240031 Sgt. Alexander Henry Strickland Brade British Army 2/4th Btn. Hampshire Regiment from:1 Exeter Cottages, Hale, Farnham, Surrey Alexander Brade joined the 2/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment(TA), at Aldershot in 1937 or 1938. Upon mobilisation of the Battalion, at the outbreak of war, he was promoted to sergeant.
In early 1943 the Battalion moved to North Africa and saw constant action as part of the 1st Army until the end of the campaign there. Throughout this period he was platoon sergeant of the mortar platoon. Apart from bombing by the enemy, his first experience of coming under fire was on a misty morning when, as his platoon were queuing for breakfast at the field kitchen, a German tank emerged from the mist some 75 yards away and fired one shot with its gun. The shell passed through an Arab woman, who had come to the camp to sell eggs, without exploding and the tank then withdrew into the mist without firing another shot.
Later in the campaign his Battalion fought at the Battle of Hunt's Gap where it sustained 245 casualties. Some time after the battle he was injured when his universal carrier went over a mine, killing the driver and one other occupant. He was thrown off the back and suffered concussion when he hit the ground, plus a burst eardrum. He rejoined his platoon within half an hour.
In September 1943 Alec Brade, with two Companies of his Battalion, was in the first wave of the landings at Salerno, Italy, intended to act as Beach Party. However the fighting was so intense they were immediately put into the line as rifle companies and saw fierce fighting, particularly when holding a crossroads south of Battipaglia, where they suffered many casualties.
He ended his active service in Milan and was demobilized in 1946.
|