VE Day: NI veteran, 101, recalls the day the ‘torture’ ended

Now 101 years of age, Dave was able to recall the moment the “torture” was over.

He said: “I was in Italy on VE Day. I was near Trieste (in northern eastern Italy).

“The war in Italy had finished just a few days before the war in Europe finished.”

He explained how he learnt the conflict had ended: “There was a special programme that opened on the radio in 1943 (BBC World Service).

“It wasn’t censored. I used to tune the medics’ radio into it. All I had to do was turn the dial about half an inch and you could pick it up.

“They read the news and I wrote it down and gave it to the boys here and there.”

He said when he heard the news that the Germans had surrendered, tanks soon began firing celebratory shots into the Adriatic Sea.

“It was very exciting,” he recalled.

“It was a big relief when we left Italy and I finally got back home.

“All war is torture but Italy was a special torture.”

He said he had been invited to an event today to commemorate VE Day which he wouldn’t be able to attend due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Dave said life in lockdown was “a new world”.

“I can’t speak to anyone except through a Google,” he laughs.

“I think the brakes will be coming off shortly. I hope they do.”

The following is an interview Dave did with Graeme Cousins for the News Letter in May 2019:

Having been born on Christmas Day just after the First World War ended, the signs were that Dave Mullin would go on to lead a life less ordinary.

Along the way he survived one of bloodiest battles of WWII and last year Dave reached the age of 100.

While he professes that his body is failing him, having spent a few hours at his home in Omagh I can attest that his mind and sense of humour remain sharp as a tack.

However, Dave, who has lived in Omagh since 1949, doesn’t see himself as anything special.

His story comes with a disclaimer: “I don’t have a big fancy story to tell about the war. Anybody who tells those sort of stories weren’t there. When you were in the middle of it, it was chaos. You could hardly see in front of you. You could be shot in a second.”

At the age of 25, Dave was at Monte Cassino in Italy, one of the most infamous battles of WWII - the 75th anniversary of which took place on Saturday. His brothers Charlie and Tom also fought in World War Two, though not all of them made it home.

The family came from Monaghan, with Dave being born before Northern Ireland even existed.

When the Second World War began, Dave and his brothers were working in England: “We were building things - airfields, oil refineries - everything was geared to war. It was virtually starvation in Ireland at the time, things were in a terrible way.”

The brothers were called into the Army on July 24, 1940: “We were called up and we decided just to go with it.

“Charlie went into artillery, I went into the infantry. I was with Lancashire Fusiliers and later on was transferred to the North Irish Horse.

“Tom went into the Border Regiment and unfortunately they turned into part of the 1st Airborne Division.”

Dave’s brother Tom lost his life in the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943.

“Three brothers went out and two came home, ” said Dave poignantly.

Dave said that he was handy with firearms, but his skills were not called upon, which he admits was “maybe for the best”.

He said: “When I was in the infantry I was a very good shot. I was the best in the company. There were four companies and the best shot from each company went on a course in small arms, transmortars and so forth. We fired everything.

“When the time came they broke the regiment up and transferred us in sixes and sevens to reinforce existing units. I was one of six people sent to the North Irish Horse (a yeomanry unit raised in the northern counties of Ireland). That’s how I got to Monte Cassino.

“I’d fired all these guns. I was a crack shot but after I went to the North Irish Horse I never fired a shot in anger at anybody. Maybe that was lucky, maybe for the best.”

Sharing what he remembers of the Battle of Monte Cassino, Dave said: “It was a long fought out battle up to reach Monte Cassino, the Germans were very determined to hold it.

“I was given the job of supplying 15 tanks with ammunition, petrol and small arms. That was easy enough but very dangerous.

“I never got a scratch. I had fought Russian roulette with Messerschmitts (German aircraft) and got away unharmed.

“My worst moment was when myself and a sergeant were waiting with a loaded vehicle. It was a great vehicle, a box pick-up, bullet-proof wherever it was cladded.

“We got the call for ammunition for a tank. We went in there not knowing where we were going. We went down the side of this farmer’s field. A dispatch rider came out on a motorbike and as soon as he hit the trail some missile hit him and he was immediately swept away. We speeded on and reached the place we were meant to be, delivered the ammunition and got out of there to reload again if needs be.

“Of course the breach was made and we weren’t back at that front again.”

He added: “We knew [the Battle at Monte Cassino] was going to be horrible because the Germans were very determined to hold it.

“It was farmed fields, but it was dry. You weren’t in mud. You could drive almost anywhere in the vehicle. It had four wheel drive and a split gear box.

“We were only at Monte Cassino for two or three days. The battle, the breach only lasted half a day.”

One particular memory Dave has of Monte Cassino is a moment where he could have lost his life: “I remember passing the ammunition into the tank, we were in a line, you took two steps then went back.

“The old sergeant major we had appeared on the scene, he came into the line to shorten it a bit. I let him in on the left. If I’d let him in on the right I wouldn’t be talking to you today.

“This Nebelwerfer shell came over and virtually stripped him of his clothing.

“We retreated and we weren’t back up to the front again except to see the bodies prepared for burial. A lot of my friends died there.

“The next day we were on our way again heading for Rome.”

Dave said the journey from Cassino into the north of Italy was about 700 miles: “It was a day at a time, you moved up bit by bit from one little station to another.

“You might stay somewhere for 24 hours, the next might be three days, bringing stuff to people who were in the front.

“We didn’t see anything like Monte Cassino again. It was bits and pieces.

“We eventually reached Vienna as part of the Occupational Forces from 1945 into 1946. The Russians and the French were there. We lived in the local barracks and everything was fine.

“We saved up our chocolate for months to give the children of Vienna a Christmas party. They gorged themselves with all these goodies, I hope they weren’t sick.”

He said: “It’s incredible what people came through, how they survived. The conditions people lived in, the food rationing, the war going on around them.”

Dave discharged on July 24, 1946.

After the war he returned to live in Omagh where he had a friend named Waterson. He joined the civil service and worked in the Department of Agriculture based in Crown Buildings in Omagh.

On Christmas Day, 2018 Dave reached his milestone 100th birthday.

He said: “I do feel my age. My legs, ankles, knees are rheumatic. I’m not so good on my feet.”

While Dave was in great form while we spoke, it was clear that reaching 100 is not without its drawbacks, particularly in terms of loneliness.

He said: “I’ve no family left except for a few nieces and nephews and their children. They do visit often but some of them have moved away and live all over the world.”

Talking about his nephews and nieces and great nephews and nieces he is clearly very proud of them and keeps a close track of their achievements.

He continued: “My wife Elsie died 20 years ago. She was Omagh born and bred.

“We married in 1957. We had no children, we married a bit late.

“All my very close friends are dead now. It can get a bit lonely.

“I was very friendly with a few of the neighbours. They’ve moved away, but they stay in touch.”

Asked how he likes to spend his time, Dave said: “At 100 what do you do? You do your best to stay alive.

“I live here on my own. Mrs Duffy would come in and straighten things out and straighten me out. She’s wonderful. Her husband is wonderful too. He would give me lifts for hospital appointments.”

At the age of 100, Dave still holds a driving licence and occasionally takes his vehicle for a spin, circumstances allowing: “I can still drive, but I don’t very often.

“I’d sometimes take a drive out into the country. I can only go somewhere if I’m sure of a parking space. I can’t walk very far.”

Asked if there were any secrets to reaching 100 he said: “There are no secrets to long life. More and more people are getting to 100.

“It’s like the four-minute mile, it’s probably three and half minutes now.

“I’m very lucky. I’m on my second pacemaker.”