Freezing in the Desert The World War II Diaries of Thomas D. Anderson
Sunday 3rd Sept 1939
Well that’s it. The war is on. The Prime Ministers voice faded into the background. We heard a few days ago that Germany had invaded Poland, and England and France had given Hitler a 2 day ultimatum to get out of Poland, he didn’t, as no one thought he would. So Britain declared war and so did Australia. Just now.
Dad switched off the wireless and looked at Mum. Mum looked back at Dad and they both looked over at us. We all sat there looking at each other.
Peter spoke first. “When can we join up Dad?”
“When you’re 20” said Mum and Dad together. They’d discussed it then.
“But that means I have to wait a year. It’ll be over by then” said Peter who’d just turned 19 in July.
“And I’ll have to wait 2 years” said Bill who only turns 18 in a few weeks.
“Let’s hope so” says Mum.
“I doubt it” says Dad.
Colin and James didn’t speak. Colin turned 20 in August and James is only just 17. And 15 year old Victoria was sitting fidgeting with her hands in her lap and biting her lip. She didn’t want anyone to go to war.
They all looked at me.
“I’ll be joining up with Mac, Freddy, Johnny and Jimmy. As soon as we can.”
“Do you have to son? It’s a European thing. They won’t come here”, said Mum and I could see the glisten of a tear in her eye.
“It’s our duty Mum. To protect England. To defend freedom just like Dad, Uncle Dave and Uncle Billy.”
“Uncle Billy didn’t come home love” said Mum.
That gave us all pause. Dads brother died in the mud in the last year of the war.
“Well there’s no rush. They’ll take some time to get organised before they raise a battalion and get the militia into the regulars. Let’s go to bed now, kids, it’s been a big day. It’s late” said Dad, “Off you go now.”
“Night Mum, night Dad.” We all lined up to kiss Mum good night. Mum was just keeping it together and hugged me extra hard.
We went down the hall.
“Night Vic, night Bill, night James” I said as I turned at the door of our bedroom.
“Night Tom” Vicki gave me a big hug. “I don’t want you to go to war. Stay here with me” she whispered into my chest as she clung on.
“It’s my duty to go and serve Vic, just like Dad did. I’ll be alright. Anyway, Peter’s right, it’ll probably be over quickly.”
“I hope it’s over before you get there” she said and scurried off to her room, the only one of us kids with their own room.
Colin and Peter followed me into our room, and Bill and James carried on to their room.
The boys wanted to talk, but I wanted to lie and think so I told them I was tired and wanted to sleep.
Excitement was rushing through me. I was going to war just like Dad. Going overseas on an adventure, to see France and England and countries I’d only dreamed of.
I lay awake for a while till I got drowsy. I could hear Colin and Peter still whispering as I drifted off to sleep.
4th Sept 1939
Bill and James found me at Dad’s treehouse on One Tree Hill in the north east of our property. I had been working on expanding it for some time now and had nearly finished the last wall. I’d be ready to scrounge a roof soon. I had finished my chores for the day and had ridden up to have some time to myself. Colin was not back from work at the mechanic shop in Woodenbong where he was an apprentice, and Peter was in the west paddock with Dad.
They rode up breathless and grinning and I could hear the clinking in their saddle bags. They swung down and hobbled the horses, racing to get up the treehouse ladder first.
Hi Tom they said almost in unison. “Hi Bill, Hi James. How was school today?” I ask.
“Boring” says Bill.
“Long” says James, “I can’t believe I’ve still got another year after this.”
“Look what we got” says Bill, pulling 2 bottles of beer out of his saddle bag.
“Yeah I heard the glass clinking you scallywags. Let me guess. Georgie Parkins has been raiding his old man’s home brew again?” I said, taking a bottle from his outstretched hand and popping the lid with my knife.
“That’s right”, said Bill, popping the other with his own penknife. “Your health” he says and takes a long swig before passing it to his brother. “Pete’s on his way” he adds, “so save him some.”
“He better be quick then” I said as I took a drink. It wasn’t too cold but it had a good flavour to it. Old man Parkins sure knew how to brew a good amber fluid.
“Didja get the fence done Tommo?” asks James wiping the beer from his lips when he missed his mouth swigging too quick.
“I did, and take your time mate, it’s not a race.” He turned red at that.
We talked about the farm, the fencing and other jobs. I knew they were waiting for Peter. Pretty soon he rode over the last rise and came into view. We watched him ride up and tether his horse.
“You galahs started without me” he says, grabbing a bottle from young James, “Didja tell him?”
“No. Waited for you. You tell him.” says Bill, turning red.
Something’s up I thought to myself but I’ll wait to let them spit it out. Peter rolls himself a durry and lights up. “Me and Bill are running away to join the army”, he says.
“You bloody are not” I say, boiling up instantly. “Which one of you thought up that bloody fool idea?” I asked to buy some time and cool down, but knowing the answer already.
“I did” said Peter.
“He did” said Bill.
“Dobber” says Peter.
“Tommo you’re 23, you can go now, and Colin can too. But me, I gotta wait a year, that’s 1940. It’s a bloody lifetime away. And Billy here a year after that. That’s 2 years. We’re 18, we’re adults. It’s not fair Tom.”
“And you?” I say turning to James.
James looks at his feet crossed in front of him. “I don’t think I wanna go Tom. I wanna do my duty and all, but I don’t wanna get shot. I was thinking I could be in radios or something. That’s what I like tinkering with” he says shyly. I think he’s afraid of us calling him scared. But I think good on him for saying he doesn’t want to go.
“Well good for you James. It takes a lot of guts to say if you don’t want to go. That’s courage. And the army will need clever people who know about radios. There are more ways to contribute than just being in the army” he brightened at that. And the others didn’t say anything so they must already know he’s not up for it.
“Peter, Bill. I’m sorry I got riled up. Look. The Great War went for 4 years. And it was meant to be the war to and all wars. And here we are again 20 years later in another war. Its going to go on for years. England and France will stand up to this Mr Hitler and it will drag on. You watch.” I reasoned with them.
“And it might be over quick too. Modern warfare, modern planes and tanks. It could be over before we know it” Peter responded with.
“Then I won’t get to go either. And if that happens let’s hope they stay away from Australia” I said.
“Let’s hope he does or we’ll give him what for” says Bill.
“I want to be in it. I want to join up with you. I’m 19” says Peter defiantly.
“Pete you know you can’t join up till 20, so does Mum and Dad. Its the law. And you won’t be able to lie about your age like they all did last time. We have to respect Mum and Dads wishes. If they say you can’t join till 20 then 20 it is. Uncle Billy who we never met joined up at 17 and the bloody Huns made mincemeat of him at bloody Villiers Bretonridge or wherever it was. He was too young. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into.” As soon as I said it I knew I had given Peter an argument to latch onto.
“Yeah well I’m not 17. I’m 19, and I’ve been out of school for over a year” said Peter triumphantly.
“Mate do you have any idea what it would do to Mum if we all joined up together? It’d kill her. Losing her boys to the war in one fell swoop. Remember old lady Percival and the first war. 4 sons she lost, 4, because they all went off together. And she’s had kangaroos loose in the top paddock ever since. Do you wanna do that to Mum? It’d kill her and that’s the good oil. Do you wanna do that to her?” I said. I could see I had scored a big point there. Billy was tearing up and Peter’s look changed completely. I had them. I threw them a gimme to finish it off.
“Look. How about this. Mum and Dad say 20. I can have a quiet word with Dad on the side and let him know how keen you are. And if it drags on a long time, which me and Dad reckon it will, then I’ll tell him to work on Mum and see if they can’t get you in a bit sooner.”
“Yeah Okay” said Billy, with alacrity, looking relieved to get an out.
“Yeah I s’pose” said Peter, “but you let Dad know we wanna go early. I’m not waiting a year and missing out on all the fun.”
“Too right I will mate, too right” I say, inwardly very relieved to have headed that off at the pass.
“Stop hogging the beer Jimmy boy” says Peter and swipes it off his younger brother.
************
8th Sept 1939
“Euchre’d mate” said Jimmy, putting an ace on my king of spades.
“Dammit” I said softly so the other tables couldn’t hear me.
Mac slapped Jimmy on the back “Nice one cobber.”
“Yeah I couldn’t believe it when he called diamonds trumps. I had left bower, the ace, the 8 and an off ace” Jimmy said as he gave himself more points.
Just then Freddy came in.
“Finally” I said, “you’re late.”
“Yeah finally some relief for Tommo getting pants’d in singles” Mac chips in.
“Sorry lads We had a big family dinner and it went on and on” said Freddy pulling out his chair.
“Oh mate you’re telling me. Did you fall in the garlic” said Jimmy holding his nose and waving his hand in front of his face dramatically.
Fred grinned “Yeah momma loves da garlic” he said grabbing the cards and pulling them all together to shuffle. “So you decided yet?”
“Well no Bozo we’re waiting for you” Mac says.
“Alright alright. When we joining up then?” Freddy asks.
“I say next week” says Jimmy, “Why wait?”
“Me too” says Mac.
“I can take us into Casino in Dads truck” I say.
“I’m in. Got the family blessing at dinner. I think that was part of the reason why they all came over. Strewth. There was Iti rellies coming out of the woodwork, and they all wanted to slap me on the back. Mum and the girls have been cooking since yesterday”, Freddy tells us. “Monday then?”
Jimmy says “I can’t do Monday.”
“And I can’t do Tuesday” says Mac.
“Wednesday then?” I said looking around. They’re all nodding. “Wednesday it is then boys. What about Johnny?”
“Johnny’s not joining up till after the cattle sales. I saw him real quick last week in town picking up stock feed and he said since his older brother died he’s not had time to scratch himself. Working seven days a week and collapses into bed every night. His Dad said if they can get them to market then he’ll have the money to hire some help to replace him if he wants to join up. Said he made his Dad swear on it,” Freddy told us.
“Strewth I’d have thought they had plenty of money to get some help on the farm. I always thought they did alright” said Jimmy.
“Yeah me too” said Freddy, “Johnny said his Dad’s tighter than a ducks ass and won’t let go the purse strings till they get some more money in the bank. I guess it’s the Scottish in him.”
“Watch it wog, my Scottish bloods not too far back either” Mac says grinning and reaching out to give him a clip over the ear but Freddy dodges him.
“Garn then you tight ass buy us a beer” he grins back.
“Now Ignoli, deal them up and give me some bloody trumps” I say.
An old fella at the next table clears his throat loudly and looks at me for swearing.
“Sorry sir” I say, stifling a laugh, as are the boys with hands over mouths.
************
4th January 1941
Well what a big 24 hours that was. We attacked and took Bardia from the Italians yesterday, that’s the 3rd of January. I’ll write down what I can recall.
I think I maybe napped a little before we started but how I did that with all the excitement running through me I don’t know.
At 0300 on the 3rd we had hot brekky and a tot of rum to warm us up. At 0350 we formed up and at 0518 we got to our start line.
The Arty started up the barrage at 0530 and it was like constant rolling thunder. It was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard. Thousands of shells screaming through the air and the sky was red from flashes and the streaks of hurtling shells. We yelled and cheered and let out our pent up emotions, no longer having to stay silent. Then the Italian artillery responded and it became even louder. Their shells arrive like a freight train but we worked out if you can hear them they aren’t near you.
We slowly started walking forward behind the barrage which was well in front of us. At 0550 we stopped 2-300 yards from the anti tank ditch.
The Bangalore parties came up to break down the sides of the anti tank ditches. As they came up in front of us a shell exploded in a huge cloud of dust. We all went to ground even though it wasn’t too close to us, but it scared us none the less. When the dust cleared the engineers from the Bangalore party were calling in a loud whisper for help.
One of the engineers was injured. He copped it in the leg pretty bad. Looked like a fair chunk was taken out of him and there was blood everywhere. We rushed out to patch him up and brought him back while Stan called for stretcher bearers to take him all the way back. Poor bugger looked white as a sheet.
Then at 0605 they blew the wire in front of us with a bangalore torpedo, which is just like a long piece of lead pipe but packed with explosives. It made mince meat out of the wire and the way was open for us to go. They threw grenades into the minefields to blow them up and we were through the wire at a few minutes later.
There was no need for silence now and we charged forward about 5 yards apart as we had practiced in training. Mad bloody Eddy started singing out “We’re off to see the wizard!” and we all joined in. I looked over at Mac and he was yelling it out. Adam on my other side was grinning away and he was singing too.
We advanced as far as we could and then a machine gun opened up on us.
“Down now find cover. Eddy get the Bren set up and return fire” Stan yelled. Well he didn’t have to tell us twice, we all hit the dirt. The bullets were going over us and then they moved away toward 2 section. They zinged and zipped though the air like angry bees. Swarms of them, before they moved away. We raised our heads and returned fire in the general direction of the MG. It was hard to see exactly where it was being so low to the ground. Eddy opened up with the MG in long bursts from a small depression he had found. Stan jumped to his feet to spot where they were and then got back down again quick smart. The angry bees returned.
“On your 2 o’clock Eddy, pour it on them. The rest of you with me, we’ll swing left out of Eddys line of fire to get closer. Don’t you bloody shoot me Menzies you mad Scotsman.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you corporal I like you. Now generals on the other hand….” says Eddy.
We all started crawling forward as Eddy adjusted his aim. The MG went quiet and we thought we had got him for a while and crawled faster but then it started again.
“Wait till he re-loads again then we get up and go” Stan yells. I look back and Porky Cooper is getting out more ammo to feed to Eddy. After another few minutes the MG went silent and Stan risked a look and said “Up and go now to that next wadi.”
We raced forward to another wadi in front of us and just got down into it before the MG raked the top of the ground above us.
“Ok well done. We’re going to follow this left for as much protection as we can then up and into them. Mac, Tommo you have grenades ready. The rest of you fix bayonets. No talking from here” Stan ordered.
We all got ready, me with a pineapple in my right hand and my rifle in my left and we crouched and crawled to the end of the wadi. Now we were very close to the MG and could see the bullets flying over us and away to the right.
Stan signalled for me and Mac to come up either side of him and the boys spread out on either side of us. Stan had a grenade in his hand too.
We waited and waited it seems like hours. The sweat dripping in my eyes and I had to keep wiping it away. It was still so early in the day but bloody hot.
The MG stopped firing and Stan said “Now” and stood up pulling the pin on his grenade. We followed suit. As I stood up we were maybe 50 feet from 4 Italians – 2 with rifles and 2 trying to feed the machine gun. I saw that in an instant as I pulled my arm back and hurled the grenade at them. The two guys with rifles went down as the boys opened up on them. One of the Iti’s on the MG looked up with a look of horror as he saw the grenades hurling at him. One landed right in front of them, the other behind them and the third, who’s ever it was, almost dropped in his mates lap. 3 loud CRUMPs went off and they disappeared in a cloud of dust.
We raced forward yelling like mad men and jumped into their trench and behind what was left of their sandbags. The two Iti’s on the MG were in pieces. There was blood and bits of them everywhere. The one fellow was a mess of blood around his crotch and his guts and the other had an arm nearly off. Neither were breathing and they were clearly dead. My first dead bodies. Well dead enemies. Skinny chundered, and I gagged a bit. Evan turned his eyes away and Mike Adams was heaving but keeping it down.
“That was mine that dropped in his lap” says Mac.
“Could be” says Stan “Richie help him” he says pointing to one of the rifleman that was flailing his hand around and still alive. The other one was riddled with bullets.
“Spread out” Stan ordered. He stood up briefly to get his bearings then back down again. “Ok take a breather then we’re going left. Take your bayonets off and check and re-load your weapons.”
Eddy and Matty came running up and joined us. “Any loot?” Eddy says putting the Bren down and kneeling beside one of the dead Iti’s and starting to go through his pockets”.
“No mate, no, hadn’t thought of that” I said.
“He’s still warm Eddy give it a rest. Gawd, you’re as cunning as dunny rat you are” says Skinny repulsed and still wiping his mouth.
“Warm or cold doesn’t bother me. Look see” he says holding up a watch. “He won’t be needing that will he.” He pulls out his bayonet and cuts off the fella’s shoulder patches. “And there’s some souvenirs as well,” he says stuffing them in a pocket.
“Strewth Eddy, you gonna pull the gold out of his teeth too?” asks Jimmy, only half joking I think.
“Has he got some?” Eddy says and pokes his bayonet in the guys mouth and lifts his jaw to open his mouth and show Jimmy. “No only flies in there” and Jimmy turns away and throws up “Bastard” he says wiping his mouth.
Eddy grins “Bugger you mate, first in first served.”
“That’s enough out of you bastards. Knock it off” says Stan.
By the time we got to the next trench the 2 section boys had taken it and 3 section had taken another MG nest.
We spread out and had a smoke while we waited to see what to do next. Every 4th man stood guard facing forward but it was quiet in our area. We could hear a lot of firing and artillery away to our right so someone was copping it.