Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall
Encyclopedia
Spike Milligan's
fourth volume of war autobiography, Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall, spans from landing in Salerno, Italy
, September 23, 1943, to his being invalided. While this is only four months, the text is nearly as long as the three earlier volumes together. Although the humorous writing is similar, there are no ersatz communiques and almost no sketches; the photographs are fewer and smaller.
Losing patience with criticism about his factuality, the preface reads, "I’ve spent a fortune on beer and dinners interviewing my old Battery mates, and phone calls to those overseas ran into over a hundred pounds." Also, "I wish the reader to know that he is not reading a tissue of lies and fancies, it all really happened." (However, following this book Milligan was even more upset by comments from the people he wrote about. His manager Norma Farnes wrote that she thought the next volume would never be written on their account.) Farnes wrote that Milligan's diary was kept daily except when the fighting was too fierce, however there are also days when he is too sick or bored to write. Sometimes the diaries of others supplement Milligan's in the text.
and Pompeii
. Otherwise, he is so bored he volunteers for work. He defends his favorite comics to a North Country soldier:
The other preferred George Formby, who "cud play 'is bludy 'ead off." The idea of a headless Formby fills Milligan with delight.
A threat to desert sent to Major Jenkins finally elicits a truck to return Milligan to his group. He returns to find his pack of war souvenirs was lost, with his Nazi war loot, including an Iron Cross and pornographic photographs taken from a dead German soldier in Africa. (Milligan was going to send them home to the soldier's mother.)
The war has been a religious turning point for Milligan:
On December 5, the men are billeted in a four-story Victorian Gothic farmhouse, including utility buildings. They clean vigorously, including a yard so heavily covered with manure that when they uncover the cobblestone, the farmer who had lived there since a boy says he didn't know it existed. During the night, rain fills the courtyard with manure again. Before Christmas the men organize a show, however lack of facilities reduce it to ****, instead of the more rarefied skits and music — in spite of Italian farmers and their wives being invited.
On the 27th, they are on leave in Almafi:
Of the many complaints Milligan and the men have about their Major Jenkins are his poor musical abilities, lack of humor, and not keeping the men notified about orders. In the end of the book, an observation post is in a "dodgy" situation, and Jenkins has sent up everyone for duty there, except himself. Milligan is sent up, but doesn't come back under his own power, after being hit by a mortar bomb:
Major Jenkins criticizes him, but Milligan can't stop shaking and crying. He's invalided, and "court martialled" by Jenkins, despite a discharge certificate reading "This man must be rested behind the lines for a period to stabilise his condition". Tranquillizers turn him into a zombie. "All the laughing had stopped," he writes. For the moment.
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
fourth volume of war autobiography, Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall, spans from landing in Salerno, Italy
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
, September 23, 1943, to his being invalided. While this is only four months, the text is nearly as long as the three earlier volumes together. Although the humorous writing is similar, there are no ersatz communiques and almost no sketches; the photographs are fewer and smaller.
Losing patience with criticism about his factuality, the preface reads, "I’ve spent a fortune on beer and dinners interviewing my old Battery mates, and phone calls to those overseas ran into over a hundred pounds." Also, "I wish the reader to know that he is not reading a tissue of lies and fancies, it all really happened." (However, following this book Milligan was even more upset by comments from the people he wrote about. His manager Norma Farnes wrote that she thought the next volume would never be written on their account.) Farnes wrote that Milligan's diary was kept daily except when the fighting was too fierce, however there are also days when he is too sick or bored to write. Sometimes the diaries of others supplement Milligan's in the text.
Summary
Milligan's Italian adventures start well, as one of their battery guns knocks the top off an enemy hill just sighting down the barrel. The next day he has a temperature of 103, and is sent to a hospital. Although he's released in a few days, transportation back to his group is not available until October 19, during which time he gets leave in NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
. Otherwise, he is so bored he volunteers for work. He defends his favorite comics to a North Country soldier:
- "Gracie FieldsGracie FieldsDame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
," I guffawed, "she's as funny as a steam roller going over a baby." - "You must be bludy thick, she's a scream."
- "Yes, I scream every time I hear her sing."
- "Ooo do you think is foony them?"
- "W.C. Fields, Marx BrothersMarx BrothersThe Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
." - "Oooo?"
The other preferred George Formby, who "cud play 'is bludy 'ead off." The idea of a headless Formby fills Milligan with delight.
A threat to desert sent to Major Jenkins finally elicits a truck to return Milligan to his group. He returns to find his pack of war souvenirs was lost, with his Nazi war loot, including an Iron Cross and pornographic photographs taken from a dead German soldier in Africa. (Milligan was going to send them home to the soldier's mother.)
The war has been a religious turning point for Milligan:
- "A Catholic priest visited us this evening and asked if anyone wanted Confession and Holy Communion. I nearly went but since the war started, my belief in a God had suffered a reverse. I couldn't equate all the killing by two sides, both of whom claimed to be a Christian society. I was, as Gary Cooper would says 'kinda mixed up inside'."
On December 5, the men are billeted in a four-story Victorian Gothic farmhouse, including utility buildings. They clean vigorously, including a yard so heavily covered with manure that when they uncover the cobblestone, the farmer who had lived there since a boy says he didn't know it existed. During the night, rain fills the courtyard with manure again. Before Christmas the men organize a show, however lack of facilities reduce it to ****, instead of the more rarefied skits and music — in spite of Italian farmers and their wives being invited.
On the 27th, they are on leave in Almafi:
- "The whole place has architectural maturity: there are numerous creepers and vines growing in profusion on the walls and balconies. In summer it must be a riot of flowers, right now it's a riot of gunners, there is a scramble as we dash for the best beds (if any)...."
Of the many complaints Milligan and the men have about their Major Jenkins are his poor musical abilities, lack of humor, and not keeping the men notified about orders. In the end of the book, an observation post is in a "dodgy" situation, and Jenkins has sent up everyone for duty there, except himself. Milligan is sent up, but doesn't come back under his own power, after being hit by a mortar bomb:
- "....he can see us! We hit the deck. A rain of them fall around us. I cling to the ground. The mortars rain down on us. I'll have a fag, that's what. I am holding a packet of WoodbinesWoodbine (cigarette)Woodbine is a brand of cigarette made in England by W. D. & H. O. Wills since 1888.In the early 1970s Woodbine Cigarettes were released in Australia as "Wild Woodbine"....
, there is a noise like thunder. It's right on my head, there's a high-pitched whistle in my ears, at first I black out and then I see red....I know if we stay here we'll all die...I start to scramble down the hill."
Major Jenkins criticizes him, but Milligan can't stop shaking and crying. He's invalided, and "court martialled" by Jenkins, despite a discharge certificate reading "This man must be rested behind the lines for a period to stabilise his condition". Tranquillizers turn him into a zombie. "All the laughing had stopped," he writes. For the moment.