Operation Speedwell

Allied Forces

• 2 Special Air Service
  • Speedwell One
    • Captain Pinckney
    • Lieutenant Anthony Greville-Bell
    • Sergeant George “Bepe” Daniel
    • Sergeant Joseph “Tim” Robinson
    • Lance Sergeant Horace “Stokey” Stokes
    • Corporal Peter Tomasso
    • Parachutist Leonard “Len” William Curtis.
  • Speedwell Two
    • Captain Patrick Dudgeon
    • Lieutenant Thomas “Tojo” Maclagan Wedderburn
    • Warrant-Sergeant William Foster
    • Corporal James Shortall
    • Lance Corporal Harold Challenor
    • Private Bernard Brunt.

Axis Forces

• Occupying German Forces
• Italian Facist Loyalist

Operation

Lieutenant Colonel Bill Stirling, commander of the 2 Special Air Service regiment, is aware that the Germans keep four Armoured Divisions in Reserve in the north of Italy. Due to fuel shortages and lack of spare tank tracks, they rely on Italy’s railway system for rapid deployment. His idea is that the Special Air Service attacks these rail lines to deny their use to the Germans. By the time German armour reaches the battlefield by road, the Allies intend to be well established and ready to repel them.

Planning for the operation begins in mid-August, proposing a parachute drop of two squadrons. However, limited air transport and competing priorities reduce the mission’s scale. Only four officers and nine men parachute in two small teams targeting railway lines north of Florence and La Spezia. These groups are named Speedwell One and Speedwell Two.

The Operational Commander, Captain Philip Hugh Pinckney briefs the teams in the beginning of September. The plan involves a night parachute drop onto remote mountainsides in enemy territory. No ground reception party, no radios, and little local knowledge are available. Escape routes remain uncertain. Planners assume a rapid Allied advance will allow contact within a week. However, the men may have to march over 800 kilometres south through enemy-held territory. Unaware that Italy has surrendered and that German forces have turned against their former allies. They have orders to avoid civilians and move only at night. They only learn of Italy’s surrender after two weeks when hunger forces them to seek food from local farmers.

On the afternoon of September 7^th, 1943, two Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle transport aircraft take off from Kairouan, Tunisia. They carry the Special Air Service groups on a mission over 800 kilometres north to Italy. The men are wearing blue-grey US Army overalls over their uniforms. At a distance, these resemble Wehrmacht clothing. Their weapons include a mix of Allied and foreign arms. Each man carries a heavy pack with ammunition, explosives, and rations. They are issued Italian lire to buy food and shelter. Officers carry gold sovereigns, called the Knights of Saint George, for emergencies.

Operation Speedwell One

Captain Pinckney leads Speedwell One, targeting the area north of Florence. Australian Lieutenant Anthony Greville-Bell, serves as second in command. The team includes Sergeant George “Bepe” Daniel, Sergeant Joseph “Tim” Robinson, Lance Sergeant Horace “Stokey” Stokes, Corporal Peter Tomasso, and Parachutist Leonard “Len” William Curtis.

They do not encounter anti-aircraft fire over the coast. The drop takes place at 2,100 metres, with strong winds of 30–40 kilometres/hour scattering them widely. As they descend, an air raid siren sounds in the village of Castiglione. Poor visibility and ground mist complicate their landing.

Lieutenant Greville-Bell crashes into rocky terrain, breaking two ribs. His helmet saves his head, but he struggles to move. He locates two supply containers and waits for the others. One container drifts out of reach and they do not recover it. The team regroups, but Captain Pinckney is missing. Corporal Tomasso hears him land 270 metres away and calls out. Pinckney responds but never appears. Lance Sergeant Stokes later writes that they search for an hour and a half despite orders to avoid delays. He believes Pinckney’s back injury prevents him from moving. It is later suspected that Italian Carabinieri capture and execute him. He is buried in Baigno and reinterred on February 22^nd, 1945 in Florence War Cemetery.

After waiting two hours, the team hides their parachutes and supply containers before heading into the mountains south of Castiglione. They encounter a sentry near a hydro-electric plant and change course. By 04:00, they reach the mountain summit. Greville-Bell struggles to breathe due to his injuries. He later recalls using morphine syrettes, which allow him to march for three hours without pain but impair his judgement.

Due to his condition, Greville-Bell alters the plan. Instead of three sabotage teams, they split into two. The next morning, German troops arrive and search the drop zone. Meanwhile, the raiders shelter in a woodland and ration their meagre supplies. Each group receives 72 kilograms of plastic explosive, 2 kilograms of cheese, two tins of sardines, and some biscuits and tea.

On 8 September, as they prepare to separate, Italian radio broadcasts news of Italy’s surrender to the Allies. Marshal Pietro Badoglio announces that hostilities against Allied forces must cease immediately.

That evening, Group One moves out. Greville-Bell, accompanied by Sergeant Daniels and Corporal Tomasso, temporarily transfers command to Daniels due to his injuries. Sergeant Robinson leads Sergeant Stokes and Parachutist Curtis towards the Bologna–Prato railway line. Greville-Bell’s party crosses the mountain, resting near a lake. The next day, he struggles with pain after marching just three kilometres. He considers sending the others ahead but decides to continue when his ribs begin to heal.

On the fifth day, he resumes command. At dawn, they pass silent farmhouses in the mountains near a key road junction. A German armoured convoy moves east. They shadow the road and railway, selecting an unguarded tunnel on the Pistoia–Bologna line for sabotage. On the sixth day, they set a charge 140 metres inside the tunnel, ignited by a fog signal. Retreating up the mountain, they soon hear a train approaching at 40 km/h. A loud explosion follows, with sparks from overhead wires. They cannot see the wreckage, but no trains run on the line the next day, except for suspected repair teams.

For four days, they move cross-country towards the Prato–Bologna railway. Weak from hunger, they ration their supplies. On the eleventh day, they scout the line near Vernio, 30 kilometres north-west of Florence. The following night, they set an explosive charge, intending to derail a southbound train. However, the next train runs on the opposite track, escaping unharmed. They detonate the charge anyway, temporarily disabling the line.

The next day, after eating grapes and tomatoes, they try again. This time, they succeed. A twelve-carriage freight train triggers the charge, derailing and damaging the track. German casualties are heard among the wreckage. Increased railway activity the next day suggests extensive repairs.

After weeks of sabotage, the men begin their long journey south through enemy lines. Starving, they cautiously approach a house and purchase food. Rumours spread that parachutists carry a 10,000 lire bounty. On day eighteen, they reach Fiesole, where Marchesa Roberti, a friend of Greville-Bell’s sister, shelters them. From her villa, they watch American bombers devastate Florence’s tenements, causing an estimated 4,000 civilian casualties.

This begins a 800-kilometre journey through enemy territory. Facing starvation, German patrols, betrayal, and extreme weather, they eventually reach British lines on November 18^th, 1943, seventy-three days after landing. Greville-Bell receives an immediate Distinguished Service Order for his leadership. Sergeant George Daniels is awarded the Military Medal for his role in the mission. Sergeant Joseph Robinson and Lance Sergeant Horace Stokes also receive commendations for their bravery.

Operation Speedwell Two

Operation Speedwell Two takes place in northern Italy, aiming to disrupt German rail communications in the Apennine passes. The objective is to reduce the flow of enemy reinforcements heading south, where the Allies have begun their landings.

Captain Patrick Dudgeon, leads the mission. His second-in-command is Lieutenant Thomas “Tojo” Maclagan Wedderburn. The remaining team members include Warrant-Sergeant William Foster, Corporal James Shortall, Lance Corporal Harold Challenor, and Private Bernard Brunt.

At 23:30, they approach the drop zone near Borgo Val di Taro in Emilia. Anti-aircraft fire is encountered over the coast but ceases as they move inland. The planned landing site is missed, and they drop near Barbarasco, ten miles south of Pontremoli. At 2,100 metres, it is a high-altitude jump. Challenor, the last to exit, lands in a tree. He spends time cutting himself free and burying his parachute. Using a prearranged whistle signal, he searches for Wedderburn. Within an hour, the entire team has regrouped. A sentry is posted, and they settle down for the night. At dawn, they locate their supply containers, confirm their bearings, and arrange a rendezvous in seven days near a stream between Pontremoli and Villafranca.

That evening, the team divides. Captain Dudgeon and Private Brunt, along with Sergeant Foster and Corporal Shortall, move towards separate railway targets along the Genoa–La Spezia coastal line. Before they leave, Challenor recalls their final words being a simple wave and a wish for good luck. He never sees them again.

Wedderburn and Challenor set off towards the La Spezia–Parma branch line. Challenor carries a Schmeisser machine pistol, a .32 Colt pistol, and a Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife. He also carries a silk map and a compass hidden inside his pipe stem. Over six nights, they navigate mountain trails and locate an unguarded tunnel. On September 14^th, 1943, they place charges on both tracks at either end of the tunnel, connecting them to fog signal detonators.

As they withdraw, a train suddenly approaches. The track hums with its vibrations. They sprint for cover. Moments later, explosions echo through the tunnel. The train derails, followed by another train approaching from the opposite direction. The second explosion reverberates through the valley, confirming both trains have been destroyed.

The pair move further down the valley, reaching the rendezvous near Villafranca. They find no sign of the others. Following Captain Dudgeon’s strict orders, they do not wait beyond three nights. Exhausted and hungry, they hide in the mountains during the day, emerging at night. One morning, an Italian farmer discovers them asleep in a ditch. Instead of raising the alarm, he offers them shelter at his farmhouse. His name is Pietro Massimo Petriccioli, and his farm overlooks the La Spezia–Parma railway.

Wedderburn communicates with the farmer in French. The parachutists spend two nights in a warm barn, an improvement from sleeping in the open. They use the last of their explosives to destroy another section of the railway. Petriccioli refuses payment but accepts a gold sovereign as a keepsake. They depart, unaware that Dudgeon and Brunt arrive at the farm shortly after.

On September 18^th, 1943, Wedderburn and Challenor carry out their final attack. They place their last charges on a railway south of Villafranca. As they retreat to higher ground, they hear a train whistle. Moments later, an explosion shatters the silence. They shake hands, knowing they have completed their mission. Their next objective is to return to Allied lines.

They travel on foot, avoiding towns occupied by the Germans. They live off the land, eating chestnuts and drinking from streams. Italian farmers provide food and shelter. In return, the parachutists help with daily chores. They adopt Italian names to blend in, with Challenor using the name Pietro.

Winter approaches, and they struggle with exhaustion and malnutrition. By November, they reach Coppito, near L’Aquila, where they stay with the Eliseo family. The village supports escaped Allied Prisoners of War. The family tailor makes them civilian clothes. On Christmas Eve, Challenor attends mass with the locals. Among the congregation are German soldiers, also attending the service. He remains unnoticed.

On December 27^th, 1943, Fascist militia raid the village. Wedderburn is captured along with two Prisoners of War. The fascists execute the woman who shelters them. He is later deported to Germany, where he remains imprisoned until the war ends. Challenor narrowly avoids capture and goes into hiding. He later becomes seriously ill with malaria and pneumonia. The Eliseo family nurses him back to health.

By April 1944, he resumes his journey south. He walks through the Gran Sasso mountains, battling snow and exhaustion. He crosses the Pescara River, avoiding German patrols. On April 5^th, 1943, he nears Guardiagrele but two German soldiers stop him. He identifies himself as British to avoid being shot as a spy. They detain him but fail to secure him properly. Two days later, he escapes and crosses into Allied-held territory.

Challenor is awarded the Military Medal for his bravery and endurance. His citation notes his courage in disrupting enemy supply lines and surviving seven months behind enemy lines. Captain Patrick Dudgeon, posthumously awarded the Military Cross, is recognised for his leadership and valour. Warrant-Sergeant William Foster and Corporal James Shortall receive posthumous commendations for their actions in enemy territory. The fates of Dudgeon, Brunt, Foster, and Shortall remain unknown for years.

Post-war investigations reveal that Dudgeon and Brunt hijack a German vehicle but are captured at a checkpoint. They are executed on October 3^rd, 1943 under Hitler’s Commando Order. Foster and Shortall are apprehended near La Spezia and executed on September 21^st, 1943. A British Military Court in 1948 convicts several German officers for their murders.

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