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This story has been written onto the ´óÏó´«Ã½ People’s War site by Callington U3A — Meg Bassett — on behalf of Mr A M Wilkie, my deceased uncle, who donated his memoirs to me.

We were transported to America Transit Camp where we received our orders — 8th Army — Invasion of Sicily.

On arrival at Syracuse, our task was to build dummy tanks out of canvas and wood in the huge shed at the docks. But we soon began to move northwards, while General Patton and his armour headed west and captured Palermo. At one time Catania defenders were decimated by malaria, fortunately not known to the German army. Eventually we reached Messina, then to Reggio Calabria, the first captured Italian city we had seen. The advance bombing had destroyed most of the city centre and the terminus for the Italian State Railways. Fires created clouds of acrid smoke which drifted everywhere. Scattered letters and papers blew in the streets, while the bombed out houses revealed the level of destruction. Most of the dead bodies had been removed but the smell of death hung in the air. Crowds of ragged civilians roamed the city, looting the shattered stores for clothes, food and drink. The Italian civil police seemed to have vanished with just military police in control.

Extract from the memoirs of ex-Sapper Alastair Mackenzie Wilkie 19004664

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