209268 Pte. Edward John Potter British Army 2nd Btn. Coldstream Guards from:Vange, Essex My Father, Ted Potter, transfered from the RAF Regiment to the Coldstream Guards and afterwards was transported (by towed barge) to Italy for the Italian campagne. He, like many, never told us much about his time there but I understand that he was a front line soldier and was amongst the first to cross the river Po. He finished his war in Trieste. I recall one of his stories was about his mate given the task of emptying the latrine/cess pit and throwing a hand granade into it. I don`t know if this actually happened or if it was a tale, although his mates always said it had happened. Another story was about a time when he and a small group were in a forward position (I think in hours of darkness) and found a group of German soldiers playing cards, they took them by supprise and `confiscated/liberated` their gambling money before taking them back for questioning etc. Part of my father's duty was driving a `Bedford` truck (which his mates said was held together with bits of string) and he said that they had orders that if they came across a body lieing in the road (mountainous region) they were supposed to run over it as it was a tactic to stop trucks by doing this, he never said if he ever had cause to follow this command.
As I said my father never really said much about his time in Italy and I would love to find out more about that part of his service history. I understand that he was in the 2nd Battalion of the 56th Regiment, Coldstream Guards until 1946 returning to civilian life in Essex after that.
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