Tom Canning & I are forever trying to work out where our paths crossed during our WW2 service. I finally decided to see if I could nail him down to specific dates and what follows is what I have been able to establish todate, Tom's comments shown in BLUE. Ron’s & Tom’sWar, Month by Month 1942 Oct: Ron: Thursday, October 1<SUP>st, Bury St.Edmunds, Called up aged 19 and Posted to 53rd Primary Training Wing Nov: Ron: Whitby, Yorkshire Posted to 52nd Anti Aircraft Driver Training Regt.Royal Artillery to be trained as a Driver/Wireless Operator Dec: Ron: Whitby Tom: Called up at 18 and posted to 53PTW at Bury St. Edmunds 1943 Jan: Ron: Whitby Tom: Posted to 61st Training Regt RAC at Barnard Castle Feb: Ron: Haltwhistle, Northumberland Posted to 112th L.A.A. Regiment. Mar: Ron: Hove, Sussex, Congleton, Cheshire, Woolwich (Where the overseas draft REAYK assembled), London, Home for embarkation leave. Apr: Ron: Liverpool, S.S.Frankonia, The ship that took us to North Africa. Algiers. Posted to 49th Light Anti Aircraft Rgt. at Tunis Cap Matifou, Ghardimeau, Medjes El Bab,(Tunisia) Tom: Query date as had to do Driving and Maint - Gunnery and Wireless - May: Ron: Tunisia Jun: Ron: Carthage, Guelma, Hammamet Boarded ship for the invasion of Sicily. Jul: Ron: Syracuse, (Sicily), Bronte, Adrano, Messina. Aug: Ron: Sicily Tom: More likely on Franconia for Algiers – Cap Matifou Sep: Ron: Reggio di Calabria, Invasion of Italy, Crotone, Bari, Foggia, Termoli.<O< O< font> Oct: Ron: Southern Italy Tom: Posted to 21st Tank Bgde at Bone Nov: Ron: Southern Italy Tom: posted to 145th RAC at Pentheverie – near Bone Dec: Ron: Carovilla, Cantalupo, Agnone, Riccia, Campo Basso, Bagnolia. 1944 Jan: Ron: New Years Day, Snowed in at Carovilli Feb: Ron: Ortogna, Mignano, Cassino (The Regiment was responsible for smoke laying beneath the monastery), Caserta, Afragola, San Vittorio. Mar: Ron: In Hospital at Naples Tom: To Tunis for week’s leave Apr: Ron: Vanairo, Vanafro, Ceprano, Lake Trasimeno, Rome. Tom: On way – Bone - Naples May: Ron: Tom: To Casoria – Lucera to meet up with 1st Cdn Div.- Presenzaro – Cassino-Gustav line. Jun: Ron: Baschi, Tiber, Frosinino, Taranto. Pulled out of the line. Tom: To Velletri - Rome Jul: Ron: Alexandria,(Egypt), Cairo, Ishmalia, Amiryah S.S.Homer Lee The American ship that took us back to Italy Tom at Velletri – Rome, to Trasimeno – Perugia – Spoletto – Siena – back to Fabriano- Gothic Line Aug: Ron: (Sicily) Assisi (Italy), Vasto, Termoli, Sangro, Pescara, Scarperia, Florence, Firenzuolo. Sep: Ron: Tavernelle area Tom: Wounded at Coriano – CCS hospital at Ancona Oct: Ron: Sienna, Tavernelle, Naples, Ancona. Tom: To Bari Hospital (98th BGH ?) Nov: Ron: Firenzuola Tom: On way to Blighty – thrown off at Catania Sicily Dec: Ron: Rieti Posted to Royal Armoured Corp Training Depot for re-training on tanks 1945 Jan: Ron: Rieti Tom: Released from Hospital –to Torre Annunziatta- Rieti Feb: Ron: Rieti Tom: Re-training on Armoured Cars – week– ending in Rome ! Mar: Ron: Comacchio area. Posted to 4th Queen’s Own Hussars as Loader/Wireless Operator . Tom: Still at Rieti and week-ending in Rome ! Apr: Ron: Comacchio, Traversare, Ferrara, Lugo, Santerno, Reno. May: Ron: Venice, Ferndorf,(Austria) (Set up a POW camp for SS Cavalry Division), Lienz, Spittal Paternion, Grafenstein, Trieben,Villach, Jun: Ron: Trieben Jul: Ron: Velden, Klagenfurt,Salsburg, Tom: 21st Birthday in Rome – then to 16/5th Lancers in Knittelfeld in Austria Aug: Ron: Munich, Ulm (Running a Transit Camp) Tom: Rounding up bad guys around Knittelfeld - Judenberg Sep: Ron: Palmanova Oct: Ron: Monfalcone Tom: Patrolling Gurk – Sanct Viet – Friesach – Tribach Nov: Ron: Opicina, Udine, Milan, Brig, Calais, Folkestone,London, (First home leave since Apr’43) Tom: More lumberjacking Dec: Ron: Opicina 1946 Jan: Ron: Opicina Tom: On first home leave since 1943 Feb: Ron: Opicina Tom: Back to freezing Strassburg Mar: Ron: Opicina Now in charge of Tech Stores. 15/3/46 Appointed Unpaid Acting L/Cpl Passed STT as Tech.Storeman. Gp C Class. Mustered in the trade same date, ceases to be mustered as Dvr.Operator Gp.C Class III Tom: Lumberjacking at Leoben Apr: Ron: Opicina Tom: At Judenburg guarding Russian deserters May: Ron: Opicina: Milan, Calais, Folkestone, London 21st Entrained Villach for UK 21/5/46 Entrained Villach for leave UK and ceased to be entitled to Med. allowance 21/5/46 Awarded Italy Star, 1939/1945 Star Tom: At Althofen rehearsing for Vienna Tattoo Jun: Ron: London, Folkestone, Calais, Milan , (Returned from my second home leave) 15/6/46 Upgraded T/S Group C, class 24/6/46 Detrained Villach ex leave and entitled to Med. allowance Jul: Ron: Opicina Promoted unpaid acting Cpl Tom: Patrolling area in new Armoured Cars Aug: Ron: Opicina Sep: Ron: Opicina Tom: Moved to Villach Oct: Ron: Milan, Dieppe, Dover London, Dover, Dieppe, Trieste (Regimental re-union with the Colonel , Winston Churchill in attendance). 15/10/46 Entrained Villach for Rgtl duties 18/10/46Granted WS Rank of Cpl (having held rank for 90 days) Nov: Ron: Opicina Tom: On second home leave Dec: Ron: Opicina 10/12/46 Passed Driving Test Group 1 vehicles Tom: Back to Villach. 1947 Jan: Ron: 17/1/47 Entrained Villach for UK/Python Ron: 18/1/47 Last day of overseas service Milan, Calais, Dieppe, London Ron: 10/1/47 Taken on Home strength Barnard Castle, York and finally DEMOB! Feb: Ron: Barnard Castle Tom: To Padua – Milan – Geneva – Dijon – Paris – Boulogne - Dover< Mar: Ron: Barnard Castle Tom: Barnard Castle once more Apr: Ron: 11/4/47 YORK DEMOB !!!!! "A" release from this date 12/4/47 Posted to ‘Y’ list (Class ‘A’ Release) Release Leave: 56 days to 6/6/47 45 Days Overseas leave from 7/6/47 to 21/7/47 May: Ron: Back in Civvie Street on release leave Tom: Finally demob - ! Jun: Ron: 6/6/47 End of release leave Jul: Ron: 21/7/47 End of overseas leave </SUP>
Ron, A super breakdown of both yours and Toms Service for your country. I see you embarked at Hammemet. Did you get to look around? as north of Hammamet was a large villa called 'Dar Sebastian', which was owned by a very wealthy Rumanian and which was commandeered both by Rommel and then Monty. Just a thought to see if the other half were allowed to see such luxury at the time!! Tom
I see you embarked at Hammemet. Did you get to look around? as north of Hammamet was a large villa called 'Dar Sebastian', which was owned by a very wealthy Rumanian and which was commandeered both by Rommel and then Monty. Just a thought to see if the other half were allowed to see such luxury at the time!! Tom "Get to look around ?".........no such luck I'm afraid, much too busy getting our kit ready for our departure to Sicily ps I've always been amused since the war to see the place advertised as a tourist resort !
Ron, What a pity here is what you missed! Complete with swimming pool, Turkish bath etc and a superb kitchen with refrigerator. No wonder Rommel and Monte commandeered it, can't be seen to slum it!! Regards Tom
Tom: Can you clarify on what you meant with: <SUP><SUP>At Judenburg guarding Russian deserters</SUP> </SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP>I wasn't aware of Red Army deserters after Stalingrad, what happened to them? Did they go home? I would hate to think what Stalin would have done to them.</SUP>
Elven A longish story I'm afraid but history will ratify it - so I'll just send the link as the same thing was happening with the 78th Division at Spittal and also the 46th Division at around Graz with far too many Russian victims of Stalin's muderous ways - the arguement with Peter , on our first meeting is also interesting as we have become good friends since that time and along with Ron and Frank Mee - we e-mail each other most days... BBC - WW2 People's War - The Yalta Aftermath Cheers
Elven A longish story I'm afraid but history will ratify it - so I'll just send the link as the same thing was happening with the 78th Division at Spittal and also the 46th Division at around Graz with far too many Russian victims of Stalin's muderous ways - the arguement with Peter , on our first meeting is also interesting as we have become good friends since that time and along with Ron and Frank Mee - we e-mail each other most days... BBC - WW2 People's War - The Yalta Aftermath Cheers Oh, I didn't realize it went to such extreme lengths, if I read correctly Stalin had 36 prisoners who were captured after a mid air collision who he then used to bring "home" the 50 000 Russian deserters? I could see why Stalin would want to do such a thing, the day the motherland needed them the most they left. I really can't begin to understand the toll it may have taken on you to know what had happened to the men and women you watched over, I'm sorry.
Elven - don't know what you are reading, but frankly Stalin had absolutely NO justification to do what he did to those people who for their own reasons decided not to support him - we only know of the 50,000 we rounded up - how many more were there ? Cheers
Elven - don't know what you are reading, but frankly Stalin had absolutely NO justification to do what he did to those people who for their own reasons decided not to support him - we only know of the 50,000 we rounded up - how many more were there ? Cheers Of course their were more, like the ones in Stalingrad who would try to fall back. I came to that conclusion because they would be considered traitors to the motherland, giving Stalin a reason to kill them. Of course he was in such a seat of power that we could have killed anyone without justification. The difference I assume could have been the deaths being used as a propaganda tool? This is the same man who essentially sacrificed his sons for the betterment of the "motherland" and Red Army during the war.