This Is Your Life: Alfred Southon

Alfred SOUTHON (1909-1993)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Alfred Southon, former soldier, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the audience at the BBC Television Theatre.

During the Second World War, Alfred served with the Northumberland Fusiliers at Dunkirk and Vimy Ridge, where he was wounded in battle and, having been captured, was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. In September 1943, having successfully escaped from the camp, he went on to fight with the Italian Partisans – a resistance movement fighting the Germans within Italy. In November 1944, he and 38 others decided to escape the increased German activity in Italy through the Alps into France.

They encountered a terrible blizzard, and Alfred spent 9 days in a snowhole before being found by an Alpine guide. He was one of only two survivors out of the original 39. Alfred suffered the loss of the lower part of his left leg, part of his right leg and three fingers of his right hand and, having returned home to England at Christmas 1944, spent months recovering at St Mary's Hospital, Roehampton. Finally rehabilitated, Alfred found work, got married, had a son and went on to write the account of his miraculous survival story in the book Alpine Partisan, which was published in 1957.

"I was engulfed by a feeling of great happiness and elation. I became oblivious of the cameras, and only the applause reminded me that there was an audience; but the awareness of this caused me not the slightest embarrassment. In fact their ovation made me feel very proud that I had been honoured to appear as the subject in that edition of This Is Your Life."

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