207973 CSM. William Steward MID.British Army Royal Engineers from:Kidderminster My Grandfather, William Steward was in the Royal Engineers. Before WWII he was in the reserves whilst working in the building trade as a ‘brickie’ in the Kidderminster area. He was called up to first be a basic trainer for the new recruits, as he told me training those called up to stay alive. He was sent to North Africa before moving on to Italy, fighting up to Monte Cassino. He said North Africa no picnic but nothing prepared you for the horrors and conditions experienced in Italy, cold mud, wet, shells and death. Newspaper was highly sought after so that you could put it inside your tunic and down your trouser legs as insulation.
The only detailed story he told, as he would not talk about the horrors and death, concerned an episode where he as a Colour Sergeant Major ‘borrowed’ a US army jeep that was not being used, and ‘found’ a good number of railway sleepers, transported them back to where he was stationed and excavated a bunker lined it with the railway sleepers then recovered it with several feet of soil. By all accounts it was a great, shell proof, relatively dry and warmer than being under canvas; the only problem some ‘officers’ noticed it and commandeered it for a communications post and he was back outside.
He was Mentioned in Dispatches, for what I don't know. What I do know is that he was strong, over 6 foot tall with a big chest 16 1/2 inch color and came with a hand shake that would break your hand if not ready for it. He was working class and took pride in rank of Colour Sergeant Major, refusing to be promoted to non commission officer ranks; to him it would have been a betrayal of his roots to become an officer.
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