would throw tomatoes that were as large as apples and just as firm. Lovely and sweet but we didn't have any salt. It was all right when you stopped, they'd put a box on the tank. The ones they threw generally missed you because they didn't know about'aiming off' to allow for your speeed. Anyway, my co-driver having nothing better to do decided to stand on the engine covers behind the turret(the engine covers on a Cromwell are flat, ideally suited for sleeping on or carrying any wounded casualties), and the ones that missed me he would catch. This worked very well untill I happend to turn around and 'Bloody hell he's fallen off' but on looking over the back there he was crouched behind the turret, head in hands blood everywhere. I climbed over to him to see what had happed and found out he had been hit with a tomato on the forehead between the eyes and split his head open. So we got on the 'A' set to get the Medical Officer to come along while we were pulled on to the side of the road. This resulted in poor old Bill having five stitches to put it right. My wireless operator who came from Birmingham, and who was always a bit of a wit, made the remark the Americans made famous in later years saying 'I suppose that's whats ypu call "Friendly fire?"
Later on during a visit to Berlin in 1945 when the 1st RTR were doing garrision duties there I met Bill again. He had survied the campaign and escaped being wounded (properly). I commented about the noticeable scar on his forehead and asked how he would explained his wound to his family?
He said 'I'd tell them it's a High Explosive Tomato Grenade!

Reg your vet

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