Double MC winner passes away

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Andy H
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Double MC winner passes away

#1

Post by Andy H » 07 May 2004, 23:33

Fred Huskisson
(Filed: 04/05/2004)
Fred Huskisson, who has died aged 89, had a distinguished career as an international rugby player in the 1930s and in the Second World War, during which he won two MCs in Italy.

In January 1944 Huskisson was serving with the 1st Battalion, the Duke of Wellington's regiment, and took part in the amphibious landing at Anzio as part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st British Division. The landing was virtually unopposed, and the Allies had pushed up the Albano highway and created a narrow salient, extending from Carroceto to Campoleone, before the Germans sealed the beachhead.
After the Guards Brigade, in very heavy fighting, had taken the "Factory", a large building near Carroceto which had been holding up the advance, the 3rd Brigade was ordered to capture the high ground near Campoleone to allow the American armour to pass through.
On January 30 Huskisson led "A" Company in an attack on features overlooking the main railway line to Rome. The battalion took these positions and held them for six days, despite almost constant shelling. Huskisson moved from platoon to platoon under fire, steadying his men. His company was in close contact with the enemy armour and infantry when, on February 4, it was ordered to withdraw. "I waited until dark," Huskisson said afterwards, "and then got what was left of my company back after a scary march, hearing German voices on either side." He was awarded an immediate MC.
A week later Huskisson was shot in the shoulder. He was persuaded to relinquish command and, with eight other wounded, reached the American lines on foot, waving a dirty white handkerchief, before being taken to hospital. He was operated on to rebuild his shoulder and rejoined his battalion in April.
On May 22 the Dukes were ordered to attack the ruined village of Pantoni; artillery had been unable to silence the German machine guns, which were dug in and surrounded by "S" mines. Huskisson led the left forward company in the assault, and took the objective at the point of the bayonet. Then, walking about under fire, he got his men dug in and the position wired. Dawn saw the company in complete domination of the feature; he was awarded a bar to his MC.
Thomas Frederick Huskisson (always known as Fred) was born at Mortlake, Surrey, on July 1 1914 and educated at Merchant Taylors' School. A powerfully built young man, he played rugby for the school, starting as a full back and moving to the second row in 1931.
Two years later he joined a firm of meat importers and wholesalers as an office boy at Smithfield market. In 1936 he was selected for a Lions' tour in Argentina; the Lions won all 10 matches, scoring a total of 399 points to 12 against. Huskisson played for England against Scotland, Wales and Ireland in 1937 when England won the Triple Crown, and he was selected for all three internationals in the following two years.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, Huskisson was called up, and, after completing his training at OCTU, was commissioned into the Duke of Wellington's regiment. In May 1940 he took a draft of 80 men to France to reinforce the 1st Battalion; but after a chaotic three weeks of marching and counter-marching, the battalion was evacuated from Cherbourg and landed at Weymouth.
After a spell as platoon commander on coastal defence duties in Lincolnshire, followed by combined operations training in the Scottish mountains, Huskisson was promoted captain and made adjutant. It was not all soldiering: the Dukes took their rugby seriously, and Huskisson played many games at regimental level as well as several international matches.
In February 1943 he accompanied the battalion to Algiers, where they disembarked during an air raid. In an action near Madjez el Bab, Tunisia, in April, he was acting CO of "A" Company when he was wounded in the head by a mortar bomb.
"Blood spurted everywhere," he said afterwards, "and for a moment I thought the worst had happened. Then four stretcher-bearers appeared. The rule was that there should never be more than two to a casualty - I ticked them off and realised that I could not be too badly hurt and carried on."
A few hours later, Huskisson was operated on in a tented hospital where a large piece of shrapnel was removed. He returned to his battalion in time for the fall of Tunis and the end of the war in Africa. After six months intensive training near Sousse, interrupted briefly for a successful landing on the island of Pantelleria - Huskisson was the first of the Dukes ashore - the battalion disembarked at Taranto, Italy, in December.
After the battle of the Anzio beachhead, Huskisson accompanied his battalion on the gruelling slog northwards to the Gothic Line, moving from one mountain top to another in a series of battles in which the terrain greatly favoured the defenders.
Early in 1945, as the 1st British Division was preparing for an assault on Bologna, the Dukes were ordered to Palestine and arrived at Haifa in February to carry out security duties. Huskisson was promoted second-in-command and subsequently became acting commanding officer.
He delayed his release date by a year and served with the Dukes at Moascar, Egypt, where he was able to play rugby three times a week. In 1946 he returned to England and, after his demobilisation early in 1947, he was appointed MBE.
Huskisson rejoined the meat company to run the continental sales division. He was made a director in 1960 and given the job of increasing supplies from Australia and New Zealand. Appointed managing director in 1976, he retired in 1979.
In retirement Huskisson lived in a village in Pembrokeshire. He moved to Gloucestershire last year to be near his family.
Fred Huskisson died on April 25. In 1954 he married Allison Huxley, who predeceased him; he is survived by their two daughters.

Andreas
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#2

Post by Andreas » 12 May 2004, 00:14

Good post Andy. Minor error I believe, 'The Factory' was AFAIK not a building, but the whole town of Aprilia, which was a fairly new town (the Pontine Marshes were only drained in the 30s), with lots of industry and large admin buildings (it was - and probably still is - the administratice centre of the region). Because of these quite unusual buildings for Italy, it was called 'the factory' by the Allies.

At least that is what I have heard about it.


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