Amber Beach at Marzamemi - nice and sandy....no pleasure boats in 1943
Commonwealth War Graves near Agira
was later to be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal—next down from a Victoria Cross. After a gruelling five and a half-week campaign, German forces were forced out of Sicily by 17th August 1943. The Malta Brigade now rested by the sea, caught malaria and prepared to invade Italy. On 8th September they landed on the toe of Italy – ahead of the 8th Army’s advance – and helped to speed their way north. Unlike the invasion of Sicily which had been planned with great care and thoroughness, the landing in Italy was planned at the last moment and went very wrong. It was to the great credit of the Brigade that, once ashore, they rose to the challenge, imposed order on chaos and won through. Their story in Sicily and Italy is told in the newly published Roy’s Boys. Monty told them he would take them wherever he went and, when they all groaned, he replied that this might mean England. It did. In November the Brigade returned to the UK to train to lead the Normandy landings. At 0730 on 6th June 1944 the 1st Hampshires and 1st Dorsets landed side by side on Gold Beach near Le Hamel. It became an infantry battle to dislodge the very determined German defenders, and Charles Martin, by now Second-in Command of the 1st Hampshires, was killed. By the end of the day the Dorsets had taken all their objectives, the Hampshires had taken most of theirs
Scramble Amber at Marzamemi - rocky and horrible and only used for the first wave so that they could get into the village quickly
Denis Bounsall DCM during WW2
and the Devons had taken their primary one and they had grabbed a viable beach-head near Arromanches. March 1st sees the publication of Roy’s Boys, telling the story of the invasion of Sicily. It completes a trilogy about the Malta Brigade’s story. The other two books, Yells, Bells & Smells – covering Malta - and D-Day Spearhead Brigade – covering D-Day, have been reissued in matching editions also on March 1st. Written by Christopher Jary of Frampton, they are the work of a team of researchers from the Keep Military Museum in Dorchester and the Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum in Winchester. All have personal or family links with one or more of the three regiments and all are volunteers at one or other of the two museums which together represent the Devonshire, Hampshire and Dorset Regiments. The stories are told through the eyes of the soldiers who were there – often in their own words – and are full of maps and photographs, many them published for the first time. Publication of the completed Trilogy has been brought forward to enable Denis Bounsall to get the first set of books. Let’s hope he likes them! These books are available from the Keep Military Museum bookshop (Keepmilitary museum.org/shop). They cost £15 each, including postage, but the whole trilogy can be bought for £36 including postage.
Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine February 2021 23
