New Zealanders On Dreary Lampedusa

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 210, 4 September 1943, Page 5

New Zealanders On Dreary Lampedusa

LONDON, Sept. 2. '‘ Lampedusa Island is a dreary place and we were not sorry to leave,” said Flight-Sergeants W. Tye (Wanganui) and D. Jackson (Cheviot), who have returned to England. ‘‘We were there for a mouth with Flight-Lieut. D. F. Watson (Thames), Flight-Sergts. J. S. Prentice, R. O. Shorthouse, R. Hayward, and W. H. Carter (Auckland), C. McDonald and R. Cammock (Christcnurch). We arrived a week before the Sicilian campaign began. Our job was patrolling in four cannon Hurricanes over convoys. There were many big convoys. Ono was 41 miles long and it took ten minutes tc fly from end to end. “It was a magnificent sight to see the fleet of ships against the blue waters, lit up by the sun. We nevet saw any Axis aircraft. At Lampedusa, we lived under canvas in a small bay. About the only bright spot in our lives was the fact that the beach was only 30 yards distant, and so we had many good swims, but the food was poor. 1 Most of us had mild dysentery anu while we could get a few small thickskinned tomatoes, we did not eat grapes in case it made our dysentery worse. We found the islanders friendly es-, peeially when they discovered that the Italian garrison had been removed and they were allowed to return to their normal occupations.” Previously the squadron was stationed at Phillipville where it carried out patrols over convoys as far as Bona and Algiers. Jackson and Cammock (the latter has also returned to England) were among the five pilots who attack ed and shot down all four of the Italian torpedo-bombers which were preparing to attack the convoy. Tye, who was patrolling over the convoy, was indignant when he heard that all of the Italians were shot down before they sighted the convoy. Also with the squadron for a time was Flight-Sergt. C. Ashworth (Alexandra), who shot down three enemy planes. Shorthouse also shared in the destruction of two.