Summer Times is the Journal of the Old Scarborians Association
Summer Times is the Journal of the Old Scarborians Association
Summer Times is the Journal of the Old Scarborians Association
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weight was considerable. The sun was shin‐<br />
ing brightly, <strong>the</strong> sea was blue and looked<br />
about two feet deep, so I jumped in ‐‐ and<br />
found <strong>the</strong> water well over my head; <strong>the</strong> depth<br />
must have been at least fifteen feet.<br />
Somehow, I managed to throw <strong>of</strong>f all my<br />
equipment, and I half swam, half splashed till<br />
my feet touched <strong>the</strong> ground, still holding my<br />
rifle and p<strong>is</strong>tol, both now useless, as <strong>the</strong>y<br />
were waterlogged. I shouted to <strong>the</strong> crew <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> LCT that <strong>the</strong>y must find ano<strong>the</strong>r place to<br />
land, but it had gone aground.<br />
I thought I had carried out <strong>the</strong> invasion sin‐<br />
gle‐handed until four members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Para‐<br />
chute Brigade sauntered down to <strong>the</strong> beach –<br />
<strong>the</strong>y had been <strong>the</strong>re since dusk <strong>the</strong> previous<br />
night – and invited me for breakfast <strong>of</strong> bacon<br />
and egg! It was an hour before my colleagues<br />
landed half a mile away, after an LCT had<br />
come to <strong>the</strong> rescue <strong>of</strong> ours and got it afloat<br />
again.<br />
As we moved inland, <strong>the</strong> Italians we met<br />
must have been <strong>the</strong> worst troops ever. There<br />
<strong>the</strong>y were in well‐sited pill‐boxes from which<br />
<strong>the</strong>y maintained sporadic fire, but when <strong>the</strong>y<br />
saw us approach, <strong>the</strong>y just stopped firing, a<br />
white flag was ho<strong>is</strong>ted and out <strong>the</strong>y came,<br />
smiles all over <strong>the</strong>ir faces.<br />
My platoon took 56 pr<strong>is</strong>oners in less than half<br />
an hour without any casualties on ei<strong>the</strong>r side.<br />
The Germans, as we soon found, were <strong>of</strong> dif‐<br />
ferent mettle. About two miles on, we came<br />
under heavy fire from a wood. How <strong>the</strong> Ger‐<br />
mans had managed to stay in it I do not know<br />
for, after heavy shelling from our warships,<br />
<strong>the</strong> inside <strong>of</strong> nearly every tree was burning<br />
red hot. There was <strong>the</strong> digging in and a two‐<br />
hour pause before <strong>the</strong> artillery, having<br />
landed, were able to mount, direct and fire<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir guns in concert with <strong>the</strong> fleet’s.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> was to be our first battle, and everyone<br />
was tense. Almost hysterically at <strong>the</strong> given<br />
signal we ran towards <strong>the</strong> enemy, being cov‐<br />
ered by Bren gun fire on our flanks. To our<br />
surpr<strong>is</strong>e, not a shot was fired in return. We<br />
42<br />
were in <strong>the</strong> wood, through it and half a mile<br />
on, and no Germans, just a few remnants <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong>ir occupation – spent cartridges, a con‐<br />
tainer <strong>of</strong> stew and a forage cap! They had<br />
retreated to more suitable defensive ground –<br />
and th<strong>is</strong> was to be <strong>the</strong> pattern, as we made<br />
our way forward. When, after a week, we<br />
reached <strong>the</strong> Catania plain, we knew from <strong>the</strong><br />
strength <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fire that here <strong>the</strong>y were to<br />
make <strong>the</strong>ir big stand.<br />
The vast plain between <strong>the</strong> undulating hills to<br />
<strong>the</strong> north and south must have been nearly<br />
ten miles wide. We dug in on <strong>the</strong> crest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
hill. It was time to send out night patrols to<br />
ascertain <strong>the</strong> enemy’s strong positions. Any<br />
movement on <strong>the</strong> hill occasioned an immedi‐<br />
ate shelling. It did not take long and not<br />
many casualties to d<strong>is</strong>cover that <strong>the</strong> Germans<br />
had deep entrenchments and <strong>the</strong>ir small arms<br />
fire was on fixed lines, able to rake with cross<br />
fire almost every yard <strong>of</strong> ground.<br />
Our Brigade colleagues, <strong>the</strong> York and Lanca‐<br />
shire Regiment and <strong>the</strong> King’s Own Yorkshire<br />
Light Infantry, had put in two attacks, sup‐<br />
ported by a most amazing bombardment from<br />
<strong>the</strong> fleet and every available piece <strong>of</strong> our artil‐<br />
lery, but had been forced to retire. It was to<br />
be our turn next, we knew.<br />
Overnight, a squadron <strong>of</strong> heavy tanks had<br />
establ<strong>is</strong>hed <strong>the</strong>mselves on <strong>the</strong> hill, spaced out<br />
and camouflaged to look like haystacks. They<br />
could not have looked more conspicuous if<br />
<strong>the</strong>y had ho<strong>is</strong>ted flags. The German artillery<br />
put down a tremendous bombardment and,<br />
within two minutes, three tanks were ablaze<br />
and <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs scuttled in alarm over <strong>the</strong> hill,<br />
still carrying <strong>the</strong>ir hay! Naturally, we who<br />
were in slit trenches over a hundred yards<br />
behind <strong>the</strong>ir front tanks were very angry, for<br />
we got a share <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> shells meant for <strong>the</strong><br />
tanks.<br />
That night, we were to put in our attack. As<br />
soon as it was dusk, we moved forward a<br />
couple <strong>of</strong> miles and lay for cover in a ditch<br />
about a quarter <strong>of</strong> a mile behind <strong>the</strong> starting