- Contributed by听
- saronrobbo
- People in story:听
- D coy 7th Cadet Battalion Middlesex Regt
- Location of story:听
- Laleham Middlesex
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A6143609
- Contributed on:听
- 14 October 2005
Prior to D day a vehicle reserve depot was situated at the base of the King George V1 reservoir stretching from Ashford to Laleham and contained hundreds of military vehicles of all types.
This was the place that as young army cadets we spent weekends during spring and summer of 1944 ,we had been asked to volunteer to help prepare the vehicles before being sent to France.
Clad in overalls, for fifteen year olds we did a variety of jobs from washing off protective grease{the least favourite job] to kitting out the DKWS the famous DUCKS {the most popular because on completion the vehicle was taken to the Thames at Laleham for a water test}.
One of the jobs involved being equipped with a template and spray gun and spraying the aircraft recognition white star on the bonnets of the vehicles. To this day whenever I see pictures of the Normandy landings I wonder did I spray the star on that vehicle.
For that summer we really were weekend soldiers.
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