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LIVING IN OLDHAM, LANCASHIRE

When Hitler marched into Poland to start World War 2, I was 14 years old, and camping with the Scouts on the East coast, near Bridlington. It was
1st September 1939.

I came home to Oldham on Saturday and on the Sunday, 3rd September I listened to the radio and heard the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain say that Britain and France were at war with Germany.

During the next 4 years, I experienced the blackout, rationing and the blitz.

On 12th January 1943, I celebrated my 18th birthday, and received my calling up papers.

I joined the 58th (Young Soldiers) Training Regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps, at Bovington Camp, Dorset. If you go there now you will find a Tank Museum with every kind of tank from many countries.

We spent the first 6 weeks ‘square bashing’, then we spent several weeks on driving and maintenance on trucks and tanks, then a month on wireless training, sending and receiving messages from tank to tank. We did our gunnery, rifles, pistols, machine and sten guns, then the two pounder guns from a tank at Lulworth.

I was posted to the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars at Brandon. The Commanding Officer was Lt Col Lord Leigh.

The Regiment moved to Bamburgh, then to Hatfield Peverel in Essex, and on to Crowborough in Sussex.

The invasion of Normandy took place in June 1944, but Montgomery would not allow the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars to be involved, and the regiment was split up. I was posted to India.

I joined the troopship RMS Strathnaver at Liverpool and sailed in convoy to Gibraltar. The sea was rough and all 8000 soldiers on board were sea sick. We slept in hammocks.

We broke convoy and as there were no U-Boats in the Mediterranean, we cruised to the Suez Canal in fine weather. We sailed through the Canal on Good Friday 1945, and then on through the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to Bombay, (now Mombai).

We disembarked to the tune of the Indian soldiers playing bagpipes and then we entrained. I went to Ahmennager, and was soon transferred to the Indian Army. I served with the 50th Indian Tank Brigade, which had the Sherman Tanks.

Within a month of my arrival in India, Germany was defeated, and the war in Europe ended. We were preparing to invade Malaya, but the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered.

My unit was moved to Malacca in Malaya and I followed on by air. I flew in a Dakota, via Pegu in Burma, and then on to Singapore. I travelled by jeep to Malacca and was promoted to Sergeant. We were transferred to Java, and I was stationed in Batavia, which is now called Jakarta. I celebrated my 21st birthday in Malaya, and thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Far East.

Whilst in Java, we were paid with the Japanese occupation money which was not debited to our accounts, so it was profitable to be stationed there.

I saw lots of Japanese officers and soldiers in Malaya and Java, and they were our Prisoners of War. None were ill treated.

We sailed back to India on HMS Sanfoin, and disembarked at Madras. It was very hot and we slept in tents.

I was moved to Bangalore and transferred to HQ Southern Command. My Commanding Officer was Lt Col Danlet Singh.

Whilst there, I visited Mysore City for Dasara, and I also spent 28 days leave at Conoor in the Nilgiri Hills.

Twice I travelled to Poona, once by train and once in a convoy of 50 army trucks.

Southern Command moved to Poona, and I spent the rest of my time in India there.

I remember some soldiers were invited to a dance at a Teacher Training College. I enjoyed dancing in the open at night. The moon, the stars, the music and the lovely Eurasian girls.

Labour had won the 1945 Election, and one of its policies was to grant independence to India, and so gradually the British soldiers were posted back home.

I had served with, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Ghurkha soldiers, and enormously enjoyed the experience.

I sailed back to England, over Easter 1947 and was posted to Grantham, where all the work was done by German Prisoners of War.

I was demobilised in June 1947, and went to York for my ‘demob’ suit.

I returned home to Oldham with £400 (equal to £8000 today). I spent six weeks in London, staying with an Army friend. We went to six Prom Concerts amongst other activities. We are still friends, and he came from London to my Golden Wedding at the Raven in 2002.

I had no job and no education, so I went to College and then to Manchester University where I took a Science degree.

I served four and a half years in the Army and never fired a shot in anger! I enjoyed my service and to this Day I have a high regard for the Army and for India.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by June Woodhouse (volunteer) of the CSV Action Desk at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Gordon Mellor (author) and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

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