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Lieutenant Joseph Alborn
Unit : 3rd Forward Observation Unit, RA
Army No. : 826758
Awards : Military Medal
Joseph Alborn was born in 1913. He joined the Royal Artillery, and as a Sergeant was awarded the Military Medal whilst serving in North Africa with the 57th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. His citation reads:
On the afternoon of 13th December [1941], near Gabr El Abidi, Libya, Sergeant Alborn was acting as Troop Sergeant of B/171 Light Anti-Aircraft Battery. The Troop came under concentrated shell and machine gun fire from 30 tanks which attacked and over-ran the Battery position of 31 Field Battery, which was being protected against air attack by "B" Troop. He assisted his Troop Commander to withdraw his Troop at the last moment and manned one gun which covered the withdrawal of the remaining two guns. This gun held off two tanks at 300 yards range causing one to burst into flames and scored hits on the other. He then assisted in getting the Troop into action on the left flank of the next guns, a Troop of 12 Field Battery. Throughout the difficult period under heavy fire, Sergeant Alborn showed great calmness, gallantry and devotion to duty and was an inspiring example to the other men.
Alborn later received a field commission. The following are extracts from his memoirs:
Shortly after receiving my Field Commission, I volunteered to train as a parachutist. I was posted to the 2nd Independent Para Brigade, who were then based just outside Rome. So, with twenty others, I commenced training. This initially consisted of PT, road walks and runs and other toughening up exercises. Our training equipment was rather Heath Robinson compared with the modern equipment used at Ringway, Manchester, where the main Para training school was situated. But we trained on the mock equipment, and eventually the day came for our first jump. Being the only officer in the “stick”, I had to be the first out of the door on the first jump. All went well and I progressed down the stick, until on the eighth jump, I was going to be the last out of the door on a night jump. Our Sergeant instructor had joined us for this last jump. He and I were numbers 20 and 21. As we were flying toward the drop zone, he was telling me about a soccer final he had played in prior to the war. All of a sudden he called out, “Come on. They are all going!” We both dashed down the fuselage, holding our static lines and threw ourselves out of the door into space. I landed OK and was just gathering up my chute, when he joined me and continued on the conversation we had been having in the aircraft, just as though he had just stepped off the bus, coming home from a Saturday night at the pictures. He was truly a remarkable young man and a fine instructor.
Operation Dragoon, which we were training for, was the invasion of the South of France, which at this time was occupied by the German forces. The unit I was with was the 3rd Forward Observer Unit, Royal Artillery. This was attached to Brigade HQ. A Brigadier Pritchard, who formerly was the Battalion Commander of the 6th Battalion, commanded the Brigade. The Brigade HQ consisted of Gunners and Sappers with 4, 5 and 6 Batteries. The unit I was in was half British and half Canadian, commanded by a British Major. The Brigade Intelligence Officer was a Captain Tony Crossland, who later became a cabinet minister in the Labour Government.
The invasion of the South of France was to be undertaken by the 7th US Army, with the 2nd Independent Para Brigade attached for the job. The drop took place in the early morning on the 15th of August 1944. The main aircraft were the Douglas DC3s, both for the parachute drop, and for towing in the gliders with the guns. The drop took place just north of a small market town named Le Muy. This was situated on the main road going north from the French Riviera to Lyon. The drop zone was a valley with vineyards either side of the road, flanked by hills covered in pine trees. The Germans obviously knew we were coming, as they had cut down several of the pine trees, and stuck them in the ground at intervals to act as obstacles for the gliders. The Brigade gliders were of two types: Wacos and Horsas. The Waco was of American construction and had a metal tubular frame with a canvas cover, whereas the Horsa was a British made glider with a pine wood frame and a 3-ply cover. Quite a few casualties occurred when the gliders landed, due to the pine poles planted in the ground, but of the two types, the Horsas came off best because of their ply wood exterior.
Our 6th Battalion was given the worst job of the whole operation, and that was to take the German Area HQ. This was in a French Chateau, which was in a 150-acre park surrounded by a stone wall. The wall had huge wrought iron gates and the Chateau was in the centre of the park. The main resistance came from the cellars of the Chateau. We suffered many dead and wounded but we eventually captured the headquarters along with the German General and his staff. The Battalion dead were buried on the left of the road leading to the house, and the German dead on the right. I often wondered if they were eventually moved. On the evening of the 15th, when all was over, a party of us went into Le Muy to see what was happening. When we got there, we were amazed to find about 100 of the French Resistance – called the Maquis – there. They wore non-descript clothing and carried all manner of weapons; from shotguns to old world war one rifles to modern Tommy Guns and Bren Guns. When we arrived they were putting a barber’s chair on to the Bandstand in the centre of the market square. On making enquiries of an American Provost Major, we were told that the Maquis wanted to hang a French girl who had been living with a German Officer. They alleged that she had given the names of several of the local Maquis to the Gestapo, and that these people had been taken and shot. That was the reason the Maquis wanted to hang her from the roof of the bandstand in the market square. But the Major informed them in no uncertain manner, that if she were a war criminal, she would be tried as one. So the Maquis replied that if they couldn’t hang her, they would do the next best thing, before she was taken away. So they took the barber’s chair, and to the cheers of the crowd, they proceeded to cut off her beautiful head of hair. The American Military Police then took her away.
On reflection, the drop into the French Riviera was possibly the most exciting time of my whole army career. I am sure my Mother’s prayers were with me on that, as on all the other occasions where I kept free from danger and injury. I would like, if at all possible, to re-visit the Le Muy area, to see what it is like after these years. I will never forget that girl, with all her lovely hair gone, being taken away by the American Military Police.
Joseph Alborn was later promoted to Captain, and though he did not accompany the 2nd Parachute Brigade to Greece, he remained in the British Army after the war, serving in Malaya and Hong Kong before retiring in 1963, though he continued for a few more years in the Territorial Army. He passed away in 1999, aged 86.
Thanks to Marcus Alborn for this account.