Cpl. Ronald Crowshaw 309 Coy. Royal Army Service Corps
My father, Ronald Crowshaw, enlisted on 3rd of March 1941 in Barnsley at the age of 18 into the 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and was sent to Loughborough for basic training on the 7th March. After completing basic training the battalion moved in April, on foot, to Cleethorpes. The battalion role was coastal defence and troops were billeted in Cleethorpes and Grimsby. The Company then moved to Goxhill Airfield in support of RAF ground defence. The airfield was later transferred to the American Air Force. It was during this period that the 70th Bn were being split up. There was a shortage of miners, and ex-miners were being sent back to the pit. There was also a shortage of drivers and so to ensure that he did not get sent back to the pit, he volunteered to become a driver and was sent to the RASC Army Driver Training School at Clay Cross in Derbyshire.
In early June 1942 he was ordered to report to Woking in Surrey. A group of them were taken to a large country mansion where they were issued with tropical khaki uniforms and pith helmets. The draft was then transported by train, under MP escort, to the Glasgow port of Gourock. During this time they were not allowed off the train and no letters home were allowed. On arrival at the port, they were ferried out in small parties to the awaiting troop ships at anchor in the Clyde. He embarked on board the SS Cersasia and on 6th of June 1942 Convoy RHHOH set sail for destinations unknown.
The first port of call was Freetown in Sierra Leone and then on to Durban in South Africa. Here the troops disembarked and stayed at Clairwood Camp for a few weeks enjoying the local attractions and hospitality! In July of 1942 it was time to set sail again and the troops embarked on the SS Felix Russell, a French registered ship, which had been previously used to transport Italian POWs.
North Africa: The troops disembarked at Port Taufiq on the Suez Canal and moved into transit camps around Farid and Ismalia. The troops were battlefield replacements for those captured or killed at Tobruk and on 21st October 1942 Pte Crowshaw was posted (up the blue) to 309 Coy RASC (Corps troops) part of 30 Corps (Eighth Army). He was employed on convoy duties which included the delivery of dummy slit trenches to Kidney Ridge, bombs to the RAF at Marble Arch, and resupply of ammunition and fuel.
During this period the convoy was attacked and strafed by German fighters following the battle for Hellfire Pass. On 20th April he was employed on troop transport duties. He picked up the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry from Tobruk and moved them to their start line positions for the Battle at Enfideville on the 26th. By now he had been promoted to Lance Corporal and his North African campaign had taken him from Egypt, through Libya and in to Tunisia - a distance of approx 1600 miles. He continued to collect and transport supplies and troops to Benghazi, Mersa el Brega, Tripoli, Sfax and many more unnamed places in the desert.
Sicily: On 13th April 1943 L/Cpl Crowshaw boarded a ship in Sfax Harbour, destination unknown. After only one day at sea the convoy docked at the port of Valetta in Malta on 15th June[?] and disembarked to begin the preparation for the invasion of Sicily. The Company landed on H+2 (12th July) at 1600 hours on the beaches near Avola and went into action in support of 107th Med Fd Arty RA (Army Artillery Group). Over the next couple of weeks the Company was supporting operations with the delivery of ammunition and fuel to forward units. The convoy was subject to a number of air attacks and on 16th July was strafed on the road from Vizzina to Grammicheli. Convoy duties continued into August until the cessation of hostilities on 17th August at 1100 hours.
Italy: 309 Coy RASC landed at Reggio Calabria on 10th September 1943. On the 22nd the Company moved to Brindisi via Taranto employed on dock work. On 5th October 309 Company was attached to 110 Detail Issue Depot RAOC collecting and delivering stores. The weather had deteriorated with heavy rain and two soldiers of the Company died from malaria. On 13th the Company moved to Foggia. The advance continued and on 15th October the Company was transferred to bridging operations in support of 56 (London) Division and 78th (Battle Axe) Division. During October and early November the Company was conducting tasks between San Saverno, Barletta and Foggia, during which time the heavy rains continued.
German air raids were now taking place and during the latter part of November he contracted malaria and impetigo (a skin disorder). Some days were spent in bed but he also continued carrying out details to Bari and Foggia. The illness continued into December. However, by the 8th he was again on daily tasks to Termoli and San Salvo. From 9th to 22nd December the Company were supporting the Royal Engineers on bridging tasks on the Tringo River, then building the Chelsea Bridge and delivering more bridging to Camomorino. The weather was very bad and vehicles were bogged in. The Company had a break for Christmas at the camp in San Salvo and on Christmas day the troops were served gunfire (tea with rum).
My father's diary records 'best dinner in 4 years got drunk'. The Company was working on the 26th and by the 27th it was back to normal - convoy work, bridging and the rain. On the 27th L/Cpl Crowshaw was on a detail in support of the REs to Vasto and on the 28th his gearbox seized and his vehicle had to be recovered back to workshops at Ururi via Larino. On New Year's Eve the vehicle was still in the workshops and the rainstorms did not cease and L/Cpl Crowshaw spent the night in his vehicle. In his diary my father sums up 1943 as Not a bad year. (He was after all still alive.)
On or about 25th of March 1944, elements of the 8th Army, including 309 Company, were secretly moved from their positions on the Adriatic coast in support of the 5th Army at Cassino. It was in March 1944 that Mount Vesuvius (south of Naples) erupted, covering the surrounding country with a deep layer of volcanic ash. During this time 309 Company were in support of the 5th Field Company South African Engineers at Cassino. Only my father knows what sights and sounds he witnessed and what danger he and his Company were exposed to during this terrible battle and one thing is for sure, there were no bystanders during the battle to take Monte Cassino and every soldier played a vital part in the operation, especially the RASC drivers who had to run the daily gauntlet on Highway 6 (Speedy Highway).
309 Compay were now in support of the 5th British Corps on the right flank of the 2nd Polish Corps. Rimini fell on 21st September, the Savio and Ronco rivers were crossed at the end of October and Forli was taken on the 9th November. The rainfall had been very heavy up to mid-December, which was followed by a deep covering of snow for two months. In the lower valleys, mud was the biggest problem and remained so until March. During this period the Eighth Army, including 309 Company, were undergoing rest and re-training.
The main allied offensive started on 9th April 1945 with a tremendous artillery bombardment against the first German defensive line on the Senio. 309 Company provided support to 78th (Battleaxe) Division. 309 Company had continued to support 78 Division RE Bridging units who constructed bridges over the Rivers Senio, Santerno, Sillaro and Reno. The next major objective, and obstacle, was the River Po. 309 Company delivered the pontoon boats and bridge sections for the construction of the 1110 foot long Bailey pontoon bridge over the Po at Pontelagoscuro, which became operational on midnight of 27th April. On 29th April the Germans agreed to an unconditional surrender and hostilities were to cease on 2nd May. My father and 309 Company celebrated with the gunners who lit a big bonfire made from ammunition boxes.
Austria: The end of the war did not mean peace for the British troops in Italy. The political situation involving Italy, Austria and Yugoslavia, especially in respect of partisan activity, created a very dangerous and at times violent situation. 309 Company entered Austria in early June 1945. HQ British Troops Austria was initially located in Klagenfurt and in the Gras area of Austria, 46th Division was the controlling formation. Many units and formations were now being disbanded or relocated and for many soldiers the war was over and they were sent back to the UK for demobilisation. 309 Company was one of the units that was disbanded. However, within a short time a German Transport Column was formed from surrendered enemy personnel, under the general supervision of a small cadre of British officers and men drawn from various RASC units. 602 German GT Company was one of these companies and L/Cpl Crowshaw was posted to the British cadre and promoted to A/Cpl. The Company was used on various transport tasks, including logging in the forests around Klagenfurt. In August 1945, after four years away from home, Cpl Crowshaw was granted leave home to the UK and was discharged in May 1946.
