大象传媒

The 8th Army had left Africa and was by this time in Italy,(1944-45) but forces still remained in Africa guarding strategic points. My father, usually known as Kelly, was helping to look after a camp of Italian and German prisoners of war. He was on good terms with most of them, as they were by and large ordinary chaps - except for a few Nazis, who were given a wide berth by all. The Italians in particular were easy going young men, but Dad had a disagreement with one who threatened him.
"Kelly, I breaka the jaw"
to which Dad replied, "Tony, if you breaka the jaw, I breaka the leg."
He used to enjoy telling us this story and many others when we were children. He also told us that he often took a truck load of Italian prisoners to the cinema in the back of a lorry. As their uniform was similar to that of the British Army in the desert, they didn't arouse much interest as long as they kept fairly quiet.

The German prisoners too were well treated as he often supplied them with currants or rasins to make schnapps.

RAF types and officers would often come to the camp looking for special items of clothing which Dad and his mate Yorky used to supply. I imagine he musty have had quite a healthy business going ....He had a smattering of arabic too, and I remember him saying a few stock phrases such as "Araf arabic?" "Enta quiess"? (I'm not sure if these are the correct spellings, but the sound is just as Dad would speak them.)

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