Sgt Isherwood H 409739
The following document is a transcript of a note pad which is currently held in the Regimental Museum of The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry. Written by Sgt H Isherwood 409739, 106 Battery 78th (DLOY) Medium Regiment Royal Artillery, it is a personal account of his experiences from embarkation on 16th January 1943 to 21st April 1945. The document is uploaded to the on-line regimental archives along with photographs of the original papers for comparison where the text may be unclear. For ease of comparison, the original paging has been maintained.
Transcription
By
Lieutenant Colonel John Tustin TD
April 2016
Sergeant Isherwood H 409739. 106 Battery 78 Medium Regiment Royal Artillery
Memoirs of our travels since leaving England
Page 1
Boarded the "Sibejack" a Dutch luxury liner at Liverpool on January 16, 1943. Sailed up to the Clyde Anchorage at Greenock, picked up the convoy and hit the open sea on Jan 23. It was rough the first few days as we did not go a direct route, but circled up into the north Atlantic before heading south. The accommodation on the boat was very good for officers, warrant officers and Sergeants but was terrible for the other ranks. Gradually we came in to calmer, warmer weather, and one night, looking over the ship's rail we could see the Canary Islands lit up like any peacetime resort.
Our first port of call was Freetown; we did not go ashore here,
Page 2
but the convoy refuelled and took in water. It was very hot by this time, and we had discarded the battle dress for KD. We had boxing and sports competitions to keep us amused and we had a very enjoyable ceremony when crossing the equator. We are arrived in Capetown on the 22nd of February. We were allowed ashore almost immediately, as soon as the money had been changed. We returned to the ship that night, and next day, went to a transit camp 15 miles from Kaapstad (Capetown). We stayed here three weeks and had a lovely time at the Cape and surrounding district. I went to see Cape Point, Muizenberg, and one or two other places. Up to the
Page 3
time of writing, this is the best place I have been apart Blighty of course. We sailed from Cape Town and the “Devonshire” a troopship with far better accommodation than that on the " Sibejack, " up the Indian Ocean to Durban. On the east coast of Africa, Durban is subtropical and the favourite holiday resort of the country. We only stayed one day here, but I should have liked to have seen more of it: so typically English. You could go in a pub and ask for a pint. From Durban, through the straits of Madagascar to Mombasa. Just another refuelling port, we stayed out on the river that night and moved on again next morning
Page 4
We sailed into the Gulf of Arabia to Aden; British outpost guarding the entrance to the Red Sea. We only stayed at Aden about six hours, then off again up the Red Sea. This part of our voyage, from the Cape to our final stopping place at Suez, was more interesting than the first half. We had swing sessions, concerts, sports and plenty of back-drill (rest). The coinage on the ship was all Indian and we had to get used to dealing in rupees and annas. We finally disembarked at Port Suez, at the mouth of the canal. By way of interest the Suez Canal is 90 miles long and 90 yards wide, joining up the Red Sea and
Page 5
The Mediterranean, with the Port Suez at one end (Red Sea) and Port Said at the Med end and so set fast in Egypt. Land of Bustards. Straight off the old “Devonshire” onto the train, time being about 20:00 hours. A 4 hour train journey brought us into the desert, to a big staging camp called Qassassin. By the way, the natives are never referred to as Egyptians by anybody else, they are known as Wogs. The date was April 14. We got our first mail from home when we have been here about five days. We had to get used to sand storms and blinding sun. Of course, in typical army fashion our topees were taken from us and we had only our ridiculous little side hats to protect us from the sun.
Page 6
Our equipment had not arrived and we only had one gun to practise on, an old Alamein relic, and a few vehicles for general use. After being at Qassassin for three weeks we got leave to Cairo, for three days. I saw some places of historical interest such as the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Went round the native bazaars and the Blue Mosque: I will leave Cairo at that and continue. Back at Qassassin we carried on doing bullshit guards and working Italian prisoners. Some of our men took prisoners to Tobruk for repatriation. Another three weeks and we had three days leave at Timsah rest camp. Immediately following this we moved to Alexandria. Our battery went to the docks as Ships Security Guards. The remainder of the regiment stayed
Page 7
at Sidi Bishr, farther up the coast. Ours was a good job. We did shifts on the cargo boats, which at that time were all loading equipment and stores preparing for the invasion of Sicily. We knew, of course, that something was coming off, but we had no idea where. We had plenty of time off in Alexandria and I thought it a far better place than Cairo. We went to Alex on 1 June, we stayed on this guard job until July 9 and then moved up to Base Depot R.A. at Almaza. Just out of Heliopolis which is a suberb of Cairo. This was the first time we did gunnery or anything relating to artillery since leaving England. Our job was firing duty for Cadet Officers and was equally good training for us. We were
Page 8
equipped with 8 x 5.5 inch guns and 8 x 25 pounders. It was the first time most of us had been on this latter type of gun. It was handy to Cairo from Almaza but very few showed any inclination to go there.
Our next move was a six day convoy drive with guns and equipment. We left Almaza on 7 August and headed for Syria again, crossed the military transport Bridge over Suez, on the same day refuelled and camped the night at a staging camp – Moascar (Garrison – Ismailia). We had to cook and look after our own rations. Sergeant Fielding and I worked as a section and we dished some good stuff up for 18 men. Moved off next morning out of Egypt (thank God) into Arabia. Covered our allotted distance for the day and camped the night
Page 9
by the roadside. We had been travelling all day through desert seeing nothing but camels and wondering Bedouins.
3rd day
We started off early next morning and soon passed over the frontier out of Arabia into Palestine. We were now in the land where Christ was born. When I saw that, I wished to Christ I was in the land where I was born. The country was becoming more fertile. We stopped once to get the stragglers up, those at the rear in the smaller vehicles, and there was a watermelon field by the road. Our lads were out of the wagons in a flash and came back laden with ripe melons bigger than footballs. We halted at 12:00 hours at another refuelling and staging camp and stayed there for the rest of the day and night. There was a NAAFI here so we gorged ourselves with tinned fruit.
Page 10
We've moved on next day through Beersheeba and Gaza. Travelled all day and camped at our next refuelling point about 16:00 hours. This was our fourth days travelling and we were down to the old biscuits and bully when we got a fresh supply of rations. We also pinched as many melons as we could carry from the Wogs. We were quite close to the coast so a wagon took the men who wished to go, down to Netanya, on the beach. We had a good splash about in the Med. It was very refreshing after travelling all day in the dust and heat and fuel fumes. The weather was even hotter than Egypt.
The next day we came to some very mountainous country and the gun tractors kept chugging away in low gear. My driver and
Page 11
I, had been changing over at frequent intervals all through the trip as the glare of the sun on the road is terrific. Compiled with the intense heat and rough roads driving a big gun towing vehicle is no easy job in this part of the world. About midday we came down a mountainside, down the road like a switch-back into Tiberias on Galilee. We lunched by the shore of the lake and we had more than two loaves and five small fishes. Then went for a swim in the Sea of Galilee. We know that the Jordan runs through Galilee so, after our lunch and a swim we climbed again out of the Jordan Valley into the mountains; crossed the frontier from Palestine into Transjordan and camped 1 mile further on. There was a pub at the frontier post and we had a hell of a
Page 12
night there and finished up in the Sgt's Mess of a Squadron of Palestine Mounted Police - all Britishers. This frontier is Rosh-Pina.
Our last day’s run started badly for me. We have been going about half an hour when my electric gun brake seized up. The convoy went on and left us, as is the rule in these cases and one officer stayed behind in a small truck. After we had completed the repair we carried on and it was much better going at our own speed.
We dropped down into the Jordan Valley again and crossed the river: John the Baptist was not there. Then we had a terrific climb up the side and finally came to the Syrian frontier. The country was all plains now and we saw plenty of graves as evidence
Page13
of earlier Battles of this war. We finally reached our destination, a place called Doummar, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of our sixth day. It was nothing more than a Wog village, nobody else but the 78th would have gone in it. We were about 5 miles from Damascus, oldest city in the world so we went out to have a look at it one night. Everything was incredibly expensive; one Syrian pound is worth about 2s 3d English money, and we were paying almost a pound for a bottle of beer. We only stayed at Doummar three days, then moved to Artouz, which is our present station. We are on the planes about eight or 9 miles from Damascus. We can see snow on top of the great mountains behind us and yet down here the heat is too great for most of us to stand at midday. We are
(No Page 14)
Page 15
and they were leaving the area so they handed the horses over to us. I am in charge of them at present and life is grand. We lasted just three weeks at Slenfe, then moved, a two day journey back to the identical spot we had left, at Artouz. We travelled the horses in three tonners and I was amazed at the way they had adapted themselves to this form of travel. We have just been back at Artouz a month now and there is another move impending. I shall lose my horses but it has been great fun.
I handed the horses over to another unit. The main body of the regiment moved to Beirut and we were left behind, as rear party with
Page 16
all vehicles and guns. We moved in convoy, by the way we came across the Jordan and I had a bad accident on the plains. Two tyres burst and we finished up in a ditch by the roadside, fortunately no one was hurt. We eventually finished up back at Qassassin and here we stayed for 10 days. In this time we received the full equipment and packed the wagons ready for shipment. We then left a small party to travel with the equipment and we went down to Amiriya Transit Camp. In the meantime we learnt that the main body of the equipment had landed in Italy. We stayed at
Page 17
Amiriya for two days and then went down to Alexandria docks and embarked on the "Staffordshire", a Bibby line converted troopship. We lay out in the harbour for two days and then set sail across the Mediterranean for Italy. It took us four days to reach Italy and we arrived at Taranto without incident. At Taranto we disembarked and stayed 36 hours in a transit near the docks. We then moved up to Andria, the nearest inland town to the port of Barletta. Here we joined the first advanced party of the regiment. We learned that they had been up in the front line for a week digging gun pits. Jim came over with the rear party on the cargo boat and
Page 18
arrived a fortnight after us. Here in Italy the climate is like an English autumn. As I write, that is just 14 days to Christmas. We have resumed football again and it is a pleasure to play on grass and mud instead of the sand and dust of the Middle East. We are now assembled and ready to go up into the firing line, so the thing we have trained for through a period of years is very near now. It was with some pride that Colonel Palmer told us we were in the Eighth Army. At present they are advancing on Pescara, a valuable Adriatic port.
(Resuming on 15th March 1944)
We spent Christmas at Andria and on 27 December we packed up and went on a scheme to an area around Castel del Monte.
Page 19
By this time the winter had started and it was bitterly cold and wet. We had a realistic scheme, gun pits and everything and we are living in donkey huts and olive orchards. Then came the snow. We put up with this lot for 10 days and on January 7th we had orders to move and we were told that we were going into action. We passed through Foggia the first day and it was in a terrible state. Our bombers had plastered it. We stopped in a place called San Severo and lined our guns and vehicles up in the Main Street. We rigged a sheet up and slept in the waggon and around
Page 20
the guns. The Italians are bigger thieves than the Wogs. We saw a good show in the Opera house given by the DAF called " Get some in". Next day we got along near the front and our destination was supposed to be the Vasto. But we went through Vasto and halted just outside (Teramo?). We have been without food since breakfast and we were just expecting a meal when our RSM Miller crashed up on his MC and dramatically informed us that we were going straight into action. We could hear the distant rumble of guns and I
Page 21
can hardly describe my feelings when I heard this as I expected shots and shells flying all over the place. We moved on to Sangro and orders were "no lights" when over the Sangro Bridge. Just over the Sangro we halted and I went up to the front for orders - they were - Gun positions under enemy observation, no lights, and our Troop Commander Capt Ridett was in an OP 800 yards from the enemy. Everybody was tensed, all talking in whispers, and the RSM was rushing about like
Page 22
a blue-arsed fly. Then to relieve the tension our GPO, Johnny Law, arrived (he had been in position three days with the recce party) nonchalantly smoking a fag. He took Gun Sergeants up in a cart to survey the positions. Our gun pits had been marked out behind a railway embankment running parallel with the road. The guns follow on later and we got into position easily enough, but the artillery all round us kept banging away and the night was lit
Page 23
with gun flashes. This was a bit unnerving at first but after an hour or two we got used to it. I fired my first shell at the end of it on January 9 Sunday about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We then proceeded to learn something for that training could never teach us. I dug a real gun pit and the dug-out into the railway banking, we made a store out of 25 pounder charge tins and I moved in and made my bed on the wheel mat. The first week we got
Page 24
shelled heavily by Jerry and two of the lads were killed. We had behind us a town called Castel Frentano right on top of the hill. All Italian towns are built on top of the hill. Jerry shelled this place every day. He plastered us now and then but our Artillery is much stronger than his and for every shell he sends over he gets 50 back. We were nearest to a little town called San Eustanio and Jerry patrols used to visit at night. Then the rains
Page 25
came. For six weeks it was a case of up to the eyes and mud. The war was brought to a standstill and we just popped away at one another. I am proud to say that my gun has never yet been out of action. I have fired up-to-date in this position 2800 shells. General Sir Oliver Leese, new 8th Army CO, told us that the artillery has fired more rounds in this position than they did in Tunisia. We are moving out tomorrow or the next day and there is no indication yet
Page 26
as to our next destination. We are all hoping that we are going home for the second front. We moved out of our first position and crossed the R. Sangro same night camping at the Eighth Army railhead Casalbordeno. Went on next day to Foggia, refuelled and stopped near a farm. We were travelling as a troop, the rest of the regiment has moved out four days before us and left us in action. Next day we crossed the Apennines and camped in Avellino. Our last day's run took us past
Page 27
Mount Vesuvius, which was in eruption, and into Naples. From there we went up the main Cassino road to a place where the remainder of the regiment had been camped for four days. Next morning at 8 o'clock Gun Sergeants went up into the line again to look over gun positions we had to take over from the Yanks on the main Fifth Army front. We are here at present then the guns come up and into position the same night We are just 4000 yards from Cassino and I've been here six weeks. Compared with our first position this place is ...........
Page 28
We have had two more killed and seven injured. I am writing this 11 hours before the greatest battle in history is about to begin. We are putting down a terrific barrage. The second front is also due to start. I have everything ready and can only hope for the best: date May 11, 1944
A long time has elapsed since I last wrote on this pad and I have seen and suffered war. We followed the successful push over the Rapido river and saw deaths and destruction in the Gustav line. We were support artillery to 4th British Division.
Page 29
I got a pleasant break in the shape of five days leave there - Salerno. When I came back things were moving pretty swiftly and the regiment was in action at Roccasecca. I went into workshops from there and in 10 days and I was back in Picolemonte, The regiment had some thrills! At one time only infantry patrols in front of them and some of the lads were first British troops in the village. I caught them up again near Rome next day we moved off again through the great city and continued our advance. One position followed another and, so fast wasTedeschi (Italian tedeschi was used sometimes as a general name for Germans ) moving out that we did three positions in one day. But we
Page 30
had our losses. One of my lads stood on a mine and we had lost about 25 killed up to then. I can't know all the places we passed through but a route was Cassino, Rome, Citta della Pieve, Monte San Savino, Montevarchi, Torsolia, Strada, Grassina to Florence. It was when we were going into position at midnight near Strada I got a shell splinter hit me in the head. But that was lucky. I re-joined the regiment at Grassina. When Florence fell our next positions were Pontassieve and two near Vicchio. Then through the Gothic Line to Valsalva and along to our present position which is about 6 miles
Page 31
south east of Bologna. We have been told to expect a winter campaign and already had a taste of snow, apart from being plastered regularly by Jerry. But slowly and surely he is backing out of his last stronghold in Italy. It has been an eventful summer and at one time we thought that operations in Europe would finish the Germans before Christmas but now as always the weather seems to have pipped us again. The date is now November 16, 1944 my birthday.
We stayed at this last place, Cuviola, until the end of February and all the time we were subject to terrific shelling
Page 32
from Jerry. It was the worst winter I have ever experienced or I'm ever likely to again. At one time supplies could only be brought by mules and the snow was 2 to 3 feet deep. The intense called cannot be imagined but we got through. I saw infantryman brought in by mules, dead from exposure. An awful site we spent all our spare time chopping board for fires and there wasn't a tree left within 1000 yards of us when we left.
We moved from Cuviola to the right of the line and not quite so near the end of it. The place was called Baffadi, we called it Happy Valley
Page 33
because in contrast to the other position which was undoubtedly the worst we had ever been in this was the best as we never have a shot back at ours. We got the football going again and had a quiet time although the guns were always in action until we moved over to the Eighth Army sector near Faenza for the big spring campaign which started in April. We had positions just on the south side of the River Senio which was Jerry’s defence line and about 2000 yards away. This is very close for a gun of medium calibre. When the battle started it was a far more impressive site than Cassino as it was in the early afternoon.
Page 34
First, 1000 Bombers came over and plastered Jerry's guns and mortars then the D A F fighters and rocket firing planes set about strafing his transport and forward troops. All the time we were banging away as fast as we could, according to plan, about 900 guns of all types. Now we are on the go again and have been in position 1500 yards from Jerry when he had only just moved out an hour or two previously. What havoc our planes had created. I saw a Jerry truck turned over just off the road and six Jerry's lying dead beside it, one with his guts hanging out and another with his head completely severed off -
Page 35
they are what we call Good Germans. We are supporting a Gurkha mobile column: these amazing little men put the fear of God into Jerry with their big Kukris (knives) with which they lob Jerry heads off at night when they sneak up on him as only a Gurkha can. I am out of the line for a few days now to get a new barrel in my gun at a Polish workshop. When I left the regiment it was in action just outside Medicina. I expect to be back in line in a few days’ time (April 21st).