The D-Day Dodgers were Allied servicemen who fought in Italy during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The D-Day Dodgers also inspired a popular wartime soldier's song (

Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

no. 10499). A rumour spread during the war that the term was publicized by Viscountess Astor, a Member of the British Parliament, who supposedly used the expression in public after a disillusioned serviceman in Italy signed a letter to her as being from a "

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Dodger". However, there is no record that she actually said this, in or out of Parliament, and she herself denied ever saying it. Reference to a "D-Day Dodger" was bitingly sarcastic, given the steady stream of Allied service personnel who were being killed or wounded in combat on the Italian front. A "dodger" is someone who avoids something; the soldiers in Italy felt that their sacrifices were being ignored after the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, and a "D-Day Dodger" was a reference to someone who was supposedly avoiding real combat by serving in Italy, whereas the reality was anything but - as the numerous allied war cemeteries in locations such as

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

testify.

The Ballad of the D-Day Dodgers

Several versions of a song called "D-Day Dodgers", set to the tune "

Lili Marleen "Lili Marleen" (also spelled "Lili Marlen'", "Lilli Marlene", "Lily Marlene", "Lili Marlène" among others; ) is a German love song that became popular during World War II throughout Europe and the Mediterranean among both Axis powers, Axis and ...

" (a favourite song of all troops in the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

– the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...

was a veteran formation from that theatre before landing in Italy), were sung with gusto in the last months of the war, and at post-war reunions. The song was written in November 1944 by Lance-Sergeant Harry Pynn of the Tank Rescue Section, 19 Army Fire Brigade, who was with the 78th Infantry Division just south of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. There were many variations on verses and even the chorus, but the song generally and sarcastically referred to how easy their life in Italy was. There was no mention of Lady Astor in the original lyrics. Many Allied personnel in Italy had reason to be bitter, as the bulk of material support for the Allied armies went to Northwest Europe after the invasion of Normandy. They also noted sardonically that they had participated in several "

D-day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

s" of their own before the landings in Normandy became popularly known as "D-Day". The expression was used to refer to the day that any military operation began (with "H-hour" being the specific start time of an operation beginning on D-day), but the popular press turned it into an expression synonymous with the Normandy landings only. Italian campaign veterans noted that they had been in action for eleven months before the Normandy landings, and some of those had served in North Africa even before that. The numerous

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

cemeteries across Italy are compelling evidence of the fighting which took place during campaigns such as

Operation Avalanche Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...

and the subsequent

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

. Although

Hamish Henderson (James) Hamish Scott Henderson (11 November 1919 – 9 March 2002) was a Scotland, Scottish poet, songwriter, communist, intellectual and soldier. Henderson was a catalyst for the folk revival in Scotland. He was also an accomplished folk s ...

did not write the song, he did collect different versions of it and it is attributed to him in the sleeve notes of the

Ian Campbell Folk Group The Ian Campbell Folk Group were one of the most popular and respected folk groups of the British folk revival of the 1960s. The group made many appearances on radio, television, and at national and international venues and festivals. They per ...

's "Contemporary Campbells". Many different variations have been recorded.

Recordings

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

on ''The Complete Bowdoin College Concert 1960'' (recorded 1960; released 2011); and on ''Kisses Sweeter Than Wine'' (1996) *

on ''Contemporary Campbells'' (1965) *

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularisi ...

and

Tommy Makem Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an Irish folk music, folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, tin whistle, l ...

on ''Home Boys Home'' (1968) * The Leesiders (UK folk duo) on ''The Leesiders'' (1968) * The Spinners (UK folk band) on ''By Arrangement'' (1973) *

The Yetties The Yetties were an English folk music group, who took their name from the Dorset village of Yetminster, their childhood home. They formed in 1961 and turned professional in 1967. Their first line-up was Bob Common, Mac McCulloch, John "Bonny" ...

on Argo LP "Up in Arms" (1974) track listed as "Lili Marlele" *

Hamish Imlach Hamish Imlach (10 February 1940 – 1 January 1996) was a Scottish folk singer. Imlach was born in Calcutta to Scottish parents, although he claimed to have been conceived in Glasgow, Scotland. His commercial success was limited, but he influence ...

on ''A Man's A Man'' (Autogram ALLP 215), (1978) *

Ian Robb Ian Robb is an English-born folk singer and songwriter, currently based in Ottawa, Ontario. He was a founding member of Friends of Fiddler's Green, and a columnist for ''Sing Out!'' He is also a member of the Canadian folk trio Finest Kind. He ...

on ''From Different Angels'' (1994) * Kathy Hampson's Free Elastic Band (est. 1990s) * The Houghton Weavers on ''Songs of Conflict'' (2012) *

Johnny Collins Johnny Collins (10 May 1938 – 6 July 2009) was an English folk singer based in London, England, specializing in traditional maritime music and sea shanties. Biography Collins was born in Norfolk, England and adopted by a railway worker an ...

on ''Johnny's Private Army'' (Tradition TSR020, 1975)

Literature

Several books have used the term "D-Day Dodgers" in their titles. * : sketches the history of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

military participation in the Italian Campaign. * ''War Story D-Day Dodgers'' by

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born 16 January 1970) is a Northern Irish-American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' ''Punisher'' franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

and

John Higgins John Higgins (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the List of snooker players by num ...

. A graphic novel published in 2001 by

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. It contains a version of the song. * Holman, James (2008). ''D-Day Dodger: Memories of a Canadian Foot Soldier in Italy''. . An account of a soldier's experience during the Italian campaign.

References

{{authority control Songs about soldiers Songs about the military Italian campaign (World War II) Songs of World War II Anti-war songs 1944 songs

The Ballad of the D-Day Dodgers

Recordings

Literature

See also

References