Rommel_ Gunner Who__ A Confrontation in - Spike Milligan [53]
“Would you like a cup of tea, Father?” said Lt Beauman-Smythe.
“Er—no tank you, I had one at the 5th Mediums, and annuder before dat at 155 Field, and annuder with the 6th Anti-Tank, and before dat…”
“Would you like a tot of whisky?” interjected Beauman-Smythe.
“Oh, now, dat would be nice,” he said and took his hat off.
“He’s going to stay,” I thought. Beauman-Smythe drew from his buttock pocket (it used to be his hip but his braces had stretched), and poured a measure into the silver cup. “Now dis is nice, dis is verry nice,” said the little priest, he sniffed it, “Ah, dat smells real nice,” then, my God!!! in a flash he THREW it down his throat. Beauman-Smythe was so stunned all he could say was “Are you all right Father?”
“Well,” he said, getting to his feet, “I better be going.” Yes, you better, I thought. We stood up, he left. Beauman-Smythe was thunderstruck, “Are all Catholic priests like him,” he said. “No sir, some are much taller,” I said.
Mortars, Light Machine Guns and 88’s were making it almost impossible for our O.P’.s to direct fire. To help out, an Air O.P. was allocated to us, an Auster craft containing a Pilot/Gunner Officer (the late Tom Sloan of BBC-TV was one). We started fine and then suddenly our Radio contact went on the blink, the infuriated Pilot flew over our Command Post and shouted through the window “Your Wireless all balls,” then rattled off a series of fire orders, and that’s how it went on, him flying over shouting orders, me belting outside, belting in shouting the orders over the Tannoy, then belting out to shout “Guns ready,” he would shout “Fire in twenty seconds from now,” then rush off to observe fall of shot. By midday I was shagged out. He was polite enough to fly over us and shout “Thanks, I’m off.” I replied: “I thought you’d never bloody well go,” he raised his hat in mock acknowledgement. “He must have had a good education.” Edgington remarked later, “I mean, controlling the plane and issuing fire orders at the same time.”
“Education isn’t everything.”
“You’re right, for a start it’s not elephants.”
Front Line—April 19 1943
19 April 1943
On duty at C.P. from 22.00 hours till 02.00. Awakened at dawn by German planes dive bombing 25 pounders in valley behind us. We all sat and enjoyed it very much.
Up front the fighting raged for the peaks dominating the way to the plains before Tunis. Boston Bombers, 60 at a time, went over and blasted the peaks, so much explosives were rained on Longstop it changed the contour of the summit .
24 April
Fighting on Long Stop at a crescendo all day. O.P. under murderous fire—support group at bottom of hill also under heavy shell fire. Gunner Collins hit in hand. At about 11.10 I heard the dreadful news, Lt Goldsmith had been killed. Alf Fildes noted in his diary “Learn with regret we have lost our best officer.”
I went back to my cave and wept. I remember calling his name. After a few minutes I straightened up, but the memory of that day remains vivid.
PERSONAL TRIBUTE
LIEUTENANT A. M. GOLDSMITH
Flight Lieutenant Terence Rattigan writes:—
The loss in action of Anthony Goldsmith, at the age of 31, will he most bitterly felt not only by his many personal friends but by al those who, through his writing, recognized his great gifts and were hopeful of the promise they gave.
I have known him intimately for most of his life, for we were at Harrow together, and later at Oxford, where Tony was an exhibitioner of Balliol. His quiet, humour, deep intelligence, and gentle, unfailing charm endeared him at length to many whom his shyness and modesty at first repelled. His outlook and views, though never at all forcibly expressed, might have appeared at times to the unthinking acquaintance as too self-consciously heterodox. They were in fact the product of his extreme honesty, his tolerant understanding of human weaknesses, and his exceptionally adult mind. He was witty