257222 Tpr. Alexander Rodger Hoggan MM.British Army 2nd Dragoon Guards Alexander Hoggan was my late father.
He enlisted into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders when he was about 19.
He requested and was granted a transfer into the Scots Guards.
He saw service in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the Guards with the Shanghai Defence Force.
After completing his service he was placed in reserve for, I think, 7 or 12 years.
In 1941 age 37 he re enlisted. He was now in the Queen's Bays and told he was now in a Cavalry Regiment. He protested "I don't know anything about horses!" and was told "you won't be on a horse laddie you will be on a tank or armoured car in the Royal Armoured Corps."
He ended up in North Africa in the 1st Army under Wavell I think. After various engagements his vehicle, a petrol carrier, was disabled in the Battle of Knightsbridge Box and he was taken prisoner. He eventually ended up in Campo PG 52 in Northern Italy.
Dad told me that he escaped from the camp but was recaptured by black shirt Fascist police an flung into a civilian gaol. He was languishing in a tiny cell for two months when the prison was inspected by a German officer. This officer was told that he was an escaped PoW and the German officer had Dad returned to a PoW camp.
Dad had been beaten regularly by the Italian guards so he was glad to be back in a PoW camp. He had expected to be shot as he was in civilian clothes when the police caught him.
To shorten this story dad managed to escape again when outside camp in a work party. Italian partisans where involved in this escape and Dad joined up with them. Dad fought with the partisans for about 18 months and day he and another two partisans were in a ditch watching the approach of a military type vehicle. Dad and his companions were ready to machine gun it with their captured Mauser Machine pistols when they noticed the big white star on the bonnet of the jeep. The three men waked slowly in to the road with hands upraised, and the Americans captured them and brought them back to the American Lines.
Dad was able to give the Americans very useful information about German strength and their whereabouts.
The Yanks treated them royally and in fact flew Dad back to Britain in an American transport plane.
The London Gazette recorded the Military Medal he was awarded was for special operations behind enemy lines.
Dad died in a NZ Army Veterans home in 2000.
Needless to say Dad was a typical Glaswegian hard case.
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