大象传媒

17. Ben and I, along with a few others were befriended by a family whose apartment overlooked the beach on which we had landed and they invited us to visit them and have a meal with them, and invitation which we gladly accepted, the meal being followed by a few toasts of eau-de- vie. Our host had previously placed a cube of sugar in a dish and now poured some of the liqueur on to it and set it alight, the flame leaping a few feet in the air giving some indication of [ its potency. The following afternoon during our two hours leave, we went into a bistro in Algiers which Ben had found and where eau-de-vie was on sale, Ben deciding to spend some of his military money on a glass or two. Ben had five glasses and felt on top of the world. When returning to the lycee he began walking on the trarn1ines running down the middle of the road when unfortunately he slipped and caught one of his boots in one of the lines. Just then a tram could be heard approaching with much clanging of its bell by the irate Arab driver. Ben frantically struggled to free his boot but to no avail until I suggested to him that the only thing to do was to quickly unlace his boot, which he did in the nick of time hopping away on one foot while the tram crushed his boot. The following day he was placed on a charge of neglect and loss of equipment, a charge which did not go down well with him, when all he had been doing at the time was to enjoy himself
On the 23rd of October, 1942, the 8th Army under the command of General Bernard Montgomery had launched an offensive at EI鈥� Alamein, in Egypt which resulted in the full retreat westwards of the Africa Korps under the command of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, known as the 鈥楧esert Fox鈥�. The objective of the 1st Army was now to push eastwards to meet up with the 8th Army. Our duties therefore consisted of carrying out night coastal landings behind the enemy lines, carrying out reconnaissance work and causing as much damage possible before returning after each raid to our Mother Ship the 鈥楻oyal Scotsman 鈥�.

18. The 鈥楻oyal Scotsman 鈥� now an LSI, [Landing Ship Infantry], was owned by the Burns Laird Shipping Line, which with its sister ship the 鈥楻oyal Ulsterman鈥�, was in peacetime a very popular ferry, well versed in the carrying of large numbers of passengers and cattle between Belfast and Glasgow. In wartime the cattle carrying decks had been modified to carry large numbers of troops.
From our craft we carried out raids hedgehopping along the coast, firstly at Bougie [Betaia] and then at Djidjelli, Phillipville [Skikda], Bone [Annaba] and the small ports of La Calle and Tabarka always being accompanied by the usual incessant enemy air attacks.
One of our raids I remember in particular. This was when, in order to move rapidly, mules were used to carry all the usual heavy machine guns, grenades, mortars, ammunition and sticky bombs, the latter for attaching on to any enemy equipment which we would find.
One of the hazards of such a sea-borne landing was the encountering of false beaches or sand banks, usually about 200 yards plus out from the water line. In such cases when the craft鈥檚 ramp was lowered it went down at quite an angle. On that particular night, with a pale moon shining, the coxswain believed that the assault craft had grounded on the beach, and gave the order to lower the ramp. The mules as they disembarked just went forward into very deep water, disappearing under the weight of the heavy equipment that they were carrying, with no hope whatsoever of their being rescued. Their Indian muleteers just went berserk as their magnificent mules sank beneath the water. The animals which they had attended to, cared for, and to which they were devoted, were no more. Without the equipment the raid was aborted. The muleteers had to be physically restrained when they tried to throw themselves over the side of the craft and sobbed uncontrollably all the way back to the 鈥楻oyal Scotsman 鈥�.

19. So in such a brief space of time so much had happened, the muleteers giving an example of the total devotion and concern that they had for the animals under their care and which had been lost through no fault of their own. An example of the total loyalty that can be shown by humans to animals under their protection.
With the subsequent blockade of the Mediterranean coast line complete, and with the meeting
of the 1st and 8th Armies in Tunis on the 7th of May, 1943 all Axis resistance in Tunisia ceased 5 days later. So ended the fighting in North Africa, the 1st Army being disbanded.
This Axis surrender had serious repercussions for both the German and Italian armies. The
capture of eight divisions in Tunisia, including Rommel鈥檚 veterans, and the elite of the Italian
army, left Italy and the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia almost bereft of defensive cover. C鈥� These forces might have provided a powerful defence for the Italian gateway to Europe, and the Allied chances of a successful invasion would have been slim.
Sicily was to be the next target but it was only a shortage of sufficient shipping that had
prevented a landing on the underbelly of Europe before the summer of 1943. Before invading
Sicily the Allies had to dispose of the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Pantelleria. The former island, 150 miles south of Sicily quickly surrendered to Allied bombardment. The Allied
display of strength again proving enough for the Italian defenders and the assault on fortified Pantelleria on the 10th of June, 1943 was a one sided affair.
The Allies then made ready for the assault on Sicily, code-named Operation 鈥楬usky鈥�. We left Sfax, in Tunisia, on the 5th of July, our craft once again swinging on the davits of the 鈥楻oyal Scotsman 鈥渏oining 34 convoys all steaming eastwards. The head of this combined fleet had
almost reached Greece as the time for invasion loomed, thus giving the enemy the impression
that Greece was to be the actual target; but with the tail of the fleet being by then off Sicily, all ships and craft now turned 180 degrees, for this tail was in fact the spear head, and the head off Greece, was the tail following.

20. The invasion was on, at that time the greatest sea-borne force ever embarked. The number of craft and troops involved were only exceeded in 1944 by the Normandy landings. Operation 鈥楬usky鈥� was co-ordinated from an underground operations room located in one of Malta鈥檚 caves close to Valetta harbour. On the 10th of July, 1943 in spite of a force 7 gale the sea-
borne assault went ahead as planned. As we went ashore Ben and I 鈥榝ound鈥� an Oxy-acetylene
cylinder and discovered that when we turned its key it emitted a hissing sound. Lifting it on to our shoulders we set off at a brisk trot up the beach, and with the Italians hearing the hissing, and in the half light probably thinking that we were a two man suicide bomb team, quickly
vacated that part of the beach, the main body of troops as they stormed ashore meeting only
with limited opposition from the coastal defences. These defences had been taken completely by surprise, as with a heavy swell running and a violent storm blowing the enemy鈥檚 coastal
watch had been relaxed, but by the time that the sun had risen it was mirror calm, with a secure beachhead having been well established.
And so we made our way back to the 鈥楻oyal Scotsman鈥� which was waiting for us and returned on the 12th of July to Souse [Suss] also in Tunisia.
Sicily fell to the Allied armies on the 16th of August, with another stage along the road to
victory having been completed, with the next step being to get troops ashore on the mainland of Italy and on the 2nd of September the 8th Army crossed the 3mi1e wide Straits of Meson to Reggie in Operation code-named鈥� Bay town 鈥�.
There was little opposition to the landing as the Axis forces had withdrawn to defensive
positions beyond the range of Allied air cover and the 8th Army advanced 200 miles up the toe of Italy

21. On the 3rd of September, we left Tripoli in the 鈥楻oyal Scotsman鈥� in convoy to take part in
Operation 鈥楢valanche鈥� which was scheduled for the 9th, the plan being for troops of the British 5th Army, together with American troops to land at Salerno, 130 miles further up the Italian west coast. The Gulf of Salerno is a broad sandy bay, wide enough to permit a full scale
landing, and closely guarded by a circle of hills which run east to west, dividing the bay from
the plain around Naples. It was to be a four pronged invasion with the seizure of Naples, just 30 miles to the north, the port that the Allies coveted more than any other, as the prime
objective. The Americans would land south of the Sele River and the British would land north of the river, just south of the City of Salerno. Air support for the initial landings would be
from our bases in Sicily, 200 miles away, with British Spitfires having sufficient fuel for just 20 minutes over the battle area and Lightning鈥檚 for one hour.
On the 7th as the convoys of ships and landing craft steamed towards the Italian mainland a message came over the ship鈥檚 鈥榯annoy鈥� system announcing that the Italian government had
surrendered its armed forces unconditionally. There had been previous rumours on board of
Italy鈥檚 imminent capitulation, but on hearing the confirmation there was an immediate outburst of cheering and much backslapping, with a carnival mood prevailing which became infectious.. To us it came as a reprieve from the prospect of a long hard war.
Little did we know at the time that German Field Marshall Kesselring was so sure that the
Allies would land at Salerno, that he not only fortified the positions along the coast, but also sent a crack Panzer Division there to carry out anti-invasion exercises. This division laid
minefields, prepared tank traps, set up their powerful 88 mm guns, and dug itself in on the white beaches and also on the overlooking heights. Sea mines were laid in the bay. These
were painted a very pale shade of green, which in any light made them very difficult to spot.

The enemy was ready and waiting for us.

22. The convoys steamed on eastwards of Sicily, picked up speed and in a spectacular manoeuvre veered north towards the Gulf of Salerno. H-Hour was less than nine hours away. Another 鈥楧er Tag鈥� had arrived. As we approached the shore we were subjected to a very hostile reception. The enemy鈥檚 six barrelled 鈥楴ebelwerfers鈥�, 鈥楳oaning Minnies鈥�, proved very
effective weapons, firing from the hills and were, if nothing else, a nerve wracking experience. The infamous German 88 mm guns were firing at us over open sights. All troops had to work very hard to secure a hold on their section of the beaches as the bombing and murderous shelling continued unabated. By mid afternoon extremely heavy artillery fire aimed by the enemy firing down from the hilltops was falling on the troops positions. The 10th British Corps of the 5th Army were under very heavy pressure from enemy tanks, infantry and artillery and it became vital to hold the defence line to prevent more enemy reinforcements moving in from Naples. The enemy鈥檚 artillery fire was answered by the Royal Naval Monitors, HMS 鈥楨rebus鈥� and HMS 鈥楻oberts鈥� firing their 15 inch guns, assisted by cruisers and destroyers out in the bay. This did nothing for the defenders, but did everything for our morale, for as each of the salvoes passed overhead, a ragged cheer could be heard rising along the bullet-lashed beaches. During the second night the Germans counter -attacked strongly and drove a wedge between the British and American forces almost reaching the sea.
All the ships in the bay were ordered to maintain a full head of steam in case it should become necessary to evacuate the troops. Craft layoff the beaches at the ready, living in a perpetual smokescreen to stop the enemy鈥檚 88 mm guns picking them off from the hilltops, with beach control being practically non existent. Eventually, with the landing of the British 1st Guards Division with heavy armour, control was recovered, but now the Germans introduced a new and potent weapon, the FX1400 radio controlled Glider bombs, weighing 3,000 pounds.

23. These Glider bombs, if released at 18,000 feet, at a speed of 800 feet per second, at the end of its trajectory could neither be shot down by gunfire nor avoided by manoeuvring.
These bombs damaged several cruisers which had to be towed out of the bay back to Malta for repairs. They also severely damaged the Hospital Ship 鈥楴ewfoundland鈥�, which was waiting in the bay and which sank with a heavy loss of life.
Our particular objective had been a tobacco processing factory just 400 yards inland, but with the murderous enfilade fire traversing our 鈥榩atch鈥� we would have been shot to pieces in a matter of seconds had we ventured out of our hastily dug foxholes. It was only as darkness fell each day that we risked setting forth, when the firing decreased somewhat, to fill our water bottles from one of the rivers running down into the Gulfand also to gather some of the tomatoes which grew all around. These were our only source of sustenance, and we had just one aim in life and that was to try and stay alive, otherwise we would be of no use to anyone. Hell has many names, Salerno is one of them.
I suffered for many years after the war with chronic ulcerative colitis and was eventually referred to a Harley Street Specialist. He must have seen other ex-service men with the same complaint, because he told me that the cause of my trouble was from the effect of drinking water running down into the Gulf of Salerno and which had been poisoned by the Germans. Not until some time after the landings was the success of Operation 鈥楢valanche鈥� assured, the 8th Army advancing north from the toe of Italy to link up, south of Salerno, with the remaining troops of the 5th Army.

24. On the 6th of October, we were ordered aboard the SS 鈥楨mpire Farmer鈥� an American built
Liberty Ship. She had discharged her cargo at Salerno, and not having taken on any ballast she rode very high in the water. She was to take us through the Straits of Messina to Malta, where we were to be drafted to the Shore Establishment, HMS 鈥楶hoenica鈥� at Floriana, and which is now one of Malta鈥檚 grandest and most prodigious hotels, 鈥楲e Meridian Phoenica鈥�. There being no suitable fittings in the mess deck of our transport from which we could sling our hammocks, we were allocated bunks in which to sleep, and with real food to eat, this was sheer bliss.
During the night as we passed through the Straits, a violent storm blew up, the result being
that we were tossed out of our bunks, across the mess deck to the sound of breaking crockery and glassware, together with the creaking of all doors as they swung to and fro. In the midst of all this, the ship鈥檚 siren began to sound, giving an unending series of long and short blasts. Being able to read the Morse Code we were able to decipher some words, the remainder being just gibberish. We all formed the opinion that the poor wireless operator must be out of
practice, and at the least, should be sent on a refresher course. With such a storm raging no one volunteered to venture up on deck so we all decided to stay put. If we had to abandon
ship, then we would wait for such an order. No such order came, and when dawn broke and with the sea almost mirror calm again, we went up on deck. Here we found the cause of the 鈥楳orse鈥�. It was that the galley stack, which had been broken by the force of the gale, had
fallen on to the wire connected to the ship鈥檚 siren, where it鈥檚 rocking to and fro had caused us so much alarm.
In Malta, we suffered along with the Maltese people, the non stop bombing by German dive bombers by day and the high level bombing at night.

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