Monte Cassino Survivor Story

Bring_Harmony
Published on Jul 6, 2020
Jim Knox, WWII veteran describes his harrowing experiences during the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Para Jim Knox, 89

Jim grew up in West Ham and joined the Army in 1941 aged 16 after persuading the sergeant at Romford Army recruitment office that he was 18. In August 1942 he volunteered for the Paras and joined 4th Parachute Battalion, part of the 2nd Parachute Brigade. He served in North Africa, landing at Oran in early 1943. The 2nd Brigade landed in Italy at Taranto in September and moved up the west coast to the Sangro river where the brigade became the Independent Parachute Brigade, joining forces with a New Zealand Division patrolling the Gustav Line.

"The most frightening time of the war for me was going into Monte Cassino for the first time. There was a tremendous noise from the mortars and this hideous yellow smog. The sky was lit up red and yellow and we could see flames. It wasn't until we got closer that we realised that was Vesuvius erupting. It was like walking into hell. The stench was horrible from dead mules and dead soldiers. It was terrifying.

"We were with a New Zealand division at the railway station and Germans were dug in just a few yards away at the Continental Hotel. We were so close that we shouted abuse at each other.
"You could hardly move -- and you only moved at night. And we constantly worried about treading on a mine. The mortaring was constant from both sides. It was a bit like trench warfare at the First World War -- a stalemate - no one could move. You did get the odd glimpse of a German but very rarely. If there was any movement from either side everyone would open fire.

"I was on a two inch mortar -- when you saw a flash you had to send some back in that direction. We were there for 13 days until the Poles advanced to the monastery."

Following the battle for Monte Cassino, Jim was parachuted into France, behind enemy lines. The daring operation to surround and contain a German garrison at Le Muy took place a few days before the invasion of the Southern France in August 1944. Jim was awarded the Legion d'honneur -- the highest decoration in France -- following his work with French Resistance guerrillas, the Maquis, during the operation.

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