Comments from Janet Robbins

finally made my trip to visit my brother in the UK, and went through my father’s WWII scrapbook! It’s really an amazing recounting of his experiences overseas, starting with the ill-fated journey on the Strathallan in December 1942. He later served in North Africa and Italy (always with the RAF Regiment), attached to the US 5th and 8th Armies. He was awarded the MC and the US Bronze Star during the Italian campaign. The scrapbook will eventually go to the RAF Regiment archives in the UK. There are many interesting photos of what life was like in the services during the War.

Anyway, I’m attaching just a few here that relate specifically to the Strathallan, including a photo of the ship’s menu for 17 December 1942, when as my father comments, the seas were apparently so rough! One is a newspaper clipping describing some of the nurses who rowed the lifeboats, including quotes from Margaret Bourke White’s article. Then there are a few snapshots of my father’s group after they finally landed on terra firma. And a couple of single photos of my father, one when they had just landed, the other somewhere in N. Africa.