Through
Italy with the 6th South African
Armoured Division
World War II
combat—the South African ‘Red Tabs’ in Italy. Using archival sources and
private documents recently unearthed, Come Back to Portofino chronicles the
journey taken by volunteers in the 6th South African Armoured Division. From
training camps in Egypt
through to the blissful summer of 1945 the ‘Div’ left its mark on towns and
villages across Italy. From Monte Cassino to the
outskirts of Venice and the River Po the campaign lasted
exactly twelve months. During the advance through Rome up to Florence, it was a case of constant movement
and violent contact with the enemy. Experiences which left an enduring
impression on returned soldiers included the periods of rest at Siena and Lucca as well as
the four miserable winter months in the northern Apennines. Overall, the casualty rate was surprisingly low
considering the ideal ambush country and mountain defences which had to be
overcome. In the rifle companies however, the rate of attrition was high and
replacements were few. Among the South Africans who are buried in
Italy, there are those who died in
vehicle accidents, from drowning and falling out of windows or from suicide. For
the ordinary soldier the most important part of everyday life was contact with
home or foraging for food and wine, and even enjoying the company of signorine
when operations permitted. Nevertheless, it was not one long happy camping trip
as was often portrayed in the press. The cast is made up of the famous regiments
and ordinary South Africans who participated in these epic events. James
Bourhill. After failing matric at St
John’s College,
Johannesburg,
James did his national service in a mounted unit which nearly ruined his love of
horses. He attended Cedara College of Agriculture, after which he went farming
in Rhodesia and
America before returning to
Rustenburg in South
Africa where he still lives today with his wife
Jackie, plus an assortment of children and animals—including two horses. Needing
to discover why farming was so unprofitable, James studied agricultural
economics at the University of Pretoria, attaining a master’s degree. By
profession, he is a property valuer but his passion has always been history and
travel. Currently these two interests are combined in his research for a D.Phil
in history, which demands numerous trips to the Mediterranean region. James has
a small apartment in the south of France where he aspires to be known
in the village as “the Sud-Africain writer” and to have nothing but a bicycle
for transport.
