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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by a volunteer from Lincolnshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Norman Elsdon and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Elsdon fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Italy; Across the Med

For a period of about a week we assembled in a large camp under canvas while our armoured cars were being waterproofed. Eventually, on 22nd September in the evening, we gathered our belongings together and rove in lorries to the point for embarking. There, the glaring lights, which illuminated the beach gave a strange appearance to the scene, with the large landing craft anchored and with their great ramps down and the vehicles of all kinds rumbling into the gaping jaws of the holds. The vast amount of space inside these craft was surprising; a lift took the smaller vehicles on to the upper deck. Our quarters were between the side of the boat and the centre hull, which held the bulk of our vehicles. The beds were of iron and pivoted down from the walls. The air was rather oppressive, even with the fans running. As there were not enough beds for all of us, we drew lots and I was one of those who lost and therefore had to sleep on the deck. This proved to be far more pleasant than life below decks. As it was an American boat with an American crew, the amenities were of a much higher standard than the boats, which brought us out from England. When dawn came, we were still at anchor but we pulled out to sea during the morning. We were on our way to Italy and the sea was calm.

The days passed with little incident — just a question of eating, sleeping and resting. At night, when the sea roughened up a little, spray scudded over our beds on deck, snuggled under groundsheets and tarpaulins sleep was fresh and invigorating. The passage of the Straits of Messina made one realise how difficult it was to prevent the Axis armies from reaching the mainland as there was so little water for their guns to cover. Beyond seeing Stromboli, nothing else to report.

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