Sacco, Anthony Patrick (Oral history)

British private served with Durham Light Infantry Depot in GB, 1941-1942; signaller served with 14th Bn Durham Light Infantry in GB, 1942-1943; signaller served with 16th Bn Durham Light Infantry in North Africa, Italy, Middle East, Greece and Austria, 1943-1945

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Langley Moor, GB, 1920-1939: father's status as Italian national and consequent internment, 1939; family circumstances running local shop; education; Wolf Cub activities; work as joiner on building site; recreations; work in family shop; failed attempt to join RAF on outbreak of war, 3/9/1939; father's internment as enemy alien on Isle of Man, 9/1939-7/1941; call up ca 6/1941. Aspects of conditions of service, lifestyle and daily routine with Durham Light Infantry Depot at Brancepeth Castle, 7/1941-2/1942: reception; kitting out; hut accommodation; kit inspections; relationship with recruits and NCOs. REEL 2 Continues: cleaning barrack room; breakfast; drill; cleaning rifle and kit; relationship with NCOs; route marches; bayonet and gas mask training; reaction to swearing; lectures; guard duties and story of competition to win 'stick'; camp layout; medical room. REEL 3 Continues: guard patrols; kitchen fatigues; story of friend's arrest after using wrong camp gate; specialist training as signaller; signals training on posting to Royal Corps of Signals at Huddersfield; posting back to unit on grounds of Italian origins; equipment carried as signaller; assisting in signal instruction. Recollections of period as company signaller with 14th Bn Durham Light Infantry in GB, 1942-1943: organisation of signallers; exercises on Dartmoor; German air raids; patrols; overseas draft and embarkation leave. Voyage to Algiers, Algeria, 12/1942-1/1943. Recollections of initial period in Algeria, 1/1943-3/1943: first impression. REEL 4 Continues: period in transit camp; visit to Algiers. Aspects of period as signaller with 16th Bn Durham Light Infantry in North Africa, 3/1943: moving up to join unit; state of unit morale; move into mountain area and difficulty with wireless reception in quarry; attack with D Company on Sidi Barka, 22/4/1943, including preliminary bombardment, personal morale, being pinned down by German machine gun fire, withdrawal under fire and casualties; personal morale in action; surrender of Italian troops; German shellfire; state of unit morale; rest period; fatal accident with anti-tank grenades. REEL 5 Continues: burial party; opinion of Padre Fury; opinion of various officers and NCOs including Colonel Johnny Preston, Major Denis Worrall and Company Sergeant Major Wilson; training at Blida; personal morale; move to Bizerta; landings exercises; insect problem in camp; jokes about Italian origins. Voyage aboard Landing Ship Infantry to Salerno, Italy, 9/1943: rumours of destination; story of dumping wirelesss batteries in harbour; leaving 18 year olds behind; story of young signaller's fatal accident caused by German shell fire; rough weather, seasickness and consequent overnight stop at Sicily; question of briefing; view of Italian coast. REEL 6 Landing at Green Beach, Salerno, Italy, 9/9/1943: move across beach to shelter behind sea wall; delays prior to landing; shooting down of German aircraft attacking cruiser; corpses; actions of Padre Furie; separation of specialist on landing; move inland to concentration area. Recollections of period in Hospital Hill sector, 9/1943: preparations for immediate evacuation of beachhead; German shellfire; story of Germans dressed in priests clothes; German shellfire; eating grapes; composition rations; casualties; story of mortars opening up on patrol lead by Lieutenant Russell Collins, 18/9/1943; role as interpreter and signaller with Headquarters Coy; question of unit performance; method of repairing telephone lines; rest period; medical arrangements. REEL 7 Continues: relief and rest period. Recollections of operations with A Company in Vietri Defile, 9/1943: briefing; night march; German machine gun fire; failure of wireless set and failed attempts to repair in house; temporarily losing rest of unit; repairing wireless set; arrival of cooks lorry attracting German shellfire; arrival of reinforcements involved in Salerno Mutiny; patrol attack and death of Salerno 'mutineer'; officers; capture of objective; German POWs. Recollections of crossing River Volturno, Italy, 12/10/1943: A Company role as assault company; German nebelwerfers; crossing river on foot holding on to rope; noise made by panicking soldier; move inland and German tracer fire; charge to capture hill feature; evacuation of casualties. Various aspects of operations in Italy, 10/1943-11/1943: crossing River Teano, 25/10/1943; rest periods; reinforcement drafts; winter conditions. Recollections of operations in Garigliano area, Italy, 12/1943-2/1944: move up to Mount Camino. REEL 8 Continues: account of flank night attack on Cocuruzzo Spur, 6/12/1944, including briefing, night march, fatigue, story of German sniping, American artillery intervention to suppress German mortars and story of Major Ray Mitchell's interrogation of German POWs to discover sniper who had shot stretcher bearers; opinion of German weapons; looting possessions of German POWs; winter conditions; billets with Italian family and their offer to assist him desert during rest period at La Vaglie; effects of winter conditions; state of morale; opinion of officers. Aspects of period in Middle East, 2/1944-7/1944: problems with Egyptian street traders during local leave in Cairo, Egypt. REEL 9 Continues: move to Palestine; hospitalisation with broken ankle and visit from Colonel Johnny Preston; rejoining unit, 6/1944. Recollections of operations against Gothic Line, Italy, 9/1944-12/1944: German shellfire and situation at Gemano, 9/1944; local leave and seeing Pope Pius XII in Rome; capture of Cesena, 11/10/1944. Recollections of period in Athens, Greece, 12/1944-4/1944: flight out; asking ELAS personnel voluntarily to surrender weapons; story of clash and being threatened by Vickers machine gun when ELAS insurgent refused to hand over his gun to Major Pat Casey; story of successful dawn attack to capture Red Cross food supply building held by ELAS; relationship with Greek civilians; move to Patras; football match; return to Italy. REEL 10 Continues: News of VE Day, 8/5/1945. Various aspects of period in Austria, 1945-1946: reception from Austrian civilians; question of relationship with division of surrendered German POWs; move to Yugoslavian border and treatment by Yugoslav partisans of repatriated Croatian troops; story of drunk officers; period in Vienna, 10/1945-11/1945; posting to Headquarters, 139 Brigade. Demobilisation, 1946. Post-war career: acclimatisation to civilian life; question of rejoining army; membership of 16th Battalion Regimental Association. Various aspect of military service.