SAVED BY BULLY BEEF

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 November 1943, Page 4

SAVED BY BULLY BEEF

BRITISH PRIVATE’S FORTUNATE ESCAPE. EXPERIENCE IN TUNISIA. Pte. James Bryan, 6 Bunden Road, Shepherds Bush, London, W. 12, owes his life to a tin of bully beef and a packet of biscuits. Bryan was ordered to take part in a night attack in order that a foothold could be obtained on two important hills in the Enfidaville sector, in Tunisia. “I put the tin of bully beef and the biscuits, with which I had been issued, into my pack,” he said. “Together with my pack,” he continued, we started out in the darkness, my pack seemed rather heavy, and I thought it might be a good idea if I dumped it by the side of the track, especially as we were likely to rush into the attack with fixed bayonets. However, I thought better of it and kept it on my back. We had progressed for about half a mile when the mortars started to fire on us. We were also troubled with machine-guns and snipers. We took the hill at the point of the bayonet, and started to dig in. Enemy lhelling increased, and our officer was’hit with shrapnel, but carried on. Then a big piece of shrapnel hit me in the back, but as I was wearing my pack it caused only very slight injuries. “You epn see where it went through my pack, showing a slit in the canvas, and here is the tin of bully beef.” The tin was torn apart, and was surrounded by broken biscuits. “I always thought army rations were a bit hard,” said Pte. Bryan, “but hardly hard enough to stop a shell splinter.”