Hello and welcome to this edition of Between the Lines, the podcast that desiphers the

handwriting, unfolds faded pages and dips into the details of Diaries, log books and letters

written during this same week, there or thereabouts, in 1943, some 80 years ago.

Let's start with a quick recap of the situation.

This week we're reading the handwriting of men and women whose experiences were being recorded

in the fourth week of April 1943. So again, let's have a quick recap of what's going on.

Where?

On the eastern front the Red Army is moving through the Kuban. In Europe, bomber command is

laying mine to the Baltic on a massive scale. Multi-spit fires or Spitfires on Malta destroy

their 1000th enemy aircraft. And the body of a British staff officer is washed up on the

Spanish coastline in an attempt to deflect attention from the forthcoming invasion of Sicily.

The Far East American forces occupy Ellis Islands, but the most significant actions this

week are in North Africa in Tunisia. From the show had forested this capture of a tiger tank

between Medjel's El Bab and Montano, a tank you can still see at the Bovington Tank Museum,

by the way, to the fury and determination that results in the capture of Longstop Hill,

this is a week of progress for the Allies. Let's catch up with regimental sergeant

Major Jack Ward of the 56th Heavy Regiment, dug in to the south of Grenadier Hill.

April 24th received an airliter tonight, awful condition, but we are in what our hope is

the last battle for North Africa. And after the time of writing, we are making good progress.

I'm making these notes in a dugout just south of Grenadier Hill. Something you must have

heard about in the wireless, in the papers. They made an attack on us on Tuesday night,

24th April, and we fought a tough battle under the Hill's opposite over our HQ.

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