- Contributed by听
- Teversham School
- People in story:听
- Walter Leslie Read
- Location of story:听
- Gibralter, India and Burma
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A6189500
- Contributed on:听
- 18 October 2005
This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Mr R, a member of staff at Teversham Primary School on behalf of Mr Walter Read and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Read fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.
Walter (using the name Les), joined the Territorial Army at 15 陆 (1937), in his home town of Cambridge. He lied about his age! He was therefore already involved in the part-time army when the Second World War broke out in 1939.
He joined the 250 Field Company of the Royal Engineers and then later the 218 Field Company and was sent to Northern Ireland to Belfast where he was involved in laying G.L. mats (Ground Line radar mats). A lot of 218 came from the Bethnal Green area of London.
In 1942 he was sent to Gibraltar to help build the airfield. Rock was used from the Rock of Gibraltar to extend the runway into the sea to cope with the needs of the RAF. Shifts worked around the clock to complete the task. Tunnels were also bored into the rock for security in case the German army took the Rock. Les has been a major source of information to the Gibraltar Government as they rediscover the blocked up caves and open them up for tourism.
In 1944 he was sent to India and Burma. He was part of the Invasion of Singapore, the Singapore Armada. While the fleet was on its way, there was an announcement on the ships that Japan had surrendered (1945), but the fleet still continued to sail to Singapore.
Their main job was to strip airfields to stop Japanese suicide pilots. They also released prisoners of war which was a very sorry sight as they had been treated badly. In a nearby graveyard there were many graves of the Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk regiments. The ex-prisoners where flown home in DC 3 aircraft (the Easyjet of the time!).
Les was demobbed in 1947 and was sent back to England. His only possession was his demob suit. He had been a soldier for 10-years. He was a teenager of 4鈥 5鈥 at 15 陆 years. He came back a man of 25 years, a nervous wreck 6鈥!
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