One for the Road by Will Roberts

Author:Will Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Published: 2019-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

29th Infantry Brigade Headquarters

Sosa, 9th May 1951

Jackie and Lim stood at ease as the Commander of the US 8th Army, Korea, General James Van Fleet, spoke of the heroic stand of the Glosters on Hill 235, or Gloster Hill as it was now known. Jackie heard words such as ‘indomitable spirit’, ‘fighting beyond the call of duty’, ‘gallant stand’, which made him proud; then he heard words which made his blood boil: “Time and again efforts were made to reach the battalion, but the enemy strength blocked each effort,” he heard from Van Fleet.

“Bullshit!” this from Taffy Howells, standing to his left.

Taffy had been on R and R during the stand on hill 235 and he and Major Digby Grist had been desperate to re-join their company, as part of the force that had been standing by for the extraditing of the Glosters.

Now Major Grist was the new commanding officer of The Gloucestershire Regiment and was in the process of receiving the US Presidential citation on behalf of the Gloucestershire Regiment and C Troop, 170 Mortar Battery, The Royal Artillery, who were now entitled to wear blue-shoulder flashes, indicating a unit citation.

It had been a very stressful time for the new commanding officer. The Gloucestershire Regiment, or the ‘Glorious Glosters’, as they had now become known, were on the verge of being disbanded. After their exertions on hill 235, what remained of the Regiment was a mere one hundred and twenty-nine men, a number that was greatly increased when Jackie and the forty-one members of D Company under Major Harvey joined the decimated regiment, nonetheless, this number needed to be increased dramatically.

Grist sent men to the airfield at Kimpo to try and persuade new arrivals to sign up for the Glosters. What’s more? Word was that the Glosters were to be sent to the Falkland Islands. Grist was determined to stay in Korea until the whereabouts of his fellow officers and men were known, at the very least. He made a heartfelt plea to Brigadier Brodie, who was understanding and gave the Glosters a mission protecting the bridges over the river Han.

The Gloucestershire Regiment had survived and not only had they survived but had become the most talked-about regiment in the British Army. Everybody wanted to interview the men of the ‘Glorious Glosters’.

Corporal Jackie Gee, who had been awarded the Military Medal for his heroics on hill 375 just weeks before was, of course, one of the most sought-after soldiers to be interviewed but Jackie, did not want this attention and often refused interviews – especially when he saw cameras.

He listened when some of his colleagues were being interviewed and smiled as they exaggerated their participation and described actions and events that Jackie could not remember.

On one occasion, Lim was interviewed and spoke about how Jackie saved his and Mina’s lives. Afterwards, Jackie was angry with Lim, but at the time Lim was mystified as to why this had angered Jackie so much. Later, after the war, when they were in Changwon and Jackie had explained his situation, Lim understood why.

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