THE ALLIED SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION - UK is dedicated to creating the ALLIED SPECIAL FORCES MEMORIAL GROVE at the NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM which will commemorate the men and women who sadly lost their lives whilst serving with ALLIED SPECIAL FORCES during World War 2 and in the Conflicts since.

HARRY HILL
Courtesy of Steve Metcalf - Royal Green Jackets & the late James Hill - 1st. Special Air Service Regiment
	This is a tribute to Harry "Busty" Hill, B Squadron - 1st. Special Air Service Regiment. Harry was a Liverpool lad with an outgoing personality that made him liked by everyone he met, except Germans and Italians of course. Harry, a radio operator, served with the SAS through North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France. He was captured and shot by the "Das Reich" division along with 25 comrades. His body lies in Rom Cemetery, France. My uncle, James "Jimmy" Hill, no relation to Harry, tells me they met on a signals course in North Africa when the Army for some obscure reason decided to change the signals procedure. In the middle of a War! Signallers from all units had to be re-trained and it was there he met Harry, Les Packman and two brothers called Digman. The 5 got on so well that at the end of the course they were looking for a way they could stay together. One of them saw a notice on the board that signallers were required by the SAS. None of them knew what the SAS was but they applied anyway, as my uncle puts it, " Stone me we did'nt know what we were letting ourselves in for" enough said. The 5 along with 2 others passed selection and started their service in the SAS. As I have already said they saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France. My uncle lost contact with the rest in France because in those days you never asked questions when someone did'nt return from an operation, you just got on with the job. My uncle never forgot Harry and wondered what happened to him. Through the Allied Special Forces Association and Mike Colton I was able to find Harry's grave and the circumstances of his death. I'm hoping to take my uncle to Rom so he can pay his respects later this year. On the lists Mike Colton gave me I also found the grave of another of the 5, Private Leslie Packman, killed on the 16th. August 1944 - he's buried at Chilleurs-aux-Bois Cemetery. If anyone knows what happened to the Digman brothers perhaps you could let Mike Colton know at the Allied Special Forces Association. Steve Metcalf Royal Green Jackets

"They shall not grow old as we are left to grow old, Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn, At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them."

HARRY HILL