218501 Gnr. John Hilton Hoyle British Army Royal Artillery from:Shipley, Yorkshire My late father, Jack Hoyle, served with the Royal Artillery 8th Army, and was a driver/gunner throughout the North African Desert campaign from 1940, then Sicily, then Italy, then across on the 1944 D-Day invasion, through to Berlin in 1945.
His collection of four campaign stars remains testament to that service, although the medals were never exposed during his long post-war life - they are now framed in my hallway with his photograph, attracting attention and admiration from many visitors. He maintained that he was neither brave nor exceptional, spending five involuntary years mostly scared but eventually very lucky.
As with many who saw such active service, he spoke little of the true horrors he had seen, tending only to reminisce with anecdotes about the many humorous incidents along the way and the colleagues with whom he served - probably a common way to deal with the harsh reality he had endured. I learnt more of his exploits by talking privately many years later to one of his fellow Desert Rats (MacDonald) than he had ever told me directly.
A craftsman bookbinder by trade, he returned to that in 1946 and continued until his retirement in 1975. He died, aged 85, in May 1998.
If anyone has any information regarding his service, I would be delighted to know of it.
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