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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by a volunteer from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Berkshire on behalf of Reg Day and has been added to the site with his permission. Reg Day fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

I was 16 and living on Mason Street in Reading when the war started. I knew I would have to do something. At 17, I joined the Berkshire Home Guard to guard bridges and so on. I was placed in the Royal Berkshire Home Guard headquarters in Fawley Lodge, Coley Ave, Reading. I accepted it because everyone had to do it.
In September 1941, I volunteered for the RAF to train as an engine mechanic. They didn’t want me at the time so I was sent back to work for 6 months.

I was called up on April 1st 1942 by the RAF and was sent to South Wales to be an engineer. After 6 months the whole course of 200 people were posted to West Rayhan in Norfolk to form a new RAF squadron (No 98) with the new American bomber B25 Mitchell. I worked on getting bombers operational and was allocated my own plane for which I was responsible. I was then transferred to Dunsfold in Surrey and joined with 2 other squadrons (180 and 320) to form a ‘wing’ (139 wing) to help the army.

The Wing was used to make Europe safer ready for invasion i.e. bombing docks, trains and airfields and VI bases — were the defence was not so good.

We guessed D day was coming and sealed off airfields, sealed into camp, cut phone lines etc. We came with buckets of black and white paint, string and chalk to measure stripes on the wings and fusilage and paint 3 white and 2 black stripes on each — called invasion stripes. Every other wing in South England had to do the same — American and British. The next day, June 6th, it all had to be painted or we would be shot at. As the army was moving across Europe, the RAF were bombing ahead of them. When they stretched too far into Europe, the wing knew they would have to base themselves over seas. 300 lorries came to the air field and packed up everything, off to TULBURY DOCKS and onto the landing ship tank over to Ostend in Belgium. They then travelled by road to Zaventem (nr Brussels), an ex- Luftwaffer airfield called Melsbroek, now numbered B58. The Air War had started. We had the worst winter in years and the Battle of the Bulge. We slept in an ex- convent, where we had food.

On January 1st, 1945 all airfields were called up for operation Bodden Platte (Base Plate) during which I was wounded and went to Brussels Hospital. A bullet had gone down my back, through my buttock and into my leg. My wife was expecting our first child but I was in hospital and out of contact (We had got married just before D day). I went to the Belgium coast to rest and recuperate, then Melsbroek at the end of February.

On March 19th, 1945 a German jet plane dropped a canister of anti-personnel bombs on what was an old bombed out brewery at the time. It killed 3 and injured 3 out of 20. I was very shaken up when I saw the others and fell from my ladder (having seen the flash, but heard no sound). By the end of March I was inside Germany in the Ackmer B110 — Lunar landscape. We slept on the floor in tents and were issued with mosquito nets as we were so near canal. Then came VE DAY.

I celebrated with 2 ½ bottles of Belgium beer and tried to set off flares, but was threatened with court marshall. I felt we had missed out on the celebrations. I was very relieved, but as we were listed with age and length of service to be given our demob number, it meant the oldest and longest in service went first. I was one of the last. We drew names to go home. It was the most wonderful thing seeing the flags and banners in the streets and I saw my daughter of 6 months old. On the 31st December, 1946 I was finally demobbed and left the air force.

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