大象传媒

The Italian Campaign:

September 1943: Embarked on U.S. Navy Landing Craft at Tripoli, crossed the Mediterranean to liberate Europe through Sicily and Italy. We were heavily shelled as we approached land between Sicily and Italy. Our Regiment didn鈥檛 have any casualties, but some of the landing craft (with unseasoned troops from the U.K) had a bad time and lost a lot of men before they could get off the craft. This would have been a nice trip in peace time as there were some lovely views, particularly as we went between Sicily and Italy. Of course we had other things on our minds at the time besides taking in the view.

We landed at Salerno in the south of Italy under the command of 2nd. AGRA, 10th. British Corps, 5th. U.S. Army. (5th. Allied Army as we called it). We were joined by some unseasoned troops from the U.K. Not many of them survived. Once you got through the initial experience of battle you stood a better chance, as you knew the signs and sounds. You could actually see in the dark, and most of our operations were carried out in the dark. It鈥檚 not something you can be trained to do. Like most things it comes with practice and experience. At least that鈥檚 the way I have learned things.

Movement was slow in the Italian hills. We were with the 5th. U.S. (Allied) Army, and were stuck between Salerno and Rome for months. Trying to avoid damage to Rome and Monte Casino Monastery cost us a lot of time and casualties. When the German war planes came over we ran for cover. When the British planes went over the Germans ran for cover. But, when the U.S. planes were up there, everybody ran for cover. Even the livestock in the fields were not safe. The narrow roads through the villages were regularly blocked with rubble, so we usually had to drive through fields, where we lost a lot of time winching our guns out of the bogs. We often positioned our guns on the hard standing in farmyards until we found that houses were an easy target to spot on the map.

When positioned near a farmhouse we would use the outhouses for shelter from the cold and rain. We sometimes slept there with the animals. They were as good as central heating. The farmers often treated us to wine. At that time their red wine was horrible. We called it red biddy. The white wine was nice, and it only cost the equivalent of a shilling (5p) a bottle. Other stronger Italian drinks were vermouth and Marseille. The Italians, like the French, normally only drank wine with a meal. They considered it a disgrace to be seen under the influence of drink in public. So they probably didn鈥檛 think much of the allied troops who were often seen staggering about under the influence.

As the Italian language came natural to me I was often used as interpreter when dealing with the civil authorities. They could sometimes give us useful information about the German troop positions, but it wasn鈥檛 always reliable. They were often more cooperative when dealing with someone who tried to communicate in their language.

So it took from September 1943 to May 1945 to liberate Italy, including two cold and wet Winters. Also we had civilians strolling about in the middle of the gun positions, putting everyone at risk. We made friends with Italian families when possible, but, there was always the odd one that betrayed our trust and spoiled it for the rest. In Southern Italy we frequently saw the man riding on a donkey while the woman walked behind, usually carrying a load on her head. I did feel sorry for the Italians, particularly the women. They had been led into the worst of both worlds, and were never sure which side they were supposed to be on.

October 1943: U.C. (Under command) of 56 London Division north of Aversa. Heavy exchanges of artillery fire, strafing from the air and hand to hand fighting in the hills. We were plagued by mosquitoes all over the South of Italy.
Under command of 46 British Division for battle of Volturno. We were so close to the enemy here that we couldn鈥檛 use vehicles. They would make too much noise. We had to manhandle the big guns and ammunition across the river Volturno. Moved back to 56 Division near Casupula. Here we regrouped and re-planned our strategy for the approach to Monte Casino.
October - November 1943: Crossing of the river Volturno near Capua, capture of Sparanise, breaking of the Barbara Line near Rocccamonfina. The first battle of Monte Casino. The Germans were still able to get through with their planes to strafe us, but most of the planes we saw at this stage were very high flying (as usual) American bombers. I don鈥檛 know what they were aiming at, but some of their bombs landed very close to us.

It was here that I was wounded for the first time on or about the 23rd. October again, when we took a direct hit from the enemy artillery and our ammunition was blown up. I was the only casualty on this occasion. I must have been knocked out completely for some time, as I thought it was the end for me, and I imagined I was speaking to my Mum, trying to let her know that I was not afraid and that I couldn鈥檛 feel any pain. When I regained consciousness I assumed that part of my back had been blown away, as I couldn鈥檛 move or speak. I was lying with my feet across the leg of the gun and my head on the ground. I could see my cigarette burning in a little pool of blood and hear the ammunition exploding. I wondered if all the others had been hit and whether anyone would find me. As it turned out I was the only one hit and when the explosions ceased they found me. Although the M.O. (Medical Officer) was present, it was my mates Kimberlin, Renshaw and Jock Grant (a Sgt. from the next gun) who initially bandaged me up and did their best to make me as comfortable as possible on the stretcher. By the way Jock Grant, who later became the troop sergeant major, was killed by falling off his motor bike the day we pulled out of action in Italy.

I remember being put on the stretcher and taken away by ambulance. It was very rough ground and I started to feel the pain with the movement of the ambulance. The Padre was in the ambulance with me trying to console me by asking could I hear our guns firing. I could hear the noise all right, but I knew it wasn鈥檛 our guns. It was just as well that I hadn鈥檛 got my voice back yet, as he wouldn鈥檛 have wanted to hear my comments. I was taken to several Field Dressing Stations (tents) where they replaced the dressing each time, gave me sweet tea and held cigarettes for me to smoke. I was then passed on to the next dressing station, and so on until I finished up in a hospital in Naples, where they took the offending bit of steel out of my neck. When I woke up after the operation the surgeon was standing by the stretcher and seemed relieved that I was conscience. I was pleased that it wasn鈥檛 my back, but it was still a close call. He gave me the shrapnel, a jagged piece of metal about two inches long, which had been lodged deep in my neck. A piece of bone was also broken off, but it was the cut nerves that were the real problem.

I was then put on a plane and assumed I was going back to England. 鈥淓nd of the war for me鈥� I thought. However when we landed I could see a lot of sand and found myself in a place called Sukharas, Algeria (Africa again) for hospitalisation. So I was out of the front line for a few battles. By this time I knew I was going to make it, but it wasn鈥檛 until a couple of months later that I believed I wouldn鈥檛 be permanently disabled. Most of the wounded in the hospital (tent) were in a far worse state than me. Some had lost legs, arms, eyes etc. They tended to keep the wounds open for a long time in the Middle East climate, presumably to ensure they were completely clean. The smell was not nice. Then it was a case of practising movements until I was reasonably well, apart from the sense of feeling in my fingertips being still absent.

It was about two months before I literally made my own way back to my unit. It was a bit like hitchhiking, or working my passage. I didn鈥檛 fancy being sent to a different unit amongst strangers, so I made my own way back to Italy, and to my Regiment. That was a long, rough and dangerous journey which I should never have attempted. I was hungry, wet and cold for most of the journey and didn鈥檛 have any weapons to defend myself if I found myself in enemy lines.

While I was in hospital the Regiment did quite a lot of moving from one battle to another. But when I returned they were not far from where I had left them, and Casino had still not been taken. I told them that they couldn鈥檛 do it without me, and to 鈥済et on with it鈥� now that I was back! At this stage I still didn鈥檛 have feeling in my finger-tips, so I couldn鈥檛 lace my boots, do up buttons or anything that required a sensitive touch. They told me that time was the only thing that would cure the damaged nerves. As it turned out they were right. So I volunteered to do all sorts of manual work, like lifting heavy ammunition etc., until I was fit to do my usual job which was 鈥渓aying鈥� the guns. No counselling for stress in those days! Getting back into action after being out for a while was nearly as bad as going into action for the first time. Every little sound made me jump, and I was unable to distinguish between the sound of our guns and the sound of shells dropping until I got used to it again.

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