Heroes who've made a tradition of courage: The humility of Britain's bravest family who have just won ANOTHER Victoria Cross, The Bilate river in south-central Ethiopia is not a particularly impressive waterway. The stretch near the town of Alaba Kulito is fairly typical of much of its course — a muddy brown torrent spanning some 20 yards, its shallow water cascading over large rocks.
The banks are covered in thick vegetation, and it is from here that children jump into the river to wash themselves and to find respite from the heat.
But on the morning of May 19, 1941, there were no children swimming here.Instead, there were hundreds of soldiers from the British and Italian armies on either side of the river.
By that stage, the now largely forgotten campaign in East Africa had been fought for nearly a year, and the British and Empire forces had been making slow but steady progress in expelling Mussolini from what was then called Abyssinia.................Read More
The banks are covered in thick vegetation, and it is from here that children jump into the river to wash themselves and to find respite from the heat.
But on the morning of May 19, 1941, there were no children swimming here.Instead, there were hundreds of soldiers from the British and Italian armies on either side of the river.
By that stage, the now largely forgotten campaign in East Africa had been fought for nearly a year, and the British and Empire forces had been making slow but steady progress in expelling Mussolini from what was then called Abyssinia.................Read More
