It's a great shame the Green Howards doesn't exist any more. The Green Howards museum in Richmond Yorks is well worth a visit.

What a coincidence that you are from Bolton, my mother was born there in 1900 at 5 Gilnow Grove and, for most of her working life was a mill operative, as were most of the rest of the family, (7 in all) but in the Oldham area.

I'm almost 92 now but I get out every day and I do get to Bolton from time to time, I like the market there, not been for quite a while now though.

I was in Support Company as signaller to the Anti Tank Platoon and my buddy Fred Zilken was also in Support Coy as signaller to the Mortar Platoon, Fred used to write to me regularly after the war, I've still got his letters, He succumbed to Parkinsons disease about 3 years ago, what a great lad he was but, in the end one by one we just pass on.

I'm off to bed now Patrick, nice of you to send me an Email maybe I'll hear from you again, ask me anything you like about those days, I will, to the best of my ability give you an answer.

Best wishes for now to you and yours,

Ex 4753850 Pte W Shaw Green Howards

I've read the diary and personally knew all of those mentioned who were casualties; Peter John Mckenna was in C Company with me prior to Rommels break through when we were in the Gazala line in 1942, I was wounded and never saw Peter again until I rejoined the Signal Platoon just prior to the Wadi Akarit attack in April 1943. hope there's someone out there who knew Peter, maybe a relative, I would be so pleased to hear from them, as I would form anyone who knew any of the others like, Dagger Hall, Bill Lovett, Lindsay Smith, Tony Murray, Roddy McMillan, Tommy Callaghan, Gunnel, -I knew them all, I enjoyed reading the diary although I remember little about Kenneth Taylor as Signals Officer, The only Signals Officer I can remember were Capt Levine who was wounded in North Africa and Lt Hutchinson who I'm fairly sure was killed in North Africa, I would so love to hear from anyone who recognises any of those.
I live on my own in a flat in Oldham, am in quite good health despite my (almost) 92 years,

Wilf Shaw XIX

I've been back since and stayed with a lovely family at Horst, they took me to try and find a farm house where a
I shared a cellar with a lad from London (Fred Zilken), manning a field telephone (Don 5) when the line was broken by shell or mortar fire we had to go out and find both ends of the broken line and repair it sometimes in pitch darkness at night, Fred wrote to me for years after the war, he died a few years ago from Parkinsons, we had been together in North Africa in 1941/2 and Sicily 1943, all a long time ago, like reading the comments, hope someone might be interested,

Wilfred Shaw Ex 6th Green Howards 1940/46
XIX