3rd Field Regiment - North Africa

Discussion in 'North Africa & the Med' started by 107 Bty 27 LAA Regt, Dec 19, 2009.

  1. I have recently had the pleasure of spending several hours with a veteren, Gnr/Articifer John Mallen now in his 90's, from the 3rd Field Regiment, listening to his tales from North Africa and as a POW in Italy. I initially contacted him as he had been in the same POW camp in Italy, PG 54 Fara Sabina, as my grandfather and was interested to find out more about the camp.

    He has previosly told his story at BBC Peoples War and have produced it again below for any one who is interested.

    I'm John Mallen of the 3rd Field Regiment Royal Artillery in combat with the German Afrika Corps in June 1942.

    After some combat we were overwhelmed by the German Forces and taken prisoner of war. Having been taken as prisoner with quite a few of my comrades, we were taken by boat to Sicily and thereafter to the mainland of Italy, roughly half the way up the ‘boot’. To camp PG54. This was towards the end of June 1942. In September 1943 our captors were expecting their government to sue for an armistice with the Allies and consequently our guards were taking a little less trouble and gave us the chance to exit the camp and find ourselves in open countryside. We, myself and 7 comrades, were in a working party to go out into the fields and we were waiting outside the camp but the guards who were supposed to escort us didn't turn up, so we just walked off. Of course we were aware of the possibility that we would be shot as we went off. We dived into the trees and so were hidden.

    There was me and 7 others. There was Jack Royal who was from Worksop, 'Smudger' Smith - Smudger was a nickname of course, W. Batchelor who came from Yorkshire somewhere, Cliff Connor who cam from Skelton and Bill whose name I can't recollect. Lastly there was Ken Barnes who was from Colchester area. I really would like to get in touch with them again.

    There were hundreds of other POWs on the run as soon as Italy capitulated as the guards just walked off. Many POWs stayed where they were because there was a coded message sent to the British Officers in charge of the troops to say that POWs should stay put in the camps. The reason was that the Allies, having landed in the Southern tip of Italy were expected to advance rapidly. That didn’t happen and Hitler sent an order that all POWs were to be marched to camps in Germany. Maybe he wanted them all as hostages in Berlin; I don’t know. Of course they were starved and winters were very hard. When the Americans found these POWs being marched they brought them home. My mate Ken Barnes was one of them. He had quickly been recaptured after we split up but when he was rescued he was only 4 ½ stone.I didn't know that at the time of course.

    We moved at night time for about 2 weeks and scrounged food from the fields. A good time of the year as every Italian was a smallholder with a few animals and vines, olives and vegetables - very much self-supporting. We evaded Italians as we were not sure if they were anti-British. But eventually we arrived at the village of Montebuono. We came across a young chap and fortunately our sergeant, 'Smudger', was able to speak a few words of Italian. He told us that they did not care for Mussolini and that they were out of the war. He took us to his home and his parents came out and shook us by the hand. The war had finished for them. The other families adopted one each of us. I was taken in by Shar Ezio (spelling may be incorrect), his wife and daughter.

    A few weeks later there was an order sent out by the Germans that said that Italians harbouring POWs would be shot and their houses burned. We had to move out as we could not put them at risk. We were back to square one back in the fields and open country scrounging in the fields for what we could. So we again had to scatter. The Germans would send squads through the countryside looking for us. We could hear them but we knew our way around the area by then and kept out of their way
    After a couple of weeks we had a message from the Italians to go back to the village. The bulk of the Italians were keen to help but a number were still fascists. We were reluctant for them taking the risk the, but they insisted that the Germans had gone out of the area. We stayed there for about a month or 6 weeks.

    We decided to split up as we thought we would have a better chance of survival on our own. Some went North to try to reach Switzerland which was neutral but a long way away, or South to try to get through German lines and make contact with the advancing Allied troops. We found out that we were free to contact the allies. Bear in mind that when the Italians packed in when the Allies landed. German troops were still occupying. Now free from POW camp, we were still careful to keep away from Germans.

    I remained in the area as I found what I considered to be good hideaways - one was a cave in an area of dense woodland and the other was a barn. It was just bare ground in the cave and I had just one blanket that I had been given. As I was still in the area I could still contact my Italian family through another person. The next night after I had done this, the 11 year old daughter arrived in darkness, at my cave. 'Giovanni, I heard... Camilla' And there she was with a big basket strapped onto her back loaded with meat, cheese, bread, a bottle of wine and a big bunch of grapes. Dear oh dear.... that was very welcome. Just imagine though a young girl going a mile and a half in the dark and taking that risk.

    My next hiding place was a barn — a big cow shed where cows were living at night and what better hiding place than a manger? I would tuck myself in the edge of the manger, a pile of straw over me. Warm - big cows generate a lot of heat in this confined space! They kept away from me and they gave out a lot of body heat. I would only go there at night of course and leave very early in the morning and wander round in the hills and woods.

    In addition to us 8 escaped POWs, there was an American Bomber came down but the crew landed in open country by parachute and were unharmed. There were 8 of them. Like me they were hiding and they found an old shed at the top of the mountain of Montebuono.

    One early morning I was about to move off from my cowshed and I was looking around to see if anyone was around, any nasty people in German uniform, when I heard machine gun fire. The sound echoed round the valleys and it was hard to tell where it came from. Later I heard that a squad of Italian SS had tracked these Americans down to their hiding place. The sound I heard was them being shot. I was told by local people that it was the German SS. That didn't improve my morale I can tell you.
    I spent just under 10 months in the Italian countryside until June 1944. When the Germans were retreating I spent a couple of weeks with Italian partisans who were disrupting troop withdrawals, although they had to be careful as if they fired they showed their position.

    From the mountains I watched the German army retreating. When they had all past, lo and behold there was a British jeep. I had made my way down to the road and I jumped out in front of them waving my arms. I was in Italian clothing and they thought I might be a spy. They gave me cigarettes — my first English ones for a long time — but as they were Reconnaissance , checking the road ahead was clear of Germans, they just took my ID and my Italian family’s address and went off. Finally a letter came from Rome to say that I could report there to Alllied Screening for repatriation. I gave my information about the killing of the US aircrew which they investigated as a war crime. I was sent to Naples and after a time transported back to England in early November 1944.

    As a postscript I would like to say that the Italians who helped us were compensated by the British Government which they fully deserved. They were taking great risks in helping us.
    So that is my story.
    During our talks he has asked me to try and find out some further information for him:

    1. John remembers sailing from Glasgow to India to join the Regiment, and then driving from India via Iraq, Iran, Palastein and Jordan to Egypt to take part in the North Africa campaign. The Regiment towed their WW1 4.5 Howitzers all the way from India to Egypt, where they were then re-equiped with 25 Pounders. He cant remember which Battery he was in as he lost all his kit and papers when they were captured at El Adem on 15 June 1942. We are in the process of applying for his Service Records for him, so hopefully that may be able to answer that.

    From "Rommel's Greatest Victory-The Desert Fox and the Fall of Tobruk, Spring 1942" by Samuel W Mitcham we know that:by June 1942 the 3rd Field Regiment was defending El Adem and attached to the 29th Indian Brigade under Brigadier Denys W. Reid. The Brigade as a whole was excellent, and its morale was high, and it was well supported by the 3rd Field Regiment, RA under Lt. Col. P.H.Teesdale.
    From RA 1939-45 and "Regiments of the British Army 1939-4945 (Artillery)" by Maclom A Bellis it would appear that the Regiment went on to serve in Italy from September 1943 until June 1945, before returning to the UK, and comprised of 18, 62, 65 and 75 Batterys.

    Does any one have any further details about the 3rd Field Regiment ? Once we know which Battery John was in we can hopefully find the Battery War Diaries at Kew. John is particulaly keen to find out what happened to the Regiment after El Adem.

    2. John would like to find out any more about the 8 American airmen that were shot by the German SS on the Italian Moutainside. He remembers being told by the villagers that they were buried on the mountain by the local priest. What was their eventual resting place? I have tried searching the Kew records but cant find any reference.

    Thanks for any help any one can give.

    Chris
     
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    John remembers sailing from Glasgow to India to join the Regiment, and then driving from India via Iraq, Iran, Palastein and Jordan to Egypt to take part in the North Africa campaign. The Regiment towed their WW1 4.5 Howitzers all the way from India to Egypt, where they were then re-equiped with 25 Pounders.


    Hi Chris,

    Did he say how long that took? That's some drive !
     
  3. Tommy46

    Tommy46 Junior Member

    Having recently completed a moderate history of my own Bty 46 (Talavera) Bty RA, i was guided to this link by a friend. I was fascinated to read the article of Johns, in which he recounted his POW story. The fact he was a Gunner with 3rd Fld Regt RA is a bonus. 46 Bty's ancestor was 18 Fld Bty RA, and as the senior Bty of 3rd Fld Regt, i think i can at least help a bit in jogging Johns memory? The regiments wartrail as far as i can make out was:

    Sept 39...Trimulgherry (India). Warned off for war and carry out training in preparation.

    Feb 41...Quetta (India). Conversion to 25 Pdr Guns and more training.

    Mar 41...10th Indian Div (Iraq, Persia and Egypt). Take part in the Battles of Basra and Shaiba.

    May 42...5th Indian Div (N. Africa). Fight in the Gazala campaign under General Briggs.

    Jul 42...2nd South African Div (N. Africa).

    Aug 42...13 Corps (N. Africa).

    Sept 42...7th Armd Div (N. Africa).

    Oct 42...7th Armd Div, Free French Brigade (N.Africa). Fight at El Alamein.

    Jan 43...8th Indian Div (Iraq).

    Apr 43...8th Indian Div (N. Africa).

    Sept 43...8th Indian Div (Italy). Landed at Tarranto

    Nov 43...2nd New Zealand Div (Italy). Eastern operations.

    Dec 43...8th Indian Div (Italy). Various operations

    May 44...8th Indian Div (Italy). Took part in the 4th and final battle of Monte Cassino.

    Jul 45...Regiment returned to UK.

    As can be seen from this rough wartrail, 3rd Fld Regt RA were bounced from pillar to post, so it's not surprising that John was unsure of his Bty. The regiment was split thus:- 18 and 62 Bty's were amalgamated to form 18/62 Bty RA, as were 65 and 75 Bty's This was a common occurence during wartime, and had happened during WW1. As can be seen from the dates John would have been part of the regiment whilst they were attached to the 5th Indian Division during the Gazale campaign. The regiment, being a divisional asset would have been vital to the Division's operations. They would have been utilised by the brigades as and when ordered by Div HQ.

    I know it's not much, but it may help jog Johns memory...Good luck!

    P.S. Could you please submit a reply, should you find out any details of Johns Bty, it would be fascinating to find out which one??

    Tom.
    Ubique!
     
  4. Tom

    Thanks for the details, very interesting. I will show them to John next time I see him.

    When I was last at Kew I took a look through the War Diaries for the Regt up to 1942 and was able to establish that John was in 18/62 Bty. The War Diairies hold a tremendous amount of information, certainly compared to those of my Grandfathers LAA Bty, and are well worth a look.

    I copied quite a number of pages from the Diary which I can let you have if you are interested, unfortunatly I was having a bit of camera trouble so they are not brilliant. Too many to send by email so PM me your address and I will copy to CD and post.

    We are still waiting for John to receive a copy of his service records, which we requested before Christmas.

    Chris
     
  5. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Chris -
    another little piece of history is that the 8th Indian Div fought on the left flank of the Canadian Corps into the Liri Valley along the Secco River in May '44 during which the Cassino Monastery was captured finally by the Polish Corps and everyone was flooding into the Valley - 8th Indian - Canadians 1st Inf.& 5th Armoured - 6th Armoured - 78th Div - 4th Div- all pushing and shoving through the gap at Aquino and Pontecorvo - then an AGRA moved up ...now that was traffic jam ....

    Cheers
     
  6. Tommy46

    Tommy46 Junior Member

    Chris,
    Many thanks for the kind offer of the CD, it would be superb! I shall email you my address ASAP. If there are any costs, then just let me know, and i'll reimburse you for them.
    Ref John,
    I hope he is well, and was wondering if he would mind me informing the lads of the Old Comrades Association, that we have found one of our own? We refer to ourselves as "Talaverans" as this is the Bty's honour title, from the peninsular war. It was bestowed in the 50's, so John may not be aware that he is possibly the oldest Talaveran around!:lol: As i stated before 18 Bty became 46 bty after the reorganisation of the Royal Artillery. However, as a memory to our history, the two troops of the Bty were numbered 18 and 62 troops respectively. I realise that he is an old man, but he may be interested to know that we hold annual reunions, and that our last one was held back with the Bty, which is now the HQ Bty of 32 Regiment RA. For further details on his Bty's history, can i recommend a visit to the Bty OCA site, there you will find the moderate history i referred to earlier. Please visit X - Home, where you will find the OCA.

    Many thanks again for the great offer of the CD, it's very much appreciated!!!!

    ATB...Tom.
    Ubique!
     
  7. Tommy46

    Tommy46 Junior Member

    Chris,
    The Diaries of 27 LAA are excellent, and very well maintained, unlike so many other Artillery regiments/ Bty's. I shall look forward to seeing any more if they become available?

    ATB...Tom
    Ubique!
     
  8. Tommy46

    Tommy46 Junior Member

    Chris,
    Received the CD today and have had a good look, they are stunning and very revealing. Thank you for this superb addition to my knowledge of 3rd Field Regiment RA and their war. It's amazing to read such detailed accounts of their actions at El Adem and then at Sidi Rezagh. As for the casualty lists, it occurs those men went through a torrid time, especially those fighting alongside the 1st Worcesters.

    Once again thank you very much!!!!

    ATB...Tom
    Ubique!
     
  9. kap

    kap Junior Member

    I have recently had the pleasure of spending several hours with a veteren, Gnr/Articifer John Mallen now in his 90's, from the 3rd Field Regiment, listening to his tales from North Africa and as a POW in Italy. I initially contacted him as he had been in the same POW camp in Italy, PG 54 Fara Sabina, as my grandfather and was interested to find out more about the camp.

    He has previosly told his story at BBC Peoples War and have produced it again below for any one who is interested.

    During our talks he has asked me to try and find out some further information for him:

    1. John remembers sailing from Glasgow to India to join the Regiment, and then driving from India via Iraq, Iran, Palastein and Jordan to Egypt to take part in the North Africa campaign. The Regiment towed their WW1 4.5 Howitzers all the way from India to Egypt, where they were then re-equiped with 25 Pounders. He cant remember which Battery he was in as he lost all his kit and papers when they were captured at El Adem on 15 June 1942. We are in the process of applying for his Service Records for him, so hopefully that may be able to answer that.

    From "Rommel's Greatest Victory-The Desert Fox and the Fall of Tobruk, Spring 1942" by Samuel W Mitcham we know that:From RA 1939-45 and "Regiments of the British Army 1939-4945 (Artillery)" by Maclom A Bellis it would appear that the Regiment went on to serve in Italy from September 1943 until June 1945, before returning to the UK, and comprised of 18, 62, 65 and 75 Batterys.

    Does any one have any further details about the 3rd Field Regiment ? Once we know which Battery John was in we can hopefully find the Battery War Diaries at Kew. John is particulaly keen to find out what happened to the Regiment after El Adem.

    2. John would like to find out any more about the 8 American airmen that were shot by the German SS on the Italian Moutainside. He remembers being told by the villagers that they were buried on the mountain by the local priest. What was their eventual resting place? I have tried searching the Kew records but cant find any reference.

    Thanks for any help any one can give.

    Chris

    My late father, Roy Tracey, served with 3rd. Field Regiment RA from 1940 to 1946, progressing from conscripted private to W/Sgt. There is a history of 3rd, Field Regiment (see this link) Field Regiments Royal Artillery [1939-1945]
    I have my father's copy, which makes interesting reading, but was clearly written for internal consumption. Oddly, the link states 83 pages, whereas mine has only 41 pages plus some maps and an appendix, and the text stops at January 1945 in North Italy, which I guess is when someone first had time to stop and write things down.
    My father spoke very little about his experiences. He had terse words to say about the inaccuracy of American bombing in Italy; and he would never bathe on a sandy beach - "When I see sand, I see blood."
    Andrew Tracey (andrewjtracey [at] googlemail.com)
     
  10. Hi Andrew

    Would it be at all possible to obtain a copy of the History of the 3rd Field Regiment for John, he would be very interested to read it.

    Many thanks

    Chris
     
  11. kap

    kap Junior Member

    Hi Andrew

    Would it be at all possible to obtain a copy of the History of the 3rd Field Regiment for John, he would be very interested to read it.

    Many thanks

    Chris

    Of course. I have sent a reply to your email.

    Andrew
     
  12. Tommy46

    Tommy46 Junior Member

    Hi Chris and Andrew... Further to my last post, can i assume that the history of 3rd Fld RA to which you are referring is the one written by Brocklebanck? If so would it be at all possible for me to get a copy of it from you?? As this would be a great asset to my ongoing research into my old Bty's WW2 history.

    Incidentally, when the war ended, the RA were reorganised and 3rd Fld were retitled 44 searchlight Regt RA. During this transition 62 and 75 Bty's were lost from the regtl orbat and replaced with 64 and 65 bty's respectively. To add to the confusion 18 Bty was retitled 46 Bty, which it has remained ever since.

    Many thanks for any help forthcoming.

    ATB...Tom
    Ubique!
     
  13. Val P

    Val P Active Member


    Hi Chris

    It's been many years since your post but if you do see this, I wonder if any more information has come to light on the 'Bill' John Mallen escaped with. My Uncle Bill Loftus was a Corporal in the 8th Bn Royal Tank Regiment who went missing on 1st June 1942 reported as a POW by 24th June 1942. He had been on Operation Crusader and then missing somewhere near the Gazala line. He was in an Italian Camp and escaped and fought with the partisans, returning to Allied hands 13th December 1944 (he had Typoid and spent some time in hospital). This is all we know, apart from the fact that he got on reasonably well with one of the guards. It's a long shot but I wondered if he could be the Bill.

    Many thanks

    Val
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2023

Share This Page