Rambling Anecdotes

[4V50 Gary]

"Corporal Tommy Roberts was the driver for Lieutenant Colonel Stephenson. Somewhere along the journey from Alamein, the Colonel had acquired an Italian motorhome, but had not been able to bring it forward all the way to where we had advanced. With the fighting over, he decided to have his vehicle brought up. He sent Tommy for it, along with a chap called Oliver Bliss. There had to be two of them of course, one to drive the vehicle they traveled in and the other to bring the motorhome back. If there was anyone in the battalion who knew how to bend rules and the King's Regulations it was Ollie. The motorhome had been left quite a way back and so it meant being away for a couple of nights. On the way there, they had to stay in a transit camp and when it came to being fed, found that the food was absolutely terrible. The next day they picked up the motorhome and while inspecting the interior, discovered that the Colonel had left a couple of valises in it. Ollie opened one and told Tommy, 'We are not going to eat corned beef stew on the way back.' When they reached the transit camp they put on two of the Colonel's uniforms, walked into the Officer's Mess and had a slap-up meal! Unfortunately, upon leaving, two Red Caps (note: provost officers/MPs) were waiting and arrested them for impersonating officers. This was reported to Colonel Stephenson, who persuaded the Red Caps to let him deal with the two imposters. When they arrived back at battalion (note: 1/7 or Middlesex Regiment), the Colonel said, 'What have you got to say for yourselves?' They said, 'We wanted a decent meal, so we borrowed your uniforms.' Stephenson said, 'Now that's what I call initiative and that's what I want in my battalion, men with initiative. Get out of here and don't do it again!'

[4V50 Gary]

"We were passing through German towns that were not too badly damaged and in one of them, Queckenburgh, the bank was still standing and contained a large safe. Of course you do all sort of silly things and we thought there might be a few bob in it and decided to open it with a Projectile Infantry Anti-Tank [PIAT] which fired a solid shot and had a kick-back like a mule. Sergeant Major Waller appeared and decided he wanted a share of the loot, and would fire the PIAT himself. He laid down and aimed at the safe at the other end of the room. We presuaded him that all he would do was kill himself with the blast, so he took it outside and standing on a thin, wooden slatted box, aimed the PIAT through the window. The rest of us stood back a safe distance and looked on with interest. He fired the PIAT and there was an almighty bang and a cloud of smoke, followed by our gallant Sergeant Major being blown back down the road. Inside were scraps of charred paper and a few unidentifiable items fused together by the explosion. The only reward for our trouble was the Sergeant Major being out of action for a few days with a dislocated shoulder!"

The PIAT was a spring powered launcher that sent a hollow charge shell (not a solid shot) capable of penetrating steel. They should have called it PITA or Pain In The Arse. The German 88 mm Panzershreck, which was an adaptation of our miserable too small 2.76" Bazooka, was a superior weapon. Here's the PIAT in A Bridge Too Far:

https://youtu.be/oHM6z3bnnjQ?si=SfRLkqbBqNbt4NWY

ETA: I think the author meant Quakenbruck.

101st Screaming Eagle, Joseph Beyrle escaped from the Stalag III-C and went east where he met the Soviet Army. He got himself attached to a Soviet tank battalion and his skill with explosives was appreciated and he was called upon to open safes for them. Much better than any hollow charged weapon that would destroy the contents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Beyrle There is also a book about him, The Simple Sound of Freedom.

[4V50 Gary]

"Whilst still on the same guard duty I had to escort a prisoner who was under close arrest from the cell where he was held to a nearby toilet. On the way it was necessary for me to unlock a door and I had trouble finding the correct key. Turning to the prisoner, I handed him my rifle saying, 'Here, hold this a minute whilst I sort out the keys.'

'Sure, mate,' he replied and he waited until I had opened the door before handing the rifle back to me. I never did find out what crime he had committed but it must have been something serious for him to be held under close arrest."

Not quite as bad as handling your weapon to an enemy combatant as we've seen earlier.

Heard about an Australian soldier who, as punishment, was sent to a godforsaken and isolated post by his irate captain. His captain failed to tell the officer who relieved him about the lone sentry. The battalion departed and fought on the Kokoda Track (New Guinea) and then the Buno-Gona campaign. The soldier figured that the neglect of his officers spared him the hardships of those campaigns. Lesson: Sometimes being punished is good for you.

[4V50 Gary]

Written by a POW Camp escapee who was hiding among the Italians and awaiting the Allies to advance.

"Distant rumblings told us that the advancing Allies were getting nearer, and for some people this was the moment to be dreaded. One such person was the local Fascist official, an ugly little man whose name I have forgotten. He had been a big noise in the village for many years, throwing his weight about and strutting about in his black-shirted uniform with the strength of a ruling Junta behind him. Now that was about to be peeled away and he was in fear of retribution. I had known of this man for many months and had taken great care to keep clear of him. Now he actually sought me out, and invited me to dinner. Knowing full well what he was about, I accepted and ate everything he put before me, drinking deeply of his best wine as the meal progressed. After dinner, the ingratiating little rat asked me if I would write a letter for him to show the British troops when they arrived. He wanted me to clear him of any connection with the Fascist party, and to say that he had always been a true democrat and a supporter of the Allied cause.

"I agreed to his suggestion without hesitation, and he hurried to get me pen and paper. I enjoyed writing the letter. Naturally, I cannot remember it word for word, but it ran something like the following:

Dear Winston Churchill,

I would like to bring your attention to the bearer of this letter, ********* *******. He is a native of Massa Fermana and for many years has been a keep supporter of the fat, over-decorated leader of the black-shirt legions that have ruled this country far too long.

He has always been anti-British in his attitude and has done everything in his power to denigrate our nation. He has been a scourge to the local people who have lived in fear of him. He is also a a sniveling little wretch and completely beyond redemption.

I recommend that he be placed against the nearest wall and shot, or better still, hanged from some nearby tree.

Yours faithfully
R. K. Ellis
Sergeant, 107th RHA, South Notts. Hussars"

The author visited Italy several times post-war and it is testimony of the tolerance of the Italian people that the facist in mind survived.

[4V50 Gary]

Cadets were called upon to make an impromptu speech. Cadet Fidelis Newcomb was called upon and gave his laconic summation of public speaking:

"Sir, I believe the public speaking is a constipation of thought and a diarrhea of words."

Here's a link with image of Lt. Col. Newcomb: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...-david-newcomb

He is interred at West Point.

[4V50 Gary]

One thing I enjoy about books written by Great Depression era people who became soldiers is their description of life during hard times. I know one German who was 5 years old in 1945. He told me in post WW II there wasn't really any money and cigarettes were common. He said you either bartered for food or traded something for it. If you had a skill, you could work for some food. If you had neither anything to trade or skill that was wanted, you starved. I finally found a book that described the post-war currency exchange.

"Then, on June 20, 1948, the monetary reform occurred. Ten Reichsmarks were now worth only one new German mark. Every German received forty new marks, and as one radio commentaator staated, 'Now Germans were either all poor or all rich together.' The reform did not matter to us. We had not been able to save any money. But suddenly now there were goods in the stores but people were unable to purchase them."

[4V50 Gary]

We've mentioned Ned Kelly's armour. Museum Conservators describe it.

https://youtu.be/HzU4LvYsvIE?si=fzNCx7-vggOEj6Lj

Note the cleaning with the brush and vacuum. Acid free padded work surface too.

[4V50 Gary]

We've all seen images of Vampir, the Geman infrared sysem. We had ours too as did the British (Tabby - Patton used one in Operation Torch) and even the Soviets (they used it for night landing, naval operations and only very late in the war did they mount it on a SMG). About the only guys who didn't have it (that I'm aware of) are the Japanese.

"A chilling incident occurred during the fighting on the western marches of the Vosges, and also gave evidence that the Germans had a 'secret weapon' we thought was exclusively ours. We had recently been issued a new rifle telescope called a 'snooper scope' for use at night, as it featured an infra-red sensing device which picked up any source of heat, even a human body.

'The CP of the Third Battalion, Seventh Infantry, had just moved into the town of Vagney. On a pitch-black, foggy night, personnel in the blacked-out CP building heard the roar and clanking of a tank engine and steel treads. It didn't sound like one of ours - and indeed, our own tanks ere supposed to be lying doggo in support positions.

'Lt. James Harris, commanding a tank of the 756 Tank Battalion, went forward on foot to investigate. A burst of machine gun fire from the other tank caught him and knocked him down, badly wounded. He crawled back to his own tank, but before he could reach it the enemy tank had put five rounds into ours, knocking it out completely out of action.

'I went up to Vagney the next morning to see what had happened. A brief inspection told me that the Germans must also have a snooper scope - one synchronized with a tank gun. The enemy tank had hit our tank with a round of high explosive in the driver's port, another in the gunner's port - mere slits abot two by ten inches - and in addition put armor-piercing projectiles into the final drive at the front of the tank, and into each tread where it curved around the drive sprocket. A perfect solution, accomplished in absolute darkness! Such precision, without an infra-red scope, could otherwise have been accomplished only in daylight."

[4V50 Gary]

When you're in a foreign allied nation you have to comply with its laws. GIs who were vehicle operators were no exception and when in England had to be qualified for driving in the UK. One G.I. describes their examination.

"A whistle blew shortly thereafter and they called all drivers to fall out. The drivers fell out in an area in the front near the curb and the motor pool officer came by with a jeep. As our name was called from the roster each one of us got into the jeep and drove it a foot or two. We backed it up and then got out. This qualified us for driving in the U.K.!"

Heckuva way to same time, fuel and wear/tear on your vehicles.

[4V50 Gary]

Here in America we have a phenomenon called workplace violence. Generally an employee who believes (s)he was disenfranchised of an entitlement, or right, or perceives him/herself as wrongfully treated, builds up resentment and then one day acts out by seeking self-justice.

Indications cited include: fascination with other incidents of workplace violence, identifies as the person who committed the act, hatred of manager/supervisor/co-workers, makes comments like, "They deserved it." Other comments could be along the line of, "If they don't do _____, something will happen" or "They're going to get it/payback." Additional characteristic may include fascination with weapons (note: there are many who study weapons but this alone does not indicate they are predisposed towards violent acts.

If remarks are reported, there can be timely intervention and maybe even termination. Trouble in the past is that while many heard veiled threats, no one reported it.

Anyway, here's an example that Lord Lovat mentions in his book March Past! (page 168):

"A serious folly occurred at Troon during the hanging-about period in the Lister regime. The sapper section wasa officered by an individual who shall be nameless: untidy and foul-mouthed, it was difficult to understand why he ever wanted a commission. I had twice sent him off parade, to get shaved and to show a hair-cut to the adjutant. He held his place as one of the three rugger blues playing for the commando; they helped boost our ego by winning away matches. On the third offence it was decided to get rid of him. The man could not have been quite normal. The same afternoon, smarting with resentment, he drew, without authority, all available high explosives from the quartermaster's store, loaded them into a truck aand proceeded to blow up the most conspicuous landmark in the neighborhood: a tall factory chimney, some 150 feet high, in a disused brick kiln behind the town. There was hell to pay: children had hysterics; plaster fell from ceilings; cows aborted; a mare broke her heg. Aryshire was indignant."

Now if he blew up the truck, that would be a truck bomb that predates the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

Note: Here in America we have another phenomenon where "Coach" gets his star athletes out of trouble. Starts in high school, continues into college and the athlete develops a mindset that he is untouchable. Coach will always rescue him and Coach is better than an attorney/barrister.