Sergeant F. T. Housham, MM; Waihopo; born Waihopo, 23 Jun 1916; tractor driver; twice wounded. (Source: Cody, J.F. 21 Battalion. p.246.)

'Eighth Armoured Brigade, probing towards Enfidaville, was having a difficult time in country studded with olive groves, and complained that the low branches of the trees obscured the vision of both commanders and gunners. The 21st Battalion was detailed to give the armour local protection and moved off on the morning of the 13th to the new job. The Bren carriers ferreted around in front of the tanks, while the companies, moving in bounds, kept close on the heels of the tanks. Sergeant Housham's carrier flushed a self-propelled gun and two machine guns, all of which objected violently to his presence. The carrier shed a track and had to be repaired under fire. By 4.30 p.m. they were about five miles south of Enfidaville, and the battalion formed a gunline behind which the armour harboured for the night.

The battalion rejoined 5 Brigade next day, to find that a plan had been made for the brigade to capture Djebel Garci, but finally this had been considered too tough for a brigade objective. Instead the brigade had been directed on the rocky outcrop known as Takrouna, between Garci and Enfidaville. It was an unmistakable landmark, a forbidding looking rocky crag slightly in advance of the range of hills forming the northern boundary of the coastal plain. What appeared to be a stone fort, but which was actually a mosque, crowned the summit. Below the building was a sharp drop to a rocky ledge on which was situated a native village. Behind Takrouna on its easier slopes was another part of the village, and at its base were olive groves and green barley-fields. To the left of the hill, as seen from 21 Battalion's position, was another and much smaller outcrop separated from the main feature by a wadi, and in the open spaces the grass was studded with flowering fennel, stocks, scarlet poppies, blue irises and white, mauve, pink, and yellow wild flowers. Tunisia in the spring has a breathless beauty.' (Source: Cody, J.F. 21 Battalion. p. 246.) AWMM