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Service in Algeria and Italy

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posted on 2024-06-05, 20:08 authored by Their Finest Hour Project Team

My father was working for Priddy's Hard, which is now the Explosion Museum. In 1942, he was trained and sent to Algeria in North Africa. He was there for some time until the Germans pushed them back. My father told me that, in Algeria, they used to shake their shoes in the morning to make sure that there were no scorpions inside!

My father was then transferred to Italy. As they were moving upwards, the Germans capitulated and the war ended. I woke up one morning to find a sunburnt brown man back from the army! He never really talked about his experiences in the war.

When the war started, we were evacuated, and my mum and I went to South Wales.

History

Item list and details

1. Medals and photo

Person who shared the story/items

Eric Thomas

Relationship between the subject of the story and its contributor

Father

Type of submission

Shared at Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport, Hampshire on 27 October 2023.

Record ID

103104 | GOS008