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Sgt. R. T. Philip . 102 Squadron
Peter Wilfred " " Phillibrown . Royal Navy HMS Howe from Perton, Watlington, Oxon
My granddad, Peter Wilfred Phillibrown served on HMS Howe & HMS Nelson, I'm not sure which way around, sadly though he's no longer with us as I would of loved to of met him. I'm trying to get as much information about him as I can, if anyone has any information or photos I would very grateful. As my Dad & I are trying to put the puzzle together.
RV Phillimore . British Army
RV Phillimore served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
L/Cpl. David Phillip . British Army 23rd General Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps from Berwick upon Tweed
As far as I know, my father David Phillip, was with the RAMC 23rd General Hospital based in Palestine and later in France. There does not seem to be a lot of information regarding this General Hospital. I have a lot (hundreds) of photographs.
A Phillips . British Army
A Phillips served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
AC Phillips . British Army Gloucestershire Regiment
AC Phillips served with the Gloucestershire Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
AEA Phillips . British Army
AEA Phillips served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
AEA Phillips . British Army
AEA Phillips served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
Musician Arthur V. Phillips . Royal Navy HMS Nelson (d.12th Aug 1942)
Pte. Arthur Albert Phillips . British Army 8th Btn. East Surrey Regiment from Hove, Sussex
(d.29th Nov 1916)
Arthur Phillips died of wounds at Etretat General Hospital, France. He joined the East Surrey Regiment from the Royal Sussex Regiment presumably to make up losses but date unknown. He Died on the 29th of November 1916 of wounds, age 19 and is buried in Etretat Churchyard.
Arthur Edwin Phillips . Royal Navy HMS Pytchley from Birmingham
We only found out about 8 years ago that Great Uncle Arthur Phillips had been involved in the d-day landings. He was standing on board HMS Pytchley on D-Day when a landing craft drew up beside it. The pilot asked for volunteers as all of his crew had been killed, and Uncle Arthur volunteered. He was 24 years old. When he told us this he was in his early 90's and he said from the second that his feet hit the deck of the landing craft he had been unable to recall a single moment from the rest of that day.
Stew Bertram Alfred Phillips . Royal Navy from Portsmouth
Betty Phillips . Munitions Worker
I am trying to find some information about my late nan, Betty Phillips. I found a box of photos and a pass from when she worked at Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft in 1944. I'm sure she was at the mother and baby home at Leaming Spa.
I am also looking for Sgt Sharples, who was based at the RAF station Cambridge in 1943. Any information would be great.
CS Phillips . British Army 4/7th Dragoon Guards
CS Phillips served with the 4/7th Dragoon Guards British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
Leading Stoker. Cyril Claude Phillips . Royal Navy HMS Warpsite from Ogmore Vale, South Wales
My step father Cyril Claude Phillip was a leading stoker on HMS Warspite. I do know that he was a boxing champ in the Navy, he had hands like shovels, is there a listing of crew, somewhere or champions of ships? I know the ships had inter ship boxing matches within their fleets.
He had left school at 14 and went straight down the mines in Ogmore Vale in South Wales and then made his way to London, looking for work with his mates and they all signed up together.
He was very proud of having served on the Warspite and the only time I saw him in tears was when he told me the story of a bomb going off in his boiler room and mates of his getting killed. He had all his clothes blown off, with out a scratch and him and another mate sewed up the bodies and then got drunk on their shipmates rum, singing abide with me! This was the song he had chosen for his funeral which we sang.
Daisy Helen Phillips . Royal Australian Air Force Air Force Headquarters from Coburg VIC, Australia
Daisy Helen Phillips served with the Royal Australian Air Force Headquarters
Fireman 1st cl. David Orland Phillips . United States Navy USS Boise from Zephyrhills, Florida
My uncle, Dave Phillips, died last week at 92 yo. He was very proud of his days on the Boise and showed his pride by decorating his room with several pictures of "His Ship". Yes he loved to brag about those days. He earned the Victory Medal
RSM. David Maxwell Phillips . British Army 1st Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers from Belfast
(d.2nd Jun 1940)
David Phillips was fatally wounded during defence of Dunkirk with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, he returned to England and died of his injuries.
Stoker 2nd Class. Dennis Dixon Phillips . Royal Navy HMS. Penelope (d.18th Feb 1944)
Dennis Phillips was the son of George and Annie Phillips, of Wiverton, Nottinghamshire. If anyone has any information or tales please let me know.
SAC Donald Leslie Phillips MM. Royal Air Force 150 Squadron from Birmingham
Donald Phillips retired from the RAF in 1953. He joined as a regular in 1937 and as an air gunner in 150 Squadron took part in the Battle of France flying Fairey Battles. He was shot down twice, first during the German attack on the Meuse, then near Rouen when he was taken prisoner. He was held in the fortress of Doullens before escaping across France to the Pyrenees. After enjoying General Franco's hospitality in a Spanish prison, he made it back to England through Gibraltar. This is submitted in honour of the memory of two very brave French citizens, Albert and Yvonne Eveloy-Dupuis of Compiegne, who at the risk of savage retribution sheltered and aided a very young RAF airman and his Army comrade on the run. Vive la France!
Marn. Donald Kernan Phillips . Royal Marines from West Bromwich
Donald Phillips was my uncle, he served at sea with the Royal Marines.
DR Phillips . British Army
DR Phillips served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
DW Phillips . British Army
DW Phillips served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
EC Phillips . British Army
EC Phillips served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
EG Phillips . British Army
EG Phillips served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.
Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
Elmer Dean Phillips . US Army 9th Armored Division from Bloomington, Illinois, USA
My great-grandfather Elmer Phillips was wounded and captured during the Battle of the Bulge. My grandpa told me that he died on the operating table, when the power went out, during his medical operation. He was held there for some time before the said surgery. My grandfather knows more but it is hard for him to talk about it. If anybody has any info regarding my great-grandfather Elmer Dean Phillips, please contact me.
Sgt. Ernest Stanley Phillips . Royal Air Force 83 Squadron (d.21st April 1941)
My mother was married to Ernest Phillips for only a few months before he died in a Hampden bomber raid. My mother had said they were counting planes as the unit returned and had a fear that he was in the missing one(s). She was returned his inscribed burnt out watch that was recovered from the wreckage and which we still have in the family today. They did not have children and my mother re-married in 1942 subsequently producing me and my three sisters. Throughout her life she longed for what would have been if he had not been killed, very sad.
George Francis Phillips . Air Raid Precautions
My father, George Francis Phillips, was in the ARP (Air Raid Precautions) all through WW2. The ARP post he worked from was in Carshalton, Surrey, on the corner of Sibton Road and Sherbourne Crescent.
One of my dad's good friends at this time was a man whose surname was Haddock. He was also in the Carshalton ARP. I met a Vic Haddock in Brisbane after I migrated to Australia. He was the son of my father's friend. Unfortunately, I lost touch with him.
My father also had the job of collecting chickens and rabbits from bomb- damaged houses in the area. Our whole back garden was a chicken coop! We had special ration tokens to get feed for the collected beasts for which I believe we had to give up egg ration coupons.
Stf.Sgt. George Ernest Phillips . United States Army 347th Btn., Coy G, 3rd Pltn. from Amenia, New York
I graduated from Amenia (NY) School in 1943. The army had a program where if you enlisted in the Army Reserve’s specialized technical program, they would send you to college. I was sent to Auburn (NY) College, learning a lot of subjects we might need in basic engineering. Then in November I was sent to Fort Dix, NJ for introduction to the regular Army. The first thing I learned was not to trust anybody — I was robbed of $20 the first night.
We worked 14 to 15 hours a day on KP (kitchen police). We were issued everything — clothes, shots, medical exams. We weren’t liked by the non coms because we smart kids had been sent to college.
After 2 or 3 weeks we were sent by rail to Fort Benning, GA. Our barracks were tarpaper huts, heated by a little sheet metal coal stove using soft coal. My bed was close to the stove. The bath and showers were down the street.
Fort Benning is a huge place. I went to the Officer’s Candidate School, where they turned out 90 day wonders. There was tank school, paratroopers, infantry, and whatever else. Some went on passes to Phoenix, AL which was a sin city. I didn’t go. There were drunks, fights, robberies and venereal disease.
After 17 weeks of basic infantry we were sent by rail to Columbia, SC. We were the Fort Jackson 87th Division, 347th Battalion Company G, 3rd Platoon. While there the Army dissolved the ARSTP — they decided they didn’t need us! — and we were stuck in the Infantry. They needed a lot more infantry than engineers. So much for the brass knowing what they were doing. We filled in for the men being sent overseas.
We were up at 5 AM, reveille at 6, chow at 7, training at 8. I got up earlier to avoid the rush to the bathroom. We’d have physical training, lectures, close order drills, and more lectures. I didn’t like the mess sergeant as he kicked me in the behind for something I did on KP. They wanted a few to go to cook’s and baker’s school. I didn’t go but I wish I had. Later the company command post and kitchen crew were a mile in the rear, sleeping in tents or captured buildings. As soldiers we slept in 2-man fix holes, one man awake and one sleeping in 2 hour shifts and the nights lasted forever. If you were caught sleeping you could get bayonetted. I was cold but I never got sick.
At Fort Jackson we had lots of marching exercises, 25 miles every Friday night. Colonel Bodner would pass us in a jeep. He’d watch us go by, then drive up 2 or 3 miles to watch us again. He must have gotten tired of that.
I was a 3rd platoon messenger and had a walkie talkie radio. This was useless as every radio in the division was on the same frequency. My entrenching tool was wire cutters — how do you dig with them? Later I picked up a shovel and after that a pick, too. And I never climbed a fence. In Auburn NY I bought a Boy Scout knife and took that with me, which was a good idea. After the war my brother Chet borrowed it and lost it. I was pissed after carrying it through the war. I had used it all the time.
At Fort Jackson, inspection was every Saturday morning. If we failed, there were no weekend passes to Columbia to spend a little money on beers or food. If we did go we had to be back to camp before 5 AM. If we were late we were considered AWOL. Jackson was a huge camp. The 27th Division was there, too. In training we never covered what to do with the wounded, just told to call the medical aides. During the war, though, we should have given them first aid before the aides got there. Some just bled to death. I guess they thought it would be bad for our morale by teaching it. We were given a lecture on gas masks. The lieutenant thought he had a smoke grenade but instead it was white phosphorous. One soldier was burned badly on his back by the grenade. They put sand and water on his back trying to put it out. I don’t know how he recovered. The lieutenant was shipped out the next day, probably overseas.
We had a private who wanted to get out of the Army. He acted crazy, crowing and squawking like a chicken. I didn’t see him anymore, so I guess he did get out.
I got promoted to Private First Class, which gave me $4 more a month. I had an $18.75 bond sent home every month. $10,000 insurance was $6.50, laundry $2-3, which left me with $29.00 for the month. Food was plentiful and good. We ate 3200 calories a day and worked it off. I never did like the raisin pie, okra or grits.
We were shipped to Fort Dix in November, then boarded the Queen Elizabeth bound for Scotland. There were 15,000 men on board, it was so crowded that only half could go on deck. We had 2 meals a day and it was lousy food. We had fish for breakfast. They charged the US for the rations. The ship had no escort as the subs couldn’t catch up. We outran them, zig zagging every 15 minutes. The only candy you could buy was Mallow Cups — some selection!
We landed 6 days later somewhere in Scotland. Then we boarded the night train for Altrincham, near Manchester. Before the train we were given excellent tea by Red Cross ladies. I never saw the American Red Cross while I was in Europe, and I still don’t donate to them. England in the fall has rain, rain and fog. Training went on as usual. We were in houses with no central heating. The fireplaces burned coke, which is coal with the gas extracted. When I was on coal detail our house got more than any others.
The guys would go to the pubs. The locals would tease, “Drink up Yanks before your beer gets cold.” I did get a 3-day pass to London. I saw St. Paul’s Cathedral standing with rubble all around it. It had gotten hit with three dud bombs. If one exploded it would have brought it down. Don’t tell me there is no God! There were blackouts, too.
I bought fish and chips served in a newspaper cone. I bought a pie in a bakery. I thought it would be fruit but it was mutton stew!
We left England on an LST (landing ship tank). We went over the side on landing nets to smaller vessels which took us to Le Havre, France. When we landed, it was flattened and there were no Germans in it. Later they moved back in the rubble and it took 6 months to clear them out of the city. We were then trucked to near Reims, France. We had pup tents in the rain and the mud, which soaked our shoes and gave people trench foot. There were only 4 pairs of arctics for the whole platoon of 40 men. The sergeants got them, not the privates or PFCs. When the first prisoners were captured, I was told, “Phillips, take them to battalion!” There I scrounged around the aid station and found 2 left overshoes, one so large I could put my right foot in it. That’s what saved my feet.
The rear eschelon got all needed items first. It should have been the front line. Wet feet get black and wrinkly and start to decay. We lost 30% of our men to trench foot. Nobody ever told us about massaging the feet to get the blood circulating. We were issued 2 pair of British navy wool socks. They were great wool socks. I’d wear one pair, and put the wet ones under my shirt to dry out. At the end of January, lo and behold we got shoes with leather tops and rubber bottoms. The Russians were issued boots one size larger, to put hay or straw into them. They also mixed oil and gasoline for the weapons. When our weapons were frozen, they were urinated on to get them working. This raised hell with them, but if we were attacked it had to be done.
Our first battle was terrible. The German artillery was really heavy and we lost about 25 soldiers. The next morning at 9 we did a Picket’s charge on a machine gun. Nobody gave the order to charge and fire. The sergeant, lieutenant and captain gave no communication. If I did give the order I might have gotten a medal, but who would listen to a private or PFC. The place was Obergailbach on the French and German border.
We had no canvas tops on the trucks so we could fire at the Luftwaffe planes. We could see all of the artillery flashes, and knew somebody was catching hell. It was like a continuous fireworks, a continuous grand finale.
Then we attacked in Belguim. I was almost killed in Prerompe (sp?). The 3rd platoon was about 10 or 12 men and we waded the brook and got in the town. We threw a grenade in a house and heard screaming and crying and 2 civilians came out. Palmer Montgomery and I didn’t see the 1st platoon, so we crossed an intersection to look for them. We didn’t see them, so headed back, Palmer first. When I was crossing the tank opened up with a 88 artillery shell, and the turbulence of the shell knocked me down about 10 feet back. Then they opened up with a machine gun at me. I got bullets in my K rations. “You goddamn bastards,” I said. I got across but lost my rifle. I picked up a German rifle in the ditch. When I got back to where the guys were, Sgt. Schultz lay dead in the road — hit by a mortar shell, instantly killing him and bending his Browning automatic rifle all out of shape. It was a tough day. We were bunched up in a house with no guard outside. We were green troops. And green troops with no leader. I still don’t know what happened to the 1st platoon — were they killed or captured?
The next days we attached Bonnelau and Tenneville. We went to St. Vith but there were no Krauts there. They were retreating on foot, out of gasoline. The generals couldn’t surrender their troops because Hitler would have killed their families in Germany. The Germans in retreat would set up road blocks with manned troops. We would have to rout them out. Most towns were just rubble with destruction everywhere. Bad memory blurs as time passes. When the skies cleared the air corps blasted the Germans. There were thousands of planes attacking the retreating — the sky was full. They also dropped supplies to us. That was a nice New Year’s present.
As we advanced every day was always the same — keep moving ahead. We were dirty and unshaven after 6 weeks. My shirt collar was so dirty I took it off and scraped the collar with my knife. At the shower we were given clean clothes.
Eisenhower stopped Patton in France by giving the gas to Montgomery for his failed Market Garden fiasco. Patton had the right idea to keep attacking and not let the Krauts set up defensive positions. We did get a break in the action, and rest. You could only go so far without proper rest in order to be effective. You got burned out.
One town I remember was the town of Auw, Germany. Sgt. Macomber and I were in a house and heard a shell coming in. I rushed out, hitting the dirt. Macomber followed, but he was killed. I got nicked — a band aid job. The medic asked me if I wanted a Purple Heart. I turned it down as I didn’t want to worry my folks back home. Dumb me again!
I knew that my brother Royal was wounded in the Hurtgen forest. With trees planted in rows close together, troops got lost in the forest. That campaign should have been bypassed.
I don’t remember how we crossed the Moselle River. Later at the Rhine we were to follow the 1st Battalion in boats. They were turned back by the intense fire. So, lucky us, we later crossed on a pontoon bridge at Boppard, Germany.
Patton stopped in the middle there to take his famous picture. He would drive to the front in his jeep with the stars of a general on it — 3 stars. Our jeep had a sign on it: “looters do not delay!” Speaking of looting the officers were the worst. They could mail things back home. We couldn’t — you’d have to carry it, which was impossible.
In houses we slept on the floor as beds might have lice or bed bugs. But we slept no problem, as we needed to sleep whenever we could get it. It was in Belguim that Captain Mahanes asked me if I wanted to be a sergeant. I answered, “No Sir, thank you!” “You will be,” was his answer. 9 months later I was Staff Sergeant. PFCs were paid $54 per month, Sergeants $78, and Staff Sergeants $94 monthly. I was the platoon sergeant at 20 years old! This is what casualties do.
Later at Fort Monmouth, NJ I was promoted to Tech Sergeant. They couldn’t do it in Europe as the company had too many sergeants on the roster who were either wounded or killed in action.
There was one town where we liberated Polish prisoners. They wanted guns to kill their guards, who were probably German.
After the Rhine it w as mostly riding on tanks that were advancing. I was on the lead tank into Plauen, Germany near Czechoslovakia. The city was rubble and all the other cities were the same. There were lots of bed sheets hanging out the windows.
End of the war. May 6th was the surrender. All of their troops were marching west to surrender. They were on both sides of the road and we rode down the middle. The autobahn was like our Taconic Parkway.
I never saw the American Red Cross. At the Lucky Strike Embarkation Camp, we got a warm Coke. I’m sure the officers had theirs with booze. If the German troops were caught by the Russians, they were sent to Siberia and worked and starved to death. I think of captured Germans, only 25,000 were returned. Between Hitler and Stalin, 50 million people died. That was horrible.
Earlier in the spring I was sent to the battalion. I assumed I was being sent to the Officer Candidate School. A major asked me how we could have had less casualties. I told him about the 4 pairs of overshoes for us when the shoe packs arrived. I guess he didn’t like to hear about my criticizing the command as I didn’t get to go. But as an Officer you were obligated 5 more years in the reserve. Good thing I didn’t go as I would have been fighting in the Korean War, too. That episode was run by McArthur in his castle in Japan. His protege General Almond was 5 miles in the rear in a trailer with a bath and a heated latrine.
While I was interviewed for OCS, our division liberated Buchenwald extermination camp, where 5 to 7 million Jews were killed. the next day I was asked if I wanted to see it, but I refused — I had seen enough of death.
The Russians would rape German woman, and many of them committed suicide. It was a relief to have no more fighting and killing. Our division was slated to invade Japan in November. We had heavily bombed Japan, and there were no enemy planes. They were saving 300 planes to sink the troop transports, which would have been a blood bath on both sides. The citizens would be armed with bamboo spears. The atom bombs stopped the war. If anybody said we shouldn’t have used the terrible bombs I’d sure give them my unbiased opinion. They should have been there first.
Drugs. Before I was going into the Army, Pop told me drugs weren’t healthy. That’s all a knew, and I avoided them all my life. I tried cigarettes, maybe a half pack in England, but I didn’t like them. Good choice. During the war men would have to get under their rain coats to light up at night so they didn’t get shot at. After the war codeine cough syrup was available to get high. That led to more drug addiction. As a platoon sergeant I could carry morphine syringes to give to the wounded. Never gave it to anyone not wounded, or to myself.
Back in the US. We disbanded at Fort Benning. After a 30-day leave I was sent to Fort Mammoth, working in a finance office typing checks for discharged men. The checks had to be perfectly typed. I went home for the weekends, traveling by train.
A few years ago we went to Fort Benning to see the new infantry museum. It cost $10 million minus $1 to build. When I told them I’d been in the war I got first class treatment. In order to view the movie they had to have 8 people signed up to see it. The showed it to just us! Celebrity status.
George E. Phillips served in the US Army during World War II and fought at the Battle of the Bulge.
Gnr. George Phillips . British Army 457 Light Battery Royal Artillery from Sicup
I worked in the Coop on the provision counter which meant I dealt with eggs, bacon, cheese, butter etc. My girlfriend worked in Milliners hat shop a few doors down. I was called up in June 1942, and was sent for basic training in Scotland — teaching me my right foot from my left foot. I was there for about six weeks. I went to an artillery training regiment to learn the art of Gunnery. Having failed a course on surveying I was sent potato picking in Lincolnshire because of the lack of farmworkers. Living on a farm in a barn was far better than army life — marching, drills, guard duty, the food!
I was transferred to Woolwich for several weeks prior to Embarkation. This was primarily to prepare me for wherever we were to be stationed abroad. This was handy for me as it meant that I could make occasional trips home to Sidcup. I was then given Embarkation leave which included Christmas. After Christmas I reported back. I was sent up to Liverpool on the train where we were put on a troop ship. We were given a code which was printed on our kitbag — sometimes this was changed the next day to confuse us and the enemy. They still didn’t tell us where we going. Eventually we boarded the boat at Liverpool and went out somewhere into the Atlantic. This was at times nerve racking because of the Atlantic war. The troop ships were converted lines — ours was the SS Orama.
We were probably at Sea for ten days to a fortnight — we didn’t go direct to Algiers. I was not part of a unit at this time. I was an individual soldier being sent to a transit camp where they decided who went where. You would just be sent off in a lorry to your new unit. I became part of the 457 Light Battery RA. I had been trained on twenty-five pounder guns, but when I arrived I found that we were using Howitzer guns — firing twenty pound shells. They also fired in a different way to the guns I had been used too — they were actually more effective because they had a higher trajectory. In the 1920’s they were used on the North West frontier of India when our army was somewhat more prominent. At this point they could be dismantled and carried by Mules. These guns had been modified and mechanised so that they could be pulled along by quads which were smaller army trucks. They were the same kind of size as a quad bike but were totally encased — very much like the four wheel drive’s we have today.
We pushed east across the North of Africa and eventually met the 8th Army coming the other way at Bizerta and Tunis. When Sicily was invaded we transferred there for a while before returning to North Africa. The powers that be recognised the problems of Italy with the hilly geography and decided to return the unit to it’s original role of mountain warfare. Because of this we had to revert to using Mules to pull the guns. This meant that we had to completely retrain — learning how to deal with Mules, Polish saddles, learn how to harness, learning the drill for mounting the gun on the Mule. This was sometimes funny as the Mule would kick someone — sometimes it was a bit of circus or cowboy rodeo! Eventually we got to a point where we were sent on to find and engage a front. But the front was continually moving North so we walked some way before we actually met the enemy at Perugia. This was sometimes in awful conditions. When we were travelling it was always really hot — but when we came into combat in the hills it was always raining and cold. The daily march was always part of the exercise — we had to attend to the mules, clean saddles, clean and assemble the gun, etc.. If there were was anytime left there was sometimes a meal waiting for us. It did mean that we were extremely tired all the time. We would also have to go on guard duty. Around this time, Italy capitulated and this meant that their troops could take a non-combatant role. Their troops (called Alpinis) wore hats which resembled the kind of hat worn by Robin Hood. They came to a peak at the front and had a plume on the side. They then took over the role of looking after the Mules. Once we would strike our position, they would take the mules off round the hill to a safe place until required when we moved on, usually during the middle of the night. Quite a few of them deserted because they were in their own country. They would just disappear overnight. During this time we had been joined by the 456 battery and formed a 479 battery making the seventh mountain regiment RA. Supplies were scarce and they had to be transferred up into the hills overnight in difficult conditions. We actually lived on Chestnuts at one point as the rivers were swollen so much that no supplies could get through.
I had become very ill, and went sick and was transferred to a casualty clearing station. I was then transferred further back to a monastry in Assisi for treatment. These days it’s called battle fatigue — but we didn’t know that then. I was regarded from A1 to B2 — this meant the end of my days of action. I was eventually transferred into an office based job in Naples where life was obviously more enjoyable. But that was the last I saw of any of my friends. I wasn’t allowed to go back to say goodbye. I finished up in the Army broadcasting unit. I came home for a month got married. On the last day of the war I was flown to Austria where a group of us became a re-patriation unit for our prisoners of war. I was de-mobbed in 1947 from Richmond Park and returned to my job behind the counter at the Coop.
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