252227 Gnr. Francis Stanley Turner British Army 4th Medium Regiment Royal Artillery from:13 The Green, Ashbocking, Suffolk Frank Turner was called up in 1942 and joined the Royal Artillery. He trained at Lark Hill Camp on Salisbury Plain and then Tillecoltrie in Clackmananshire, Scotland to join the 4th Medium/Heavy Regiment. He went abroad to North Africa from Greenock on the Duchess of York in convoy landing at Algiers November 1942.
He saw action in the big push to drive the Germans out of Tunisia. He remembers being at Medjez-el-Bab, and Beja shelling German positions.
The guns were 5.5 inch Howitzers firing a 500lb shell literally miles. 10 men in the gun crew, 5 working the gun and on guard, 5 sleeping, on a 24 hour Rota. The 4th Medium's were assigned to the 78th Division of the First Army under Alexander. The 78th had a battle axe as its emblem. Came into contact with the American and Indian armies as allies and saw thousands of German prisoners.
Tunis finally fell on 20th of May 1943, although my dad claims it would have fallen by the Christmas of 1942 had it not been for the late arrival of the 6th Armoured Division, who were cruelly nicknamed The Phantom Division.
After Tunis fell there was a big parade through the town led by the Americans, who were first to reach the town, my Dad took part in this parade.
|