'I was there'

The contributor’s father wrote a book entitled 'I was there', which was never published but excerpts were included in the Echo.
The book was written in 1944-45.

He was 27 and served for the entire war.
He was shot down twice.
The book starts on the troop ship, where he sailed from South Hampton. 10,000 men on a 6k capacity ship created inhumane living conditions.

He served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Algeria. He was buried alive in a sandstorm, where several men died in North Africa. At some points, he had no food or water, and his throat was so dry he could barely speak.

He married and had a child. Everyone was so excited to be going home on the boat to Calais, but a fellow soldier had been with another woman whilst abroad and could not face returning home to his wife and children, so he killed himself.

He had a chameleon and a baby baboon as pets.

He was a driver for officers and found out that one was using troops’ food to pay for prostitutes. He punched the officer but didn't get into trouble.