On the Eve of the Landing in Sicily: The ship's First Class lounge at 1.00 am on the 10th July 1943

image: The interior of an opulent-looking high-ceilinged ship's lounge filled with the sleeping forms of soldiers, who are sitting on chairs, sofas and the floor.

01:15 Royal Navy begins bombarding targets in Catania (Sicily) with heavy guns. 'H' Hour is at 02:45 and as the troops land, generally they meet little resistance. However the landings are not altogether smooth and the British 151st Infantry Brigade, 50th Division's assault force, has considerable problems. Troops land in scattered groups on the wrong beaches as much as 6000 yds off target. However, the two corps of 8th Army make steady progress as troops stream ashore. The beaches become jammed with equipment, artillery and transport. Allied aircraft dominate the skies. By 05:30, 'success' is being signalled from every 8th Army beach. Ardizzone was present during the assault and recorded the event in his diary on 10 July 1943: 'On board a ship of the Castle Line. On deck until 3 a.m. Nothing to see from our beaches but Syracuse seems to be getting a most terrible plastering. Flares and ack ack, all through the night the lugubrious voice over the loud speaker ordering crews to their respective craft and craft away.' A loose pencil sketch for this work accompanies the diary entry on a separate folded page (IWM LD 7850 [A])

extended caption: "The scene is the ship's first class lounge at 1.00 am on the 10th July, 1943. The troops are gathered there awaiting their turn to man the assault craft. A lugubrious voice is constantly heard over the loud-speaker calling serial numbers and the craft to be manned. At each number called the men concerned file out of the lounge to their boat stations. Apart from the voice there is silence and that feeling of expectancy before battle. It was feared that it was going to be a peculiarly bloody one."

commission 1940 (War Office Artist)