1946 Continued - 3 weeks after arriving in Austria
A notice went up saying anyone interested in going to Rome for a week’s historical course should apply which I did. Being RC helped.. One night the Sergeant came to me and said you’re going on the midnight train to Rome.
My friends Quilliam and Marshall also applied and were told to report in Villach for the International train to Rome but they were absent. Somehow or other they got on the train late. Shortly before departure, two military police came on board and arrested them and took them by truck under escort.
With great relief I started the 36 hour journey It was a scenic journey by train which took us through Trieste, Mestre, Udine, Bologna, Verona, Padua and down the Adriatic coast to Rimini and then across to Rome. I arrived in Rome station at 5am and there was no one around so I slept on the floor along the platform. I then enquired of the Army Transport Officer and found out I was supposed to be at a place designated as a Rest and Recuperation centre. I was taken there by jeep.
The following morning we started the coursed and had a tour guide for the week (who was a grand daughter of Giuseppi Garibaldi an Italian revolutionary who rescued Italy from France in a previous century.) This included St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican museum, The Sistine Chapel, The Catacombs, Borghese gallery The Baths of Caracalla which was the site of the Open air amphitheatre Opera house. On the first night I caught a tram out to this Opera House and got a ticket.
It was a wonderful spectacle; the stage being set between the old ruins of the baths. It held 2000 players. Before the performance the stage was very dramatically illuminated against the night sky. It was during this pre start period that I lit a cigarette and immediately there were shouts of “Molto Stupido” “Vietato Fumare” “ Rauchen Verboten.” If they’d shouted “ No Smoking” I’d have got the message quicker and extinguished the fag. I settled down to enjoy Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci.
The 2nd night I was going to go to Aida but fell asleep under the mosquito netting and woke up too late. The day tours were fantastically interesting and I appreciated this wonderful cultural opportunity of a life time. The course finished and I caught the next train back to Villach.
There was an extension course in Florence but due to my recent military history, I played it safe. On reflection it was an amazing month from 1st Aug in England to 3rd Sept 46 in Rome. It was a mind blowing experience of culture shock from the cookhouse in the UK to Cavalleria Rusticana in Caracalla, Rome.
On return from Rome I went to St.Paul Monastery ( where I had a chat with a monk who had been at Buckfast Abbey Devon,) to rejoin C Company but they had moved up to Langenwang, This Company of Lancashire Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, 78th Battleaxe Division, 8th Army, had come up through Italy – fought in Tunisia, N. Africa landed at Salerno fought at Monte Casino. One man in the next hut Lance Corporal Frank Jefferson awarded the VC for knocking out 2 tanks single handed with a Piat Gun and causing another tank to retreat.
The area had been occupied by the Russians, so British troops took over during a re-allocation of zones. The treatment of the local population by the Russian troops was reported to have been very bad, so the Austrians were pleased for the British to take over.
Another assignment was in Graz. Here I went to a musical concert and chatted to an Austrian girl who was very interested in Classical music. It was a very brief, truly, platonic friendship with a shared interest, -- but -- there is a sequel (later.)