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| In the thick of it - George is on far left of photo. Still smiling. Just. |
November 1st 1943
(Naval Action off Coronel, 1914 ; Battle of Valenciennes began, 1918.)
Lay on a Ju 88 but he is out of our range. Spitfire gets after him and chases him back to his lines. Artillery 25 pounds start on barrage. Hell of a din.
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| Junkers Ju 88 - Luftwaffe "twin-engine, multi-role aircraft" |
Sussex and Gurkhas of our Division take a bashing. Another party of Gurkhas kill forty Gerries with the knife. Three Gerry foot troops caught by Sikhs in field nearby. Tons of our fighters about.
November 3rd 1943
All day long our bombers give it to a village which we can see from here. 105 Gerry M.M gun shells the village on our right occupied by British. Our 25 pounders soon quieten them.
November 4th 1943
(Battle of the Sambre, 1918.)
Our fighters go over and give it to the Gerries which are in positions on the banks of the river. Our 25 pounders put up a colossal barrage, makes your head ring.
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| A 25-pounder gun in action - © BBC War Archives |
November 5th 1943
(First Quarter., 3.22 a.m.)
Hear that we are going to give help to another Division. Start out at four o'clock in morning. I am gunner on top of lorry. All roads are littered with burned out tanks, guns, planes. Village all in ruins from shelling and bombing etc. Land mines all over the show. Hundreds of graves of British, American, Gerry troops on the side of road. Stop by the bridge.
November 6th 1943
Gerry plane drops six bombs but misses the bridge. We dive down a ditch. I get talking to sentry on bridge and find he lives quite near me at home. He had just been shot in the leg. Have a great jaw about home.
November 7th 1943
(20th after Trinity - Sunrise, 7.2 a.m. ; Sunset, 4.25 p.m.)Get gun in position at four o'clock in morning. Army form for 25 pounders. Dig gun pit for gun. Tough work. We put the gun in and get word to move. Everyone is pretty tired as we haven't had much sleep since Friday (currently Sunday). Take up new position, 25 pounders start in on another village, certainly giving Gerry hell.
November 8th 1943
We have seen very few Gerry planes yet. Our fighters and bombers are everywhere.
November 9th 1943
Move further up Armoured Division on roads. We get a very good billet in an old stable. Very warm and dry. Get a good fire on. Dry all our blankets out which got wet last night.
November 10th 1943
Pouring with rain. Gerry occupying village a short distance away. Our 25 pounders firing at it all day long. Watch the shells bursting in village. Gerry certainly getting it in the neck.
November 11th 1943
(Armistice Day, 1918 - Fleet Air Arm attacked Italian Fleet at Taranto, 1940.)
Our infantry try to take village but are not successful - held up by machine gun fire. Our Artillery starts banging away again. Hell of a din. Shells whizzing just past our heads.
November 12th 1943
(Full Moon, 1.26 a.m.)
Still pouring with rain and still pegging away for village. Very hard to take it - as it's on the top of a mountain. Rain holding things up - lorries, guns etc get bogged very easy. 2 1/2 hrs guard each night.
November 13th 1943
Terrific bombardment put up by our Artillery goes on for about three hours. Gerries have enough and fly a white flag from a church spire. Our blokes move up and take it. We move up to the village. Roads blasted to hell, it takes me about half an hour to get around one bend pushing gun and winding up to our faces in mud. Rain pouring down. Land mines all over the place. Get to new gun positions.
November 14th 1943
(21st after Trinity - Beaumont Hamel captured, 1916 - Afghan War began, 1878 - H.M.S "Ark Royal" sunk, 1941 - Sunrise, 7.14 a.m. ; Sunset, 4.14 p.m.)
We have had six hour sleep in three days. Anti Aircraft for Artillery. Get down for a good nights sleep in a hay stack. Sleep for about an hour. Movement order comes at twelve o'clock at night. We go to another place. What a dog's life.
November 15th 1943
New place pretty good. We sleep in a hay loft. We make up for our lost sleep. Still having plenty of rain.
November 16th 1943
We watch the road being shelled about a mile away, not much to worry about. Plenty of our stuff going up.
November 17th 1943
(Battle of Nebi Samwil, 1917.)
Still getting pretty good food. Some New Zealanders come in. We have a good shot at night.
November 18th 1943
Gun pit filled with about a foot of liquid mud.We have to stand in it for hours and hours. What a life.
November 19th 1943
(Last Quarter., 10.43 p.m.)
Move out for a new front by G? nearer the coast. Hear that a big push is coming off soon. We are in it. Go with very large convoy. 25 pounders with truck etc
November 20th 1943
(1st Battle of Ypres ended, 1914; Cambrai began, 1917.)
Messing about from one spot to another. Weather still very wet.
November 21st 1943
(Last after Trinity - Surrender of German Fleet, 1918 - Sunrise, 7.26 a.m ; Sunset, 4.4 p.m.)
We move up to the Sangro River tonight to try to take up position firing for Infantry (directioning). We get shelled on road. Benny gets killed. Another chap wounded. A very sorry night for us all.
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| "In the Valley of the Sangro." Click on photo to enlarge. Courtesy of Charles P Edwards |
(Battle of Ctesiphon began, 1915 - Greek troops occupied Karitza, 1940.)
Benny was a nice fellow. Stop at spot by a grass bank, shells whizzing all over the show. Two hours guard for me. Fed up. Why worry.
November 23rd 1943
(Bourlon Wood, 1917.)
Hang about in rain all day long, everybody down-hearted. I think I am in for good nights sleep, but I have to go with a blinking party to the river. Roads in a hell of a state, two tractors stuck, another turns right over. Digging gun pits all night long.
November 24th 1943
Gerry sends over a few shells but it's pretty quiet. I feel about dead having had no sleep for about four days. Move to a new position. C Troop gets together.
November 25th 1943
Very good billets in an old farm yard. We settle down and get plenty of sleep in. We certainly all need it. Cook some good food, have a good wash, feel great. Gerry banging away by the river. Our boys give him plenty back with interest.
November 26th 1943
Another good days rest. B Troop moves out to take up gun positions along the road from Paglieta to river.
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| Map of the Valley of the Sangro and Strategic Locations. Click on map to enlarge. Courtesy of Charles P Edwards |
November 27th 1943
Messing about for another day, getting ready for moving out tonight.We got all six guns to cross the river. Were we sweating. Our boys start the Big Barrage which lasts for four-five hours. Never saw so many flashes and heard so much banging in my life. Three of our guns go down the lane to cross bridge, our three stay on the road to river. Just my luck I have to go as runner between Captain ??. Gerry starts shelling us thick and heavy. I go back to Paglieta to my gun pits. Fed up. Plenty of Gerry prisoners coming in.
November 28th 1943
(Advent Sunday - Sunrise, 7.38 a.m ; Sunset, 3.57 p.m.)
I have to stop in the thick of it all the time. Hell of a night or morning. Six of our chaps get wounded, we carry them up to farm on the road. Sgt Threadage gets it bad in the legs. Guns cannot get across. We move to a brickyard by river. Sunday afternoon we have a crack at Gerry planes.
November 29th 1943
Get order to move, we are going across the river by daylight making a dash over and trusting our luck. What a life.
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| George in Italy 1943 - Fed up. What a life. |
November 30th 1943
(St Andrew's Day.)We get over okay and are just shaking hands with everyone when we hit a landmine. Sergeant and Wally Smith knocked out but not badly hurt. We get them up on stretchers and make them as comfortable as possible. We are proper scared and frightened to step anywhere. Shells drop around us but no-one is hurt. We stay there for the night.
December 1st 1943
Jeep takes the gun to gun position. We start digging in, first slit trenches as they are dropping pretty near. Gerry must have a good observational position as he has the roads and bridges taken.
December 2nd 1943
Finish gun-pit and have our first engagement with Gerry planes. Seventeen Focke-Wulf Fw 190's do a bit of dive bombing. I am No. 4 loading and firing. I get off sixty nine rounds. Lots of Anti Aircraft fire put up at them. Our fighters get cracking and chase them off. Sleep in slit trench. Gerry shells all around us. One lands about five yards away but luckily it is a dud.
Gerry planes come again in the morning. No 4 again. We fire fifteen rounds and shoot down a FW 190. We get it credited to us. For Ben.
December 4th 1943
(First Quarter., 11.3 a.m.)
Move out to new gun-post by road. Couple of hours later we move on again. This place looks okay, we start digging another gun pit. Indians by us. They do our guards for us. We go to bed at seven o'clock and get about ten hours sleep in. Just the job.
December 5th 1943
(2nd in Advent - Sunrise, 7.48 a.m ; Sunset, 3.53 p.m.)
Digging again. Gun infantry have done great having taken the ridge. Making Gerry move his big guns back. Our bomber and dive bombers still giving em lessons.
December 6th 1943
We rig up the tractor sheet and it makes a good tent. We get a light in and make ourselves comfortable for the night. Gerry planes pay us another visit but it is out of our range.
December 7th 1943
(Japan declared War on Gt. Britain and U.S.A., 1941.)
Payday. Plenty of bombing by our planes.
December 8th 1943
(Naval Battle, Falkland Isles, 1914.)
Gerries drop a few bombs on Mozzagrogna village on hill. Hundreds of dead Gerries in it. Plenty of fighting took place there.
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Typical Italian hill village - 'Destruction by German Demolition and Allied Bombs
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December 9th 1943
(Jerusalem captured, 1917.)Cleaning gun in morning - barrel and breach. Block in a pretty bad state from firing, we get another nine rounds off at Gerries. Our regiment has ten planes to credit.
December 10th 1943
(Grouse and Black Game Shooting ends - H.M.S "Repulse" and "Prince of Wales" sunk, 1941.)
Sergeant Johnson comes back out of hospital after the mine 'Do.' Fred, Jack and Gill go onto another site. Sorry to see them go as we had some good times together.
December 11th 1943
(Accession of H.M. King George VI, 1936 - Germany and Italy declared War on U.S.A 1941 - Full Moon 4.24 p.m.)
Indian Snik gives me an Xmas parcel, S Africa. Okay and 100 C to C fags. Good chaps these Indians, they will give you anything.
December 12th 1943
(3rd in Advent - Sunrise, 7.55 a.m ; Sunset, 3.51 p.m.)
Hear that Stoney gets it. Killed by shell. See plenty of Gerry prisoners of war being taken back. They look proper browned off.
December 13th 1943
(H.R.H The Duchess of Kent born, 1906 - "Graf Spee" sunk, 1939.)
Hear that we are moving further up tomorrow morning. Guarding supply dump outside Mozzagrogna. Get lorry, gun etc ready.
December 14th 1943
(H.M King George VI born, 1895.)
Move off at day break, go through Mozzagrogna or what is left of it. The village is a shambles. Gerry planes come over and we fire gun on wheels, good fun.
December 15th 1943
We are in luck - no digging for a change. We put gun in bomb crater, just the job. Same Indians that were with us before. Double guards at night.
December 16th 1943
We make our cook house in a shelled cottage, get some good fires on and make ourselves comfortable. There is not a whole house standing in the whole of the village.
December 17th 1943
Our Artillery put up barrage all day long. Fighting is for a village about seven miles from here. Main object Pescara? We get a few shells around us at night. Four Indians killed, three wounded.
December 18th 1943
Take gun to Lancearmo? a village three miles away for refitting. Stay in a garage for the night and get a good nights sleep. This place has also taken a bashing but not so bad as Mozzagrogna.
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| Typical German Demolition of village in the High Apennines |
(4th in Advent - Last Quarter., 8.3 p.m - Sunrise, 8.1 a.m ; Sunset, 3.52 p.m)
Waiting around so we go for a walk around the joint. Not much going on, only a barbers shop open in the whole joint. A few people coming back to their homes.
December 20th 1943
(H.R.H The Duke of Kent born, 1902.)
Go back to gun site. Weather still pretty wet and muddy. Find a Gerry rifle, ammo, land bombs, etc. The Gerry planes over today.
December 21st 1943
(Michaelmas Law Sittings end.)
Hear from Arthur today, first time for a long time. Glad to hear he is getting on okay.
LAST ENTRY FOR 1943.
