Just Another D-Day Dodger | The Invasion of Sicily and the Italian Campaign | From Vimy to Juno: Canadians Through Two World Wars | From Vimy to Juno: Canadians Through Two World Wars

This song was written by Allied troops in Italy and edited by Scottish Major Hamish Henderson. The song was supposedly a response to Britain’s Lady Astor, the first seated female member of parliament. It was rumoured that Lady Astor labelled troops in Italy “D-Day Dodgers” shortly after the beginning of the Normandy invasion. The lyrics are transcribed below.

Speaking to Historica Canada's The Memory Project, veteran Edward Charles Page (14th Canadian Armoured Regiment) described being a "D-Day Dodger:"

"It was D-Day up in Normandy and it was a couple days after that, that we got the title of being the "D-Day Dodgers" [derogatory term for Allied soldiers serving in Italy]. It was Lady [Nancy] Astor, [I] remember her in the British House of Parliament. She called us the "D-Day Dodgers," inferring that we’re having a nice, easy time of it down there in Italy, up in the battles. We were very annoyed, we were very angry, but then we thought it over and we figured what we’d done; because we had forced the Italian Army out of the war altogether and we were retaining almost a million German troops in Italy. If we hadn’t been there, those troops would have readily and quickly moved up on Northwest Europe. So we bear the name of D-Day Dodgers very proudly. We were D-Day Dodgers from Italy and were proud of it."

Audio recording: 2 minutes, 43 seconds. (SpiritofCanada.com.)

The lyrics are transcribed in full.

D-Day Dodger Lyrics

[START: 00:00]

[Song begins with a guitar intro accompanied by whistling]

We are the D-Day Dodgers, way out in Italy

Always on the vino, always on the spree;

Eighth Army scroungers and their tanks,

We live in Rome, among the Yanks.

We are the D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy.

We landed in Salerno, a holiday with pay,

The Jerries brought the bands out to greet us on the way.

Showed us the sights and gave us tea,

We all had girls, and the beer was free

We are the D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy.

Naples and Casino were taken in our stride,

We didn't go to fight there, we went just for the ride.

Anzio and Sangro – they’re just names,

We only went to look for dames.

We are the D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy.

Dear Lady Astor, you think you know a lot,

Standing on the platform, and talking tommyrot.

You're England's sweetheart and her pride

We think your mouth's too bloody wide.

That’s from your D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy.

Look around the mountains, in the mud and rain,

You'll see the scattered crosses, there’s some that have no name.

Heartbreak and toil and suffering gone,

The boys beneath them slumber on.

They are the D-Day Dodgers who stay in Italy.

[END: 02:43]

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