大象传媒

The year 1944 opened with a football match, a visit to Cairo with Derrick Townsend. an exercise, laying anti-personnel and dummy mines and a spell of very cold weather which led to the issue of a rum ration. Later in the month he was able call on his old pals in 225 Field Company who were just back from North Africa. Before he left on 21st March for a Transit Camp near Port Said with his Batman (Sapper Jock Yetman) and a Lance Corporal) he had completed an Admin Course at Deer Seneid in Palestine. and a new O.C Major Dick Copplestone had arrived The next day they boarded HMS Circassia where he shared a cabin with Vasek Fladr, Philip Holborne and a Naval Officer. They landed at Port Augusta in Sicily on 28th March 1944 and set off for their final destination , a camp five miles North of Naples. On April 9th, he was joined by a Lieutenant Hugh Le Warne as his 2 I/C.
On 16th April he went on a recce to look at four Nissen huts which were occupied by the Guards, but could be observed by the Germans. On 18th his men were up.before first light, to prepare foundations for the four huts in a safer position where they could not be seen. Afterwards he stayed for lunch in the Guards Officers' Mess. While he was there he saw a Corporal with six Guardsmen returning from a Patrol, obviously very tired and straggling along the road. The Sergeant Major saw them and yelled out "Corporal! What do you think this is, the retreat from Moscow?" In the meantime his Batman and Jeep Driver had to go to Hospital with malaria; as a replacement he was given Sapper Charlie Roberts who normally acted as Medical Orderly. On 22nd May 1 and 2 troop and H.Q. moved away to build culverts and diversions but his Troop moved to Forli del Sanio. One task was to lay decking on a Bailey Bridge at night without making a sound in the darkness. On 3rd June the Troop moved from Forli and rejoined the Squadron for a move to Cassino where the Troop spent its time filling potholes on Highway 6, the road to Rome. Another task was to build a prisoner of war camp for the prisoners who started to arrive on 13th June. Among the prisoners was a German Officer who spoke excellent English and had been on the Russian front. In conversation he remarked: "In an attack where you and I would try and do an outflanking movement the Russians just come straight at you; no matter how many are mown down they still keep coming." He also said "We have the Italians as allies, you have the Americans, so we're quits," implying that neither were any good as soldiers.
On 27th June with Jock Yetman (Batman/Jeep driver) he went out as an advance party to within five miles of the front line at Perugia and on the 29th the Troop started putting in the base plates for a 130 foot triple, triple Bailey bridge. (Triple, triple meant three panels wide and three panels high, which was the biggest Bailey built thus far). Six Squadron were also on it working from the other side. On that day Perugia was shelled and seven were killed. They spent five days working on that bridge and then began work on another 130' bridge a few days later. All seemed to be going well until the bridge suddenly started to float away. Fortunately it jammed on the far bank. There were a troop of tanks nearby so he got one to drive onto the bridge to weigh it down and another to tow it back with a steel hawser.
Having previously had a narrow escape from a sniper鈥檚 bullet earlier, on 18th July his luck ran out. . His Scout Car was shelled and the blast perforated an ear drum. After a period of convalescence he rejoined the Squadron at Lido de Roma. On the 30th his Troop was building a long cross country diversion to bypass a blown bridge when Sapper Holdsworth was badly injured after stepping on a mine. The slow advance began that night. In the small hours of 10th/11th September they were bombed but the following night 1 and 2 Troop went into action with 3 Troop held in reserve. There were casualties. From 1 Troop 3 had been killed and 5 including the Troop Leader, Vasek Fladr injured. 2 Troop had 2 killed and 3 injured. Whilst clearing mines on the night of the 15th, they did not realise there were Gurkhas motionless in the hedge beside the road until one approached unnoticed, touched his helmet and said " Tike hai Sahib" (O.K., Sir). His steel helmet was the Gurkha way of telling friend from foe.
On 18th September the whole Squadron moved forward and as usual quickly dug slit trenches but this did not prevent casualties from shelling. Sapper Bear had a leg injury and Hugh Le Warne was killed. Together with the O.C. and a few others he went to his burial and in the absence of the Padre read out the burial service.
The next few days were spent clearing the roads of fallen trees and keeping the traffic flowing over the Marecchia River in the appalling weather. When they started again on 30th September some vehicles had to be winched out of the mud before they would start. Flooded roads meant that Rome was not reached until October. In Rome he managed to join a party for an audience with the Pope (Pius XII) and become one of the few the Pope spoke to.
Leaving Rome on the 9th October his Troop rejoined the Squadron at Pescata, where there was incident in which a mortar bomb was thrown and Sapper Begley鈥檚 was injured.
Meanwhile the road had to be kept open. It was continually being washed away in one place by water pouring down the hill from a farmhouse. To turn off the taps, left running by the Germans, he had to walk up the hill, little realising that the area was mined. A Sapper from 1 Troop had been badly injured by a Schu mine the previous day making the same journey. Schu mines were small wooden mines about four inches (10cms) by three (7.6 cms) which could not be detected by a mine detector
November brought more work keeping the route for the 10th Indian Division open, a demonstration of an Ark, which was a Churchill tank with no turret and removable ramps at each end for tanks to drive over to cross a small river and the arrival of new O.C., Major Bob France M.C. There was good news on the 13th: leave to England was to commence shortly..
On the 17th they learned that the Squadron , by now billeted in Folignio was to be split up into smaller Units of two Assault Troops and a Sherman Dozer Troop and therefore not all who volunteered could be accepted After a farewell party on the 21st all those leaving and those who had been abroad for 41/2 years, these included Sergeant Bob Bromley, L/Sergeant Jones and Lance Corporals Stallwood and O'Connell..left the Squadron..
Leave in Rome with Vasek Fladr followed on 22nd November but this was cut short by a signal ordering his return to the Squadron for a Wireless course at Rieti with Curly Waddell, Phillip Holborne and Tony Roper. and a course on driving and maintaining Churchill tanks which lasted until Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day 1944 the Officers laid the tables and served dinner for the men.

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