大象传媒

Not Much Fun at Home, Either!

The bombs were dropping at home as well as the blitz was reaching its peak. Doris and her mother Tilly often used to shelter in one of the underground stations, and were grateful they had one particular night, when they returned to their flat in Whitman House, Bethnal Green they found that a bomb had landed directly outside, killing two neighbours in the flat below. Doris found shards of glass from the window embedded in the headboard of the bed where in different circumstances she would have been asleep (see photo overleaf).

7.
El Alamein .

By the beginning of April the Division returned to the desert and in June 1942 was involved in battles for the Gazala Line and The Cauldron before having to withdraw to the El Alamein Line with the rest of the British Army, where it was involved in the battle for First Alamein. During the confusion of battle and subsequent retreat Fred was driving a 15 cwt truck full of supplies for the Officers Mess with Jock Steele, the officers cook as passenger along a desert road when it was passed within feet by a German troop lorry going in the opposite direction. Not wishing to hang around Fred veered to the right into the desert and put his foot down. They decided to lie low for the night and the only source of food was of course the supplies (including spirits) in the back of the truck. During the course of the night they were joined by an artillery unit of a few men and had quite a party. During the night they were bombed by the R.A.F. (a fact they established by reading the markings on the parachute flares that were being dropped). Being in no particular hurry given the circumstances the pair managed to spend another night in the desert away from their unit in the same fashion. On the third day they made it back to their unit with a much lighter load and much thicker waistlines. 鈥淪omebody thought they saw your truck turnover鈥� said the officer. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 right鈥� said Fred quick as a flash, 鈥渁 lot of stuff got spoiled as we went over鈥�, and realising this would get them off the hook with respect to the missing supplies. They were subsequently praised for righting the truck and commended for their conduct during the incident.

Tobruk fell on the 21st June and with allied forces at their lowest ebb General Montgomery was put in charge. The Division again went through major refitting and then played a part in the defeat of the German Panzer forces during the battle of Alum Halfa in August and September 1942.

Now began the most important battle of the desert war. In October 1942 the British offensive of El Alamain was started with the breakout called Operation Supercharge through enemy lines pursuing the retreating Germans and Italians along the North African coast back over the old battlegrounds of 1940-41.

About 20 miles short of Tripoli on a very narrow stretch of road the Crusader tank Fred was driving shed a track and came to a halt, completely blocking the advance. Fred drove the tank back over the track and was banging the pin out with a 7 pound hammer when he missed the pin resulting in a very swollen hand. At this exact moment the tank commander came up and said 鈥渃ome on Smith you鈥檙e holding up the entire xxxxing 8th Army!鈥� - an achievement Rommel only managed on a limited number of occasions.

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