Your message will be forwarded to the last contact details we have, your email address will not be passed on, they can reply to you via this messaging system.
Please scroll down for message form.
WO2. William Albert Edgar Hill
British Army 24th Brigade, K Company Royal Army Ordnance Corps
from:6 Sandringham Road, Bromley, Kent
On 25th of November 1942 Bill Hill embarked for North Africa. He was on route to Algiers when the transport was diverted to Malta because of the assassination of Admiral Darlan in December 1942. In his words: "We disembarked Anti Aircraft Personnel in Malta. We should have landed in Algiers first, but because of Admiral Darlan's assassination the ship was ordered to Malta to disembark other personnel first. During the morning in question, one of the convoy was attacked by planes and I at that time was giving Bren gun instructions on the front deck of the ship. Having dropped two bombs one of the planes came directly at us, and I loaded a magazine of live ammunition and fired as the plane passed over the ship. It immediately was covered in thick black smoke and veered out toward Italy losing height as it did so. The plane was obscured by buildings as it flew lower and I am confident it did not return to base. We stayed in Malta for two days and then proceeded to Algiers".
Subsequently awarded The Malta George Cross Fiftieth Anniversary Medal.
