‘It was better than I’d expected,’ Tilly replied.
They discussed the film and Amelia asked Tilly if she thought that it depicted life in the desert war accurately.
‘It didn’t really show much in the way of the real tragedy of war,’ Tilly replied, ‘but I suppose it said a lot about the pain of separation and loss. I did get to see the inside of one of the drinking establishments like Rick’s while I was in Alexandria, though. Fliss and I were wined and dined by one of the captains one evening. He was quite enamoured of Fliss. I think they will see one another after the war. At least I hope so.’
‘Talking of romantic attachments, will you see Jed again, do you think? Is he the man for you, Tilly?’ Dot asked.
Tilly’s face coloured up and she brushed the question aside with a brief answer. ‘Maybe. We all look forward to a better future, don’t we?’
The three women opened some wine to celebrate Tilly’s safe homecoming.
‘Here’s to new beginnings and new life,’ Tilly said.
Chapter 35
January 1944
Tilly and Fliss saw out the beginning of 1944 in Italy. They served with the First Division and were at the capture of Florence. From there they moved northwards towards Bologna where they were to assist the American 5thDivision in the taking of that city. The journey was severely uncomfortable for everyone, foot soldiers, officers, medical staff and the armoured divisions alike. It was particularly difficult for the lorries and tanks due to the persistent wet weather. Rain and low cloud cast a continuous grey curtain over the landscape, and the roads (if you could call them that) were more like rivers.
The large vehicles were regularly bogged down in the mud and the amount of time and energy lost releasing them from the quagmire was substantial. Progress was painfully slow. Tilly lost count of the number of times she had to get out and push as much wood and foliage under the wheels as she could find, enlisting a team of soldiers to put their shoulder to the rear of the ambulance and release it from its trap. Fliss did the best she could to reassure the most badly injured they were carrying that they would get out of there as soon as they could and that they wouldn’t abandon them, whatever happened.
When they camped, they had to unroll already wet tents. Moving around the encampment was like negotiating a swamp. Trying to keep the most vulnerable patients germ- and infection-free and warm enough under damp blankets was a trial. People’s patience was frayed. Preparing food was a nightmare for the cooks and everyone complained constantly of wet feet. Nothing dried out.
Wet weather turned into snow as the winter progressed and winter clothing was taking an inordinately long time to reachthem. They were moving further and further into the Apennine mountains and conditions were harsh. In order to try to keep themselves warm, the soldiers built improvised stoves with army ration tins and ammunition boxes. They kept jerrycans of water close by for each tent to make tea and wash themselves. Unfortunately, petrol for the lorries was also stored in jerrycans.
The inevitable happened. One night, enemy aircraft were heard in the skies above their encampment. They grabbed water cans to dowse the fires so they would not be spotted, but one poor, unfortunate soldier grabbed a petrol can instead. Whoosh, the whole encampment was lit up like a beacon, sitting ducks for the German planes. Tilly and Fliss were preparing for bed at the time and saw the fire from their tent. The flames licking at the night sky were too close for comfort.
‘Oh, my God, we’re done for,’ Fliss exclaimed. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
They grabbed a couple of blankets and headed away from the centre of the blaze. They were huddling in the trees waiting for all hell to let loose, when they realised that the planes were flying away, completely ignoring them. They had bigger fish to fry and were clearly saving their bombs for a more important destination. They both sighed in relief and returned to their tent, hoping to have a peaceful, slightly warmer night.
In the morning, they continued their journey. They were trying to link up with the American 1st Division and relieve them from duties. The only question uppermost in everyone’s minds was that their division had seen active combat for longer than the Americans. The journey through the mountains had been arduous in the extreme and they were exhausted, probably more so than the Americans.
When Tilly heard that it was an American battalion they were heading towards, she was reminded of Jed. Not that she didn’t think of him all the time. It was ridiculous to think thatjust because they were American, Jed would be among them. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. How surprised was she then, when they were setting up their equipment and unloading their patients, to hear the name Jed Martinez mentioned by one of the doctors in the hospital tent.There can’t be many surgeons with the same name, Tilly thought. She listened intently to what the doctor was saying.
‘The finest example of rescuing the sight of any soldier I have ever seen was when Jed Martinez removed a piece of shrapnel from a soldier’s brain. I was assisting him and he performed nothing less than a miracle, in my opinion. The shrapnel was so tiny that it was difficult to see exactly where it was. It was lodged in the occipital area and the soldier had completely lost his sight. We were working in the most primitive of conditions and he worked on, in very poor light, into the night. He must have been four hours at that operating table, but he refused to give up.’
‘And you say the operation was a success?’ the other doctor asked.
‘That soldier owes his sight and full recovery to Martinez. Finest surgeon I’ve ever had the privilege to work with.’
‘Excuse me,’ Tilly asked. ‘But I couldn’t help hearing you were talking about Dr Martinez. Is he here?’
The young doctor turned to Tilly. ‘Unfortunately, I haven’t seen or heard from him in months. I don’t even know if he’s still alive. He was at Montecassino. That was a bloodbath by all accounts. He’ll be lucky if he escaped from that all in one piece. Do you know him?’
‘Yes, he and I were . . .’ Tilly stuttered.
‘Ah. It was like that, was it?’ the doctor said. ‘He has an eye for the ladies and I can see why he might be stuck on you,’ the American drawled.
Sometimes, Tilly thought,these Americans have a rather crude way of putting things.
‘Is that all you can tell me?’ Tilly asked.
‘What else is there to tell?’ the American asked. ‘He did mention that he’d met the girl of his dreams, though, if that’s any consolation? That’s quite an accolade if that’s you,’ he added. ‘Believe me, Jed is a “girl in every port” sort of guy, so if you’re the one who’s captured his heart and you are fixed on him, then I hope you find one another again. This is proving to be a long war and we are just pawns in a game. We don’t get to throw the dice, we just watch them roll around and around and hope for sixes to come up each time.’
Tilly smiled at what the American doctor had just said, but Montecassino! She’d heard of that battle. It was said to be the bloodiest and worst of the war so far. It had gone on for three months or more and many lives on both sides were lost, but the Allies had won out in the end and the Axis forces were routed. She just hoped that Jed was one of the survivors.
The big effort to break out of the mountains ground to a halt. The American 85thand 88thDivisions of 2ndUS Corps had captured Monte Grande and a line of adjacent peaks. Any attempts at progress were met with violent counter-attacks by the Germans. With further deteriorating weather conditions, it was decided that they were to relieve the Americans in the Monte Grande sector despite the fact that 1stDivision had been in continuous action for several weeks longer than the troops that they went to relieve. Tilly and Fliss were now stuck with this situation until the battle to control that area was won.
