大象传媒

My story starts at the outbreak of the 1939/45 War. My age was 17years. I was working for an electrical contractor. Within 6 months the boss came to me and said 鈥測ou are fired鈥� or words to that effect. I was directed to the Labour Bureau who then sent me to Birmingham Small Arms Co where I was working various munitions machines.

They had their own LDV, come Home Guard, so I joined. In November 1940 I was on Night Guard duty. Jerry decided to bomb the BSA. What a night! We were sent out to try and rescue the people that were trapped in the factory. Can you imagine? -not a steel helmet between us. We were sent through a part of the factory with glass falling around us. We put blankets on our heads to shield us. We reached the bombed building but could not reach the people, the fire was so intense. We then had to patrol the factory in case any parachutist came down. We reported back to work the next day; the management sent for me offering Home Guard duties or I could leave. I left. I was directed to another factory, Salisbury Transmission Co, making shells. After a while I left, after a bit of wrangling, to join the RAF.

In May 1941 I was sent to RAF Padgate for my attestation as a trademan but failed the exam and was sent home. I was not to be beaten. I joined again as a Ground Gunner and was accepted. Within 10 days I was called up and posted to Penarth for kitting out and posted on to Weston-Super-Mare for square bashing on the sea front. Then I was sent on to RAF Cranwell for more drilling and field training.

In November that year I was taken ill with bronchial pneumonia and regraded 3 medically temporary. I spent 6 weeks in Rauceby hospital, Lincolnshire and 2 weeks at Lady Nuttal鈥檚 mansion, Lowesby Hall, Billesdon, Leics. Then I went back to Cranwell. In February 1942 the RAF regiment was formed and I was kitted out and very intensive training began. I moved on to Suffolk and then Castle Donnington. I did a wing for victory parade in Leicester. The orderly room sent for me to report to the medical officer as I was still graded 3 and to stay in the regiment you had to be Grade 1. The officer asked me if I wanted to stop in the regiment. I said no and was regraded 3 again.

I was posted out of the regiment to RAF Millfield, Northumberland without a trade. After a few weeks there was a notice on the PRO notice board asking for volunteers for Air Sea Rescue as motor-boat crew so I immediately applied for another medical and passed Grade 1 .I remustered for the motor 鈥攂oat crew and was sent to the RAF Marine training school, Causewall,Scotland. I passed the course and was sent down to Calshot on Ferry Pool to gain experience. I went around the British Isles and arrived back at Calshot early in 1944 where I was doing various duties and manning different boats.

Early in May we were ordered to paint a white star on our bow. Of course we knew what that was for. On June 4th/5th hundreds and hundreds of sea-going vessels assembled in the Solent. You could hardly see the water. We went to our bunks on the night expecting a call. I woke up next morning to find the Solent was empty but we were still there, but not for long. We had to cover various routes on wireless call directing us to rescues if there were any in our area. Then I was posted to Fleetwood on ASR duties and then sent to RAF Halton on a cook鈥檚 course. The reason for that was that they were forming long range rescue squadrons for South East Asia and we had to be self-reliant. Then I was sent up to Scotland to collect a Navy torpedo boat converted for long range rescue. Then I went back to Calshot to form one of the squadrons. In June 1945,after VE day, I was sent down to Lowestoft to crew a boat and sailed to Norway. They greeted us as heroes. We took a number of pilots with us to view the damage to shipping in various ports. We sailed back after about 6 weeks to Calshot to my long range squadron. Things really started to move for SEAC. I was fitted out with KDS and after embarkation leave was ready to sail. In August the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan and the mission was aborted. I finished my service in the Shetlands and was demobbed in June 1946.

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