Brothers at arms recall World War II bombs, malaria and poisoned wine

Friday, 17 July 2020

World War II veteran Oliver Candy has vivid memories of his service.

It’s a wonder twins Bill and Oliver Candy made it home from World War II – Bill caught malaria, and Oliver’s tank was bombed and he drank poisoned wine. Jimmy Ellingham and Denise Piper report.

Bill Candy’s memory never failed him. And although his twin brother Oliver’s eyesight is waning, his mind’s eye is still sharp.

Days before his death on June 24, Bill, a 97-year-old World War II veteran, could still remember his air force number, 43909, after working as a leading aircraft man.

His impression of the war was vivid too: “It was a waste of money. The whole thing is a money-making business,” he told Stuff from his Northland bedside.

Oliver’s memories of war are a mixed bag of mateship, hospitals and pain. After a sea trip to Egypt, where he climbed the pyramids, and just 10 days of action, the Sherman tank in which he was a gunner was struck by the retreating Germans while the Allies advanced north through Italy in 1945.

Bill Candy spoke about his war years just days before he died, aged 97.

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'While we were there we got a couple of bazookas right into the turret.'

Oliver Candy’s Levin home is full of memories from his long life.

Oliver, who lives in Levin, recalls the force of the first blast, which propelled shrapnel into his face and eyes, and killed the tank's radio operator.

The tank commander said 'we're on fire' and ordered Oliver out. When he jumped clear, he broke his right ankle.

'Come on Ollie. Don't stay out there,' his mates yelled, so Oliver crawled under another tank. As he made it to safety, a second bazooka strike exploded.

The injured men were taken to an old shack. From there Oliver was carried back to his squadron leader by two German prisoners of war.

'I think they gave themselves up. All they wanted was to get out and they didn't want to help Hitler.'

Oliver was then flown – his first time in an aeroplane – in a DC3 to an American Red Cross hospital at Bari, Italy, where he spent three months recovering. His injuries weren't severe enough to be classed as a 'homer'.

Oliver's next posting was guard duty when, in May 1945, from his crackling wireless, he heard the news the world had waited years for: The war in Europe was over.

It was a moment Oliver had to take in alone.

'I listed to the radio. That man says: 'This is the first day of the world at peace. The war is over.’

'I had nobody to shout or do anything with.'

Bill Candy said war was a waste of money, but the actions of those who served should be remembered.

But Japan was still fighting and Oliver was mobilised as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force sent to the Pacific.

The nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki quickly ended the war in the Pacific too, but Oliver’s troubles weren't over.

The long trip to Japan began with a slow train from Bari to Naples. At one stop some soldiers acquired spumante sparkling wine, but those who drank it became sick.

It’s likely the Italians drilled holes in the bottom of the bottles, inserting acid.

“If they couldn’t shoot us, they poisoned us,” Oliver says.

Oliver Candy’s war medals are proudly on display on his wall.

After being crook on the ship over, Oliver had another few weeks in hospital in Japan, where, when better, he witnessed the aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bomb before coming home about Christmas 1945.

Oliver remembers Allied troops thinking the bombs saved millions of lives by ending the war.

Early years

Bill, affectionally known as Old Bill, whose given name is Brian, and Oliver were born in Masterton on May 27, 1923. The family then moved to Tutira, north of Napier.

Bill Candy always kept a photo of his late wife Marie close to him.

Bill described the farm they grew up on as “a boys’ paradise” for him and his five brothers.

The 1931 Napier Earthquake, when the twins were 8, shook and rattled everything, with aftershocks lasting for years.

The earthquake’s aftermath was the first time Bill saw an aeroplane, when food was dropped to those cut off by road closures.

The sight of the plane must have inspired him in some way when it came to the war, which started just eight short years later.

Bill was working as a cabinet maker when fighting broke out and, when conscripted into the army, his trade helped him quickly move into the air force.

Bill Candy said sailing helped break the monotony for Kiwi troops at Guadalcanal.

There, the treatment and recognition were much better, he said.

“You were recognised around the world – I could get a job anywhere in the world.”

By then the family had moved to Horowhenua.

Oliver Candy saw 10 days of action before he was injured when his tank was fired upon.

Oliver was also conscripted, but the boys’ father, a WWI veteran, didn’t want them going overseas until they were 21, so he worked his farm job, in between occasional home front callups when the threat from Japan rose, until 1944.

Brothers at arms

Bill’s job was to help assemble and repair aeroplanes – a role that took him across New Zealand, then to Vanuatu, Guadalcanal and Los Negros in Papua New Guinea.

Although he was not on the frontline, the job was not without its stresses and risks, with the tropical heat burning so hot it melted the Perspex cover of a plane, he said.

Bill was also harmed in another way: He caught malaria and suffered side effects all his life.

To break up the monotony of the work, Bill and his friends would go sailing and used to hold regattas at Guadalcanal.

Nightly movies were also an attraction, but the outdoor picture theatre provided little shelter when it rained.

Bill and Oliver, as well as their other brothers serving, Eric and John, kept in touch by writing letters and, remarkably, they all made it home.

Although Bill couldn’t wait to leave the tropics, it’s clear he was not too emotionally scarred from the war, sharing many stories with his family over the years.

Oliver Candy last spoke to his twin Bill on their 97th birthday.

Oliver too has no reticence about sharing his experiences, from his trips to hospital to the time a ship on which he was travelling was nearly torpedoed and a “rebellion” among Kiwi troops before they headed away in 1944.

Unhappy with conditions on their ship to war, the soldiers marched across Wellington to Parliament and successfully won concessions, although it was still a cramped trip.

After the war

Bill married Marie in 1947 before having four boys.

After moving around the country, Bill and Marie settled in Okaihau, just near Kerikeri, where they ran a large dairy farm.

Bill had nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, and said it was “bloody great” having the youngsters around.

Oliver, a first-class stationary engineer, moved around the North Island before settling in Levin. He married wife Janet in 1948. The pair have two sons, but separated for a period before remarrying in 1984.

Bill lived in Northland with his family until his death and, although he didn’t mind recounting the war, he said the seriousness of it should not be lost among stories of sailing and movies.

“Let people know we did work over there.”

Oliver’s philosophy about the war differs slightly: “I don’t remember the bad times much. I always remember the good times, what we got up to.”

Although he admits having the occasional flashback.

He last spoke to Bill on their birthday, but couldn’t travel to his funeral.