WW2TV | Come Back to Portofino: Through Italy with the 6th South African Armoured Division @WW2TV | Uploaded May 2024 | Updated October 2024, 13 hours ago.
Come Back to Portofino: Through Italy with the 6th South African Armoured Division
With James Bourhill
Part of our Italy 1944 - Monte Cassino and Beyond series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDG3XyxGI5lAa0qbIU9woMaVd--2KbP0t&si=LgSb-TXSghd-1ruE
Come Back to Portofino chronicles the journey taken by volunteers in the 6th South African Armoured Division. From training camps in Egypt through to the blissful summer of 1945 the ‘Div’ left its mark on towns and villages across Italy. From Monte Cassino to the outskirts of Venice and the River Po, the campaign lasted exactly twelve months.
During the advance through Rome up to Florence, it was a case of constant movement and violent contact with the enemy. Experiences which left an enduring impression on returned soldiers included the periods of rest at Siena and Lucca as well as the four miserable winter months in the northern Apennines. Overall, the casualty rate was surprisingly low considering the ideal ambush country and mountain defences which had to be overcome. In the rifle companies however, the rate of attrition was high and replacements were few. Among the South Africans who are buried in Italy, there are those who died in vehicle accidents, from drowning and falling out of windows or from suicide. For the ordinary soldier the most important part of everyday life was contact with home or foraging for food and wine, and even enjoying the company of signorine when operations permitted.
James Bourhill schooled at St John’s College in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bourhill did national service in a mounted infantry unit. His tertiary education began at Cerara College of Agriculture, after which he went farming in Rhodesia and North America before returning to Rustenburg where he lives today,
Buy the book
UK uk.bookshop.org/a/5843/9781920143565
USA amazon.com/Come-Back-Portofino-Armoured-Division/dp/1920143564
South Africans versus Rommel on WW2TV
youtube.com/watch?v=BkbM7jl_9ps&t=2s
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Come Back to Portofino: Through Italy with the 6th South African Armoured Division
With James Bourhill
Part of our Italy 1944 - Monte Cassino and Beyond series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDG3XyxGI5lAa0qbIU9woMaVd--2KbP0t&si=LgSb-TXSghd-1ruE
Come Back to Portofino chronicles the journey taken by volunteers in the 6th South African Armoured Division. From training camps in Egypt through to the blissful summer of 1945 the ‘Div’ left its mark on towns and villages across Italy. From Monte Cassino to the outskirts of Venice and the River Po, the campaign lasted exactly twelve months.
During the advance through Rome up to Florence, it was a case of constant movement and violent contact with the enemy. Experiences which left an enduring impression on returned soldiers included the periods of rest at Siena and Lucca as well as the four miserable winter months in the northern Apennines. Overall, the casualty rate was surprisingly low considering the ideal ambush country and mountain defences which had to be overcome. In the rifle companies however, the rate of attrition was high and replacements were few. Among the South Africans who are buried in Italy, there are those who died in vehicle accidents, from drowning and falling out of windows or from suicide. For the ordinary soldier the most important part of everyday life was contact with home or foraging for food and wine, and even enjoying the company of signorine when operations permitted.
James Bourhill schooled at St John’s College in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bourhill did national service in a mounted infantry unit. His tertiary education began at Cerara College of Agriculture, after which he went farming in Rhodesia and North America before returning to Rustenburg where he lives today,
Buy the book
UK uk.bookshop.org/a/5843/9781920143565
USA amazon.com/Come-Back-Portofino-Armoured-Division/dp/1920143564
South Africans versus Rommel on WW2TV
youtube.com/watch?v=BkbM7jl_9ps&t=2s
You can become a YouTube Member and support us here youtube.com/channel/UCUC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA
You can become a Patron here patreon.com/WW2TV
Please click subscribe for updates also "like" the video - it really helps!
Social Media links -
twitter.com/WW2TV
facebook.com/WW2TV
instagram.com/ww2tv
WW2TV Merchandise ww2tv.creator-spring.com
WW2TV Bookshop - where you can purchase copies of books featured in my YouTube shows. Any book listed here comes with the personal recommendation of Paul Woodadge, the host of WW2TV. For full disclosure, if you do buy a book through a link from this page WW2TV will earn a commission.
UK - uk.bookshop.org/shop/WW2TV
USA - bookshop.org/shop/WW2TV
Patreon Brigadiers: Susan Yu, David Keahey and Tom Mullen
Become a WW2TV Brigadier and become part of this Hall of Fame
patreon.com/WW2TV
