Dad's Photos

My Dad has an old scrapbook with lots of photos in it taken either by him or of him between 1943 and 1947. Below are selection. He's the one with the bandages on his head in the photo below.


Rome, July 1944

There is one hell of a story behind this photograph. On the 10th June 1944, they'd travelled all day in a convoy of trucks to a place called Civita Castellana just on the front line, to setup an airstrip and meet my Dad's planes. As they arrived they were spotted by a German forward observer who called his artillery down onto their trucks and onto them. Several trucks were destroyed by direct hits and men scattered, running for their lives as a lot more fire hit their new position. My Dad managed to find a shallow depression to shelter in along with three of his comrades. A shell landed four feet behind them. Unluckily for my Dad the shell fragments hit his head and his neck, knocking him out for a few seconds, deafening him and leaving a two inch long spike of searing hot metal embedded in the soft tissue of his neck. He still has specks of blue metal in his neck and ears to this day. Two of his comrades also in the ditch, his Corporal and an R.A.F. airman attached to the regiment were killed instantly. The third, his friend Denis 'Trapper' Moreten died later in the aid station that he and my Dad were evacuated to on stretchers on the bonnet of a commandeered Italian vehicle. My Dad was then flown to hospital in Naples in a C47 where he recouperated and was subsequently sent to Rome, where the picture above was taken. His comrades and his friend are buried in Lake Bolsena war cemetary which we visited in 2004. He was mentioned in dispatches for his couragous actions during this encounter. Kind of puts the meaning of a 'having bad day' into perspective. Told you it was one hell of a story.


Naples, March 1944


On the road, Italy 1944


Canadian Field Gun, Italy 1944


Burning Glider, Unspecified Italian Airfield 1944


Holland, April 1945


Holland, May 1945 (right)

I don't know who the lady he's with is. I don't think he cared too much either :-)


North West Frontier, India, Late 1946 (left)

At least our troops in Afghanistan don't have to fight the Taliban looking like Crocodile Dundee.


Back on the road, India, 1946


Hard at work, India 1946


India 1946