大象传媒

Sousse and Sfax were now in our hands and we had moved up near Sfax. Montgomery had neared Enfidaville but was held up by German gunners who had built their strong points in the caves and holes in the sides of the hills. The army had tried artillery and raiding parties of Ghurka troops to no avail. The airforce and army got together and came up with the solution. Why not use Spitfires and their cannons? The outcome was that half of our squadron moved up with the army and the planes landed on the beach nearby and were operated from there.

It seemed strange working amongst the army artillery guns and infantry. Our beach was used to Red Cross Airlifts. I shall never forget seeing a Ghurka soldier walking towards the aircraft. Part of his arm was shot away. He told us, 鈥淚t is a small price to pay, I have killed six Germans.鈥� I assumed someone must have applied a tourniquet before he arrived at the airstrip for transport to the hospital.

The Spitfires flew many missions with the pilots risking life and limb by flying straight at a position with all cannons blazing. The outcome was a success. The Germans were overrun and the road to Tunis was opened up. After it was all over, we were able to climb these gun positions and see for ourselves how strong they were. In one of these we moved a big stone in the wall round the gunpit and discovered why it didn鈥檛 seem to fit in with the rest. At the back of the stone was a cavity and in it wqas a cabinet with a lock. It was beautifully made and contained the finest cameras, equipment and binoculars. Obviously, the owner hoped some day to return, maybe on a package holiday to Tunis, and reclaim his lost possessions. The contents were shared between their finders.

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