大象传媒

In 1939 I worked at Kingsbury Colliery, leaving in 1940 to work on a local farm to help produce food for the war effort. I was called up in 1943 at 20years of age - later than I expected, maybe because of the work I was doing - to serve in the R.A.F. I was based at Cardington, and went to Skegness for basic training. Our billets weren't very good and that winter in Skegness was freezing! People think that basic training in the R.A.F compared to the Army is a soft touch; it isn't!

Following basic training I was posted to Cosford to do an aeroplane engines course, after completion of which I was sent to Bruntingthorpe, which is roughly midway between Rugby and Leicester, 5 miles north of Lutterworth. When I had a 24 hour pass I used to cycle home to Hurley and back to base on an R.A.F. bicycle; around 30 to 35 miles each way!

After being given my first 7 day leave I was told I was to be discharged via a telegram delivered to my home in Hurley by the milkman! I thought I was getting out but when all came to all the discharge from the R.A.F simply meant that I was being transferred to the Army! I was sent up to Liverpool and enlisted with the Royal Armoured Corps along with other people transferred from the R.A.F and the Navy.

After two weeks at Barnard Castle in training I was sent to Bovington in Dorset. Here, I carried out tank driving and crew training,including firing on the tank firing ranges at Sulworth; in all, this took about seven months.
I was then given a Tropical kit and was promptly sent to Aldershot attached to a Royal Marines Amphibian unit,the 34th Amphibian Assault Regiment, Royal Marines. Then I found out why they'd given me a Tropical kit; I was sent off to India on a Dutch vessel, the M.S. Tegelberg. My job was to help crew LVT vehicles (Landing Vehicle Tracked vehicles). These were used to transport men and weaponry from a landing craft to the beach, a distance of about a mile. LVT's looked a bit like a tank and could be used on both water and land, although they were somewhat limited on land when compared to a tank.
I remember one amusing incident upon joining the Marines - on the first regimental parade, when brought to attention we Army ranks did our usual "one two three bang" but the Marines, being naval,just snapped their feet together. We must have looked like Corporal Jones of Dads'Army fame. The C.O. decided that we conform to the Marine system so after a short instruction we drilled a la Marines, but we retained our own cap badges and shoulder flashes.
On return to England we stayed at Braunton Camp in North Devon and continued training on to Staunton Sands and the Taw estuary towards Barnstaple. On rough days it could be tough going through the surf and we lost two vehicles which became overwhelmed and unfortunately, one of our unit lost his life.I was stationed there for one and a half years and the camp is now a housing estate with very nice houses - a bit different to Nissan huts! On holiday at Ilfracombe recently I visited the old camp area in Braunton which brought back afew memories (and also a bit of heartache of the romantic kind). Whilst there I visited the Braunton Museum and at their request sent back a letter of memories. I also gave them a few items of interest and some of these may have been included on their website which is www.devonmuseums.net/braunton
I think that the highlight of my service there was the review of the Home Fleet by the late King George V1 on the Clyde estuary in Scotland. We sailed from Instow in North Devon in tank landing craft, taking about one and a half days. On the day of the review we disembarked from the landing craft and in line ahead (two columns) we swam/drove past the King who took the salute aboard the battleship HMS Duke of York - the flagship. Afterwards we received a congratulatory signal - "Spliced the Mainbrace"!

Later,I was part of the 14th Army which was to launch a major offensive against the Japanese in Malaya, but just before this happened the Americans dropped the `A' bomb on Hiroshima and this action caused the Japanese to surrender, prior to the land engagement taking place.

I served all over the far East during my time in the Army and remained with the Marines until I was demobbed in York during the August of 1947, holding the rank of Corporal.

Dictated to John Noon, 17th November 2003.
Updated 9th February 2004.

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