91福利社

Soon after the Battle of Mareth, Montgomery got permission for an extra Division to be brought into the line. They were to be the 56th London Division (known as the 鈥楤lack Cats鈥� because of their cap badge which featured Dick Whittington鈥檚 cat). They were then in Baghdad as part of PI Force (Persia India).

We were sent over to transport them back to the front in North African. We took with us the 1st Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. The route to Baghdad in those days was not particularly well marked. We had to go through Palestine to Tulkarm West and then turned off into Trans Jordan as it was then called. We then went to Mafraq where we picked up the Kirkuk 鈥� Haifa oil pipeline. We made stages to correspond with the pumping stations, H5, H4, H3 and so on. Then the pipeline turned north to Kirkuk so we had to continue through the open desert. They had already surveyed a route for a road and there were plans for a road from Palestine to Baghdad, but at the time nothing had been done about it. So we crossed the desert to this place called Wadi Mohamadi and stayed there the night. Eventually we arrived in Baghdad and were stationed at Lancer Camp, which had been used by British Cavalry during the First World War. I鈥檓 afraid conditions there with the Iraqi鈥檚 were much the same as they always have been, them being amongst the worlds greatest thieves, and as was said, the only people in the world who could steal the sugar out of your tea. There was a lot of rifle stealing going on, funnily enough many of them being sold to Jews in Palestine, who were getting ready for a revolution. So we had to go back to the old tricks we used on the North West Frontier. A chain is attached to a rifle with the other end tied around a man鈥檚 midriff. A hole is cut in the ground sheet and the rifle placed inside, so that at night time the soldier is sleeping on his rifle, and it is chained too him. I moved temporarily into the Hotel Zia, which seemed better then the only other hotel the Semiramis. There was a barman at the Zia called Jesus, and he had invented a special cocktail, which became known as a 鈥淒esert Dream鈥�. No one knew what went into it, as he always prepared them on a shelf below the counter. They looked pretty deadly, the surface having a silvery colour. They tasted pretty good and were very potent. Everyone was dead keen on getting these 鈥淒esert Dreams鈥� from Jesus. We had a look around whilst the 56th London Division finished their preparations. Didn鈥檛 think much of Baghdad at all.

When the London crowd were ready, we set off. It was a good journey back to Africa but terribly tiring. We drove from first light, about 5 o鈥檆lock in the morning, until well after dark. When you stopped for the night you would have to go to 鈥淥鈥� Group where orders were explained for the next day. Then you laagered for the night and were lucky to get 2 or 3 hours sleep. Most of the officers in our unit would spend the day on motorcycles, trying to marshal and control the thousand vehicles in the convoy. We eventually arrived in Palestine where we had to stop for a bit of maintenance. Many of the vehicles weren鈥檛 up to much. Then we went on again back to the delta, on to Genifa, and then Tel el Kabir, so that the vehicles could be reconditioned properly, ready for the desert. We went on again, and about 6 days later reached the front in Tunisia, at Enfidaville.

It was around about this time that I had a visit form Sergeant Bracegirdle. (He was a workshop Sergeant who was responsible for 鈥淩ecovery鈥� and whose favourite phrase was 'sling 鈥榚r on the 鈥榦ok'. Whenever a vehicle ran over a mine or such like he would always turn up and say 'sling 鈥榚r on the 鈥榦ok'.) So he came to see me and I offered him a seat. I knew what it was about. He had an Italian 鈥減opsy鈥� in Alexandria, and of course his own 鈥渕issus鈥� back in London. He had been racked with guilt about what he should do, and it certainly wasn鈥檛 the first time he鈥檇 come to see me about it. So here he was again.
鈥榃hat鈥檚 the matter Bracegirdle, is it the popsy or the missus?鈥�
He told me that he had been rather foolish and had written to his missus telling her about the Italian girl, and saying that it would be better if he stayed with her after the war. His missus had written back and told him not to be such a damn fool, there were their children to think about and all the rest of it.
鈥榃hat do you think? He asked.
鈥業 think your wife鈥檚 quite right. Your popsy may be ok now, but don鈥檛 forget, these Italian women go to seed pretty rapidly you know. Have you seen her mother?鈥�
鈥榊别蝉鈥�
鈥榃hat鈥檚 she like?鈥�
鈥榃ell she鈥檚 terribly fat and pretty ugly too鈥�
鈥楾here you are. That鈥檚 how they go these Italians. Your wife will look a lot more attractive then the popsy will, in a few years time.鈥�
鈥業 hadn鈥檛 thought of that鈥�
鈥榃ell you鈥檝e got to think about that, and also remember that you鈥檙e going to have to go back to the UK anyhow, after the war. I advise you to go and see the popsy in the usual way, chat her up a bit, keep her happy, but don鈥檛 make any promises about marrying her or anything like that. Then write to your wife saying you鈥檒l stick by her, and will come back to her after the war鈥�.
So he thanked me and went off relived that someone had taken some of the burden off his shoulders, and given him an idea of what to do.

Anyhow, at Enfidaville this 56th div was to replace our own division (4th Indian), and they really were most green. This first regiment of the Royal Fusiliers (one of two regiments of fusiliers in this brigade of the 56th div) actually wanted to take over our positions in broad daylight. This was completely unheard of. (All that would happen during the day, usually, would be a reconnoitre by the guides, who would go up to the front to make notes about the route and the gun positions etc). Anyway this Colonel Wood was going to lead the advance through the 鈥渕ad mile鈥�, with myself, and another battle experienced officer of the Gordon Highlanders. (As a matter of fact the Colonels ridiculous plan was going to help the logistics for our division, since that night we were going to withdraw to join the 1st Army on another part of the front). So we started off down this road, and the Germans opened up with鈥h several field regiments of 88鈥檚 (artillery). The shellfire was tremendous, absolutely incredible. Everything was knocked about and men were falling all over the place. As this Scots fellow and myself, drove up the road, we saw that two of the dispatch riders had been hit. One was lying dead on the right and the other one was on the left, badly wounded but still ok. Then looking back, to our amazement, we saw that this Colonel Wood had debussed all his men and ordered them into the 鈥渟helter鈥� of a ditch. He didn鈥檛 seem to realise that the Germans had laid mines right up to the edge of the road, so they suffered casualties straight away, apart from the heavy shelling.

Well, I got out of our truck to have a look at the wounded rider, and I could see that he had had his stomach ripped open, and his entrails (colon and that sort of thing) were on the road.
鈥楲ook here鈥� I said to him 鈥業 can鈥檛 stop now, 鈥榗ause I鈥檒l block everyone else, but I鈥檒l come back when all have passed on to the escarpment and I鈥檒l come back and pick you up鈥�

When the convoy had reach the safety of the escarpment I went back to him with this Scots fellow. We discovered that the dispatch rider had crawled to the edge of the road in an effort to find cover. It was so hot that the road had become sticky and unfortunately his colon, or whatever it was, had stuck to the tarmac. As he crawled his innards had paid out behind him. We scrapped up his guts as best we could, and I wound them up and stuffed them back into the hole in his stomach. We loaded him into the back of the truck and off we went, as fast as we could, to get out of the shellfire and find the CCS (Casualty Clearing Station). We turned a corner and found the CCS. To my horror these inexperienced 56th div people had placed it right in view of the Germans, and it was being heavily shelled and was on fire. These people were running about all over the place in an absolute state of panic; the first time they had been under shellfire. Anyway they took this dispatch rider on a stretcher.
鈥榃e can鈥檛 understand it鈥� one man said 鈥榯here鈥檚 a huge red cross on the side of our tent, the Germans must be able to see it鈥�
鈥榃ell鈥� I said 鈥榯o put a red cross on anything is just inviting German shellfire鈥hey don鈥檛 care about the Geneva Convention you know.鈥�
If you鈥檝e got a CCS, you have to put it in a plain tent and well out of sight of the Germans.

Well I had to rush back to my own brigade and grab something to eat, because we had orders to move out that night to go around to Medjez-el-Bab and join the 1st Army in the push toward Tunis. This fellow came around and told us that we were allowed to use our headlights.
鈥榃hat!鈥� I said. 鈥楾here aren鈥檛 any鈥ll the wiring was taken out, so they couldn鈥檛 be used, when we entered the desert years ago鈥�
鈥極h鈥ell you鈥檒l just have to drive by the moonlight then.鈥�
So we set off, moving slowly. The trouble was that 2 other divisions were on the move as well, the 1st and the 7th Armoured Divisions, with their tank transporters smashing into our vehicles as they went along. It was absolute mayhem. There was so much damage to vehicles during the night, with their radiators having been bashed in, that many by the morning had to be on tow. Anyway we pressed on the next day and came to a depression, the road having a marshy salt lake either side. We were going along in a group when we saw a convoy approaching, travelling in the opposite direction. As they came closer we realised that they were Germans. They flashed by us and we flashed by them. There was a whole Brigade of them. They were simply doing what we were doing, moving to another part of the front. It was incredible, there was no communication waving or anything, and we just carried on to our destinations as if passing a convoy of allies.

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