Cruising around Italy with the wind on your face
80 years ago today: Despatch rider Private Harry McDowell, B/73826, of the 48th Highlanders (Canada) delivering a message to the battalion’s advanced headquarters, Regalbuto, Italy, 4 August 1943.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225482)
His bike looks to be a classic British Norton 16H (WD16H), some 490cc in power, while the piece is an American M1 Thompson submachine gun in .45 ACP. Note what appears to be a piece of cork or canvas in the barrel of his M1, a good idea to keep out dust on the road.
Another great image was snapped of McDowell at Caltagirone the day before while off his bike, mugging for the camera whilst wearing a straw hat to beat the summer heat.
Private Harry McDowell, 48th Highlanders of Canada, Caltagirone, Italy, ca. 2-3 August 1943. Note what appears to be a piece of cork in the barrel of his M1, a good idea to keep out dust on the road. Library and Archives Canada. On behalf of the 48th Highlanders Museum, 73 Simcoe St. Toronto, ON M5J 1W9
The son of Henry McDowell, and of Martha McDowell, of Toronto, then L/Cpl Harry McDowell was killed on 11 December 1944 and is interred at the Ravenna War Cemetery near the village of Piangipane, plot V. G. 25. He died at age 27.
The 48th Battalion Highlanders were formed on 16 October 1891 in Toronto and redesignated a full regiment in 1900.
Print shows the 48th Highlanders on parade, and was published by the Toronto Globe newspaper on Christmas 1899. CWM
They sent volunteers to fight the Boers with the RCR then marched off to the Great War in three different elements (15th Bn, 92nd Bn, 134th Bn) of the CEF– earning 23 battle honors– before mobilizing for war again in 1939.
The 48th missed out on the Battle of France and then garrisoned Britain until they landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 as part of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. By March 1945, the regiment moved with the remainder of the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe, where it fought until the end of the war. They picked up another 27 WWII battle honors and more recently added “Afghanistan” to that impressive list.
These days, the 48th in a light infantry battalion in the Primary Reserve, assigned to the 32 Canadian Brigade Group, 4th Canadian Division.