Having sorted Lt Beadles friend Bert Webster I am going to be very brave and try this gentleman. Bari arriving on an LST along with others, he had been in Hospital with in Sousse suffering from Jaundice. The LST sailed from Bizerte, it was full with an LAA unit not named due to censorship. They had their Christmas Day celebration onboard. Can anyone make an educated guess on its identity. We crept into port on the morning of Boxing Day under a weeping grey sky and landed in the usual noisy crowd of infants and loungers. By mid-day we had sorted out our draft of odds and ends, marched them away to the transit camp on the edge of the town and established ourselves in the officers lines with a roof over our heads. (when I say “we” I refer to myself and my friend Jenks, the Mortar Captain who was my constant companion since the first day I went to hospital ). Since arriving we have done the usual round of the movement control authorities to try to speed up the process. This produced a piece of luck for Jenks who found the Colonel of “02E” (responsible for postings) to be an old school friend. So he wangled a special authority to proceed direct to his unit but didn’t manage to get me in the same metaphorical boat. So off he went yesterday morning promising to ring up my Bty to tell them where I was. When my friend Captain Jenkins left me, I settled down to a long and irksome wait for the mills of God to grind. But the very next day I got the order to move one stage further up the L of C to a CRU. (Corps Reinforcement Unit) We moved by train, an ancient and wheezy contraption which settled slowly at about 10mph and with innumerable stops, along the 30 miles to our sylvan glen. This was an oak grove in the middle of nowhere and ankle deep in mud. However, I wasn’t destined to suffer long here for I was greeted by a couple of gunners of the Regiment who excitedly told me that “Mr France was here looking for you sir. He’s coming back later.” And so he was. Jenks had rung up the adjutant as soon as he got back and the Major had sent Geoff off to scour the Italy for me the next morning. He did a round trip of several hundred miles and eventually found me when he returned to the CRU on his way home. Photo Courtesy Shepherd Family DCLS Collection Lt Gerald France MC (called Geoff in Lt Beadles letters as there were too many Gerry's in the Regiment). Taken at Bou Ficha Tunisia.
Possible UK, British Army Records and Lists, 1882-1962 Name: E. S. Jenkins Military Year: 1943 Regiment: Royal Regiment of Artillery Rank: Captain
Was he Royal Artillery? Most mortars up to and including 4.2-inch were operated by the infantry. There were counter-mortar organisations but I believe these started to appear in the middle of 1944?
Interesting. I'm assuming this was an adhoc approach i.e. not part of the WE for an AT Regt.? Was this permanent or an temporary measure? I know the machine gun battalions returning from the Middle East had a company converted to 4.2-inch mortars as part of the official WE.
I posted it under RA because Lt Beadle was RA but I think it likely that he was infantry. They met in hospital in Sousse. All I have on him is what I posted. I know its a long shot but having found Bert Webster RA in Anti Tank with 4.2 inch Mortars I thought that just perhaps this chap might be too. Next will be Billy Birch who Lt Beadle served with in 373 Coastal Battery. They both went to 123 OCTU together, slept and trained in the same group as their names began with B. Lt Birch was last known with a Medium Regt in an AGRA alongside 1st Div at Medjez. I would like to keep the stories together as Lt Beadle has almost become one of my family. I was rather ambitiously hoping for a number of clues like identifying the LCT with the LAA on board as it was Christmas and sailed from Bizerte to Bari. Whilst I am primarily interested in this myself, I thought it might appeal to members who like to research for pleasure, gaining satisfaction from solving problems. This one offers the sailor boys a chance to have a go as well. Maybe these boats did scheduled runs at this time. Some members seem to have lists on them. I have 94 letters transcribed in a book but publishers dont seem to be interested so I thought we could get some mileage out of researching certain aspects of his incredibly well written amazing stories because believe me, you ain't see nothin' yet.
Mortars Throughout the Italian Campaign the Royal Artillery faced a major problem Crest Clearance, firing over the crest of hills. They tried many techniques. The 67th Field Regiment a Territorial Regiment experimented with "Upper Register" Firing at Anzio because the enemy were able to form up for their assaults in the bottoms Wadi's where the 25 pounders could not reach. The small British mortars were insufficient to break up an attack. The 25 pounder was designed as a Gun/Howitzer but in its main role and construction was a hybrid or compromise. It had a rather short range for modern battlefields, modern tanks were able to cover seven miles in an hour so mechanised infantry with tank support created a problem where the guns, whether advancing or withdrawing could spend more time moving than firing. It had a maximum elevation of 50 degrees or thereabouts so could not fire over enclosing hills. The gun had a spade shaped trail which could be dug into a lower position to raise the muzzle of the gun but was hardly if ever used. Major David Shepherd studied this problem with his men of 266 Battery, many of whom were professional builders and engineers. They created drawings of a suitable gun pit obtaining permission to try it out. It was successful in allowing the gun to be fired like a mortar and solved the problem over relatively short ranges, of dead ground in the Wadi country and Molletta Estuary. However when it was put to use in the Apennines it was a source of criticism by both 1st Division Regular RA of 19th Field in particular, as they regarded the gun standing up at 70 degrees as dangerous. Being Gunners not builders, they had difficulty building suitable pits. The guns often needed to use Supercharge cartridges to lengthen their range increasing recoil. The infantry who needed the support found the technique unreliable as wind and general meteorological variations caused the shells to drift, drop short or over shoot. It was generally used to harass enemy supply routes in gullies between the mountains. At Casino one RA Regiment used American 105mm howitzers but these proved too heavy to manoeuvre and two Mountain Gun Regiments were imported from the Indian Divisions using the old Screw Gun which could be dismantled to carry on pack mules. These were relatively light 75mm guns needing a huge contingent of slow moving mules to carry them and their ammunition. Medium Artillery had difficulty finding space to operate. Tanks and Self Propelled guns were immobilised. The Germans used heavy mortars including the Nebelwerfer to fire from over crests at close range. Air support suffered badly due to weather conditions. Once the weather improved the 8th Army were able to use their motorised assets to advance on relatively flat land of the coast and the Po Valley but faced many problem river crossings before achieving victory.
Thanks TD at post #2 I have tried the NA Discovery but he doesn't appear anywhere so no MC or awards it seems. I am having difficulty (always seem to ) with finding his Commission in the London Gazette. Perhaps the identity of Jenks friend the Colonel of “02E” (responsible for postings) an old school friend might help. I am also trying to find which Mortar Unit he might have been with by estimating his location when he went back there. It must have been somewhere in that part of Italy in January 1944 a few weeks before Anzio. Might take some time as Jenkins could be RA or Infantry but quite possibly be in 1st Division. I was surprised when reading the letter, that he could locate and telephone the 67th Adjutant (Capt Mennell I believe) and that his Battery Commander Major David Shepherd sent his friend Lt France MC to find him. (He returned with a truck full of officers and men). It was not until I was provided with letters of Major Shepherd that I found that they were all good friends. In fact the Battery was a very tight knit group of very capable men. The Regiment too were very close and all very loyal to the Infantry Battalions that they supported. If I get really stuck and the Brigadier allows, I might take out a months subscription with Ancestry or wait until Christmas to see if they do a freebee.
Upper Register Firing After WW2 the 25 pounder carriage was split and hinged to allow it to flex, giving an extra 30 degrees of elevation thus avoiding the use of a specialised deep pit. 25 pdr Gun Mark 2 - The Royal Artillery 1939-45 https://nigelef.tripod.com/25-pdrMk2-Mk3-Studio.jpg Once placed in the pit the gun could only be use for Upper Register which limited its use for AGRA or joining large group concentrations. THE BRITISH ARMY IN ITALY 1944
