大象传媒

I was inducted into the Army on 4th November 1943 being 18 and two months. That was the law and you could only get off if you had a very good excuse or were unfit. I reported to Gordon Barracks, Aberdeen. You were issued with your kit straight away and off you went on parades (every day). There were 鈥渟tunts鈥� i.e. 鈥減hysical jerks鈥�, runs, forced marches, target practice.

I have some quixotic memories which are now amusing (some were then).

The evening we joined there was a roll call. The N.C.O鈥檚 called our names twice and then conversed in a huddle. Somebody was missing! The next day there were two roll calls 鈥� same result and the next day too! The reason became clear when two filthy looking specimens reported in the Guardroom. They were the reason. Apparently slum dwellers in the Gorbals: when their calling-up papers arrived, they had to have them explained, being illiterate, probably by somebody not much better. It was not explained that railway vouchers were enclosed so they thought they would walk! That is why they were so late!

A second odd happening was our first Army haircut. My number was 14668872 and a man called Cross was 14668873. The man was a bit of a 鈥渢off鈥�! We were all put into the barber鈥檚 tent. He was a tough looking Gordon Highlander, kilt and all. We were all given the registration haircut but Cross decided otherwise. He said to the barber 鈥淕ive me a good haircut my man鈥� and gave him a shilling. This object was promptly put into the sporran and the highlander entered his hair from the front with his clippers and cut a canal right through the centre of his head! This odd tonsure was carried around by Cross for the rest of his sojourn.

The personnel came from every walk of life. I had never met people like them before. To a sheltered person such as me it was an education. One man called Doggett was never seen without his hat on. At 鈥渓ights out鈥� he sat up in bed in his underwear (they did not issue nightwear) still wearing it! When 鈥淩eveille鈥� came be damned if he wasn鈥檛 still wearing it!

They did six weeks at Aberdeen and then were 鈥減rocessed鈥�. They evidently thought I was a 鈥渃ut above鈥� because out of all the intake only I was considered suitable for Officer training so off I went to Co. Down, Northern Ireland for six months of a life of 鈥渉ell and privations鈥�.

At Palace Barracks, Hollywood they were a particularly upper-crust lot 鈥� except for one or two. I was just a Grammar School boy. Most of the others came from various schools. Some were much older and some graduates. There was a lot of money about too. I was on the basic three shillings per day and I had that expensive enjoyment - smoking - so I was always broke. I overcame this by doing menial tasks. The Army took a dim view of soldiers not looking after their kits. There was a weekly kit inspection and socks were particularly examined. Any holey sock had to be replaced at the soldier鈥檚 expense and often he was 鈥減ut on a charge鈥� which could lead to him being confined to barracks for seven days. Because of this a profitable business was conducted at six pence per hole. I did very well.

Another activity was diving for rifles. On the assault course there was a single rope over a wide pond and soldiers had to traverse this. Many came to grief and fell off into a lake about ten feet deep. They invariably came up for air having dropped their guns. In the evening I went diving to recover the items for restitution at two and sixpence each (half a crown). Sometimes I did ten or so each week which kept me solvent. Private soldiers were paid three shillings per day (one pound one shilling per week).

We were trained in a concentrated manner with lots of shouting, parading, assault course activity and route marching. I reckon I covered much of North Down via Newtownards, Bangor, Greyabbey (a firing range in a country house park) and it was always raining.

Palace Barracks was wonderful of its kind. It was still in use lately during 鈥渢he troubles鈥� being the depot of the Paratroopers. There was a cinema, three or four bars (real Guinness) a good library, lounges, canteens 鈥� there was no need to go out.

If you did you would be entering 鈥渆nemy territory鈥�. On Saturday at 1pm (prompt) you were allowed out. You had to report to the Guard Room at the gate where there was a queue. There you were inspected, to be sent back if your appearance displeased the Provost Sergeant in any particular way. The next step was to be confronted with an 鈥淥ut of Bounds鈥� list for central Belfast, with numerous off-limit locations. The board was held about six inches from your nose. You, of course, were rigidly 鈥渢o attention鈥�. He asked whether you had read it (after about twenty seconds) and you answered 鈥淵es sir!鈥� Then there were questions. If you did not know just one of the out of bounds locations you were sent back. Over half were always sent back, sometimes more, and you were confined to quarters or perhaps had to report back in variant of dress 鈥� in gym kit perhaps within a certain time. There was everything designed to drive you mad. Much 鈥渟quare bashing鈥�, inspections galore 鈥� personnel inspections, kit inspections, barrack room inspections 鈥� 鈥渟tand by your beds鈥� hands and fingernails examined, shouting all the time.

Palace Barracks was a pre-1914 complex. There were high walls with towers at intervals. Contained were many fine buildings with rather grand command buildings overlooking a large parade square. Guard duties were frequent. There were two types: fully equipped sentry duties with a sentry-box and picquet duties, in which you were dressed in denims with a woollen hat, blackened face and carrying a pickaxe handle. In this you were a free agent wandering about rendezvousing from time to time. We were lodged in wooden huts outside the walls in parkland. There was a road 陆 mile away.

At the end of the day鈥檚 activity, the Sergeant required all the rifles to be placed in the two rifle racks in the centre of the hut. One by one each soldier had to shout his name and number and in a drill movement put his rifle in an allotted slot. With everybody at attention the Sergeant and the Corporal would perform a ceremony which ended with an iron bar being pushed through all the trigger-guards and the register solemnly signed by both N.C.O鈥檚.

There always had to be a room picket, a sentinel to keep guard (remember we were not in the barrack complex). We each took the job in turns. When you did it you could get up to date with correspondence, hobbies, darning socks 鈥� whatever; while the others went into the barrack鈥檚 facilities.

One famous evening the I.R.A. came through the park from the rear road and entered each hut in turn overpowering the picket man. They then carried away the wooden racks each with 21 rifles and put them into the truck they had brought. They did this in about ten huts and thus were able to make away with 200 or so weapons. The racks made it easy for them to transport. NOBODY HAD THOUGHT TO BOLT THE RACKS TO THE FLOOR!

If the marauders had had to collect the guns from each bed-head (as in the UK) it would have been a difficult task as a man can only carry five or so at a time. It was made much easier with the so-called Northern Ireland security procedures.

In May 1944, we all went to Chester for testing and selection for appointments as Officers. We had the usual obtuse tests such as 鈥測ou have to get 30 men across a river 30ft wide and all you have is a rope 40ft long plus a plank and an iron bar 鈥� how would you go about it?鈥� Needless to say I was hopeless and they told me I was immature. I knew that 鈥� being only 18!
I was to come back next year.

The next move was to North Walsham in Norfolk. I had to take about thirty soldiers from various camps in N.I. by train. If you look at a map you will see it is about the longest journey you can do (via London) in the British Isles. We had a four hour stopover in Liverpool Street and the soldiers wanted to see the sights etc. I gave permission with some worry but I need not have concerned myself as they were all back on time.

It was a glorious summer and we were treated to the spectacle of seeing hundreds of aircraft flying from East Anglia for operations on D Day.

Each platoon of trainees had a 2nd Lieutenant who was to go on active service with the 21 men. When the end of training came all the men were sent on leave 鈥� except me. I was sent to a more intense infantry training course at Mundesley-on-Sea, the Junior Leaders Course.

In the event I was lucky to have been omitted, all the soldiers I had been with, plus the subaltern, were posted to Italy although you didn鈥檛 know it until you got there.

In 1945 I happened to be in Wrexham. One Saturday I went a walk about the shopping centre. There I saw a man with a lady and he was familiar to me. He was very 鈥渃ounty鈥� wearing tweeds but was decidedly lame. I was so positive I knew him I followed him until I had enough courage to ask him if I had met him before. He instantly recognised me 鈥� he was the 2nd Lieutenant who trained with us at North Walsham. He told me that the contingent had been sent to Anzio, north of Salerno where there was a so called surprise 鈥渃utting off exercise鈥� behind the German lines as we had been brought to halt at Monte Cassino to the South. Unfortunately, the Germans knew about it and were ready when we made a beach landing. This, however, was several weeks before our soldiers came on the scene. These men were all posted into the 鈥淐ameronians鈥� (Scottish Light Infantry).

How you found out which unit you were to join was to follow a certain colour pointer at every road junction. So off they marched from the beachhead quite happily with little knowledge of what was in store for them. They marched along a sunken road with embankments each side. After they had covered about ten miles, to their surprise turning a corner, they walked straight into a 鈥淭iger鈥� tank. The tank crew were surprised too as they were basking in the sun. Unfortunately, the gunner was standing in the tank鈥檚 turret behind his gun and he was able to immediately open up. About 60-80% of the soldiers were killed and the rest wounded, including this Officer. Unfortunately, he lost his leg and thus I met him. How lucky I was not to be there.

I was a Team Leader at Mundesley and there were ten/eleven in each team. We used live ammunition, grenades, bullets etc. It was designed to give potential junior leaders experience. We did long marches interrupted by pretend attacks when the soldiers had to react promptly. One march was from Mundesley to Saxmundham. In Great Yarmouth, in the bombed dock buildings, the soldiers had to do quite frightening things 鈥� moving along a twenty feet high parapet was one, where a machine gun fired just above your head.

I left as a result of the re-jigging of the military formations. As a member of the 6th East Lancashire Division I had to go to Furness Abbey in North Lancashire.

Here again, I was seconded to infantry training. One exercise was to force march the men ten miles, this was to be carried out in two hours wearing full battle order. You literally had to carry some of the men together with their equipment. On one particular occasion I had cause to be censured by a Captain Pratt for not driving my men hard enough. I took exception to what he said and told him and thus was given a posting - a short period of active service.

I was in a group of Lancastrians and we went from Newhaven to Dieppe on a landing craft and then entrained to join the B.E.F. This was the period just after Arnhem and the front was very quiet. We were packed into rail vans marked on the doors 鈥�40 hommes 鈥� 10 chevaux鈥�. We were given a quantity of straw for comfort but I don鈥檛 remember any food. We were in that van for 4/5 days and we scrounged bread from somebody. The train journey was halted very frequently. Tea was available to drink 鈥� boiling water drawn off via a stop cock on the engine 鈥� UGH!

The train passed through many Great-War sites: Courbie (where we were allowed to walkabout and could see the cathedral and my first pissoise); Albert, where the War Cemetery took ages to pass. There was much damage to the railway system where there had been much strafing by Tornado aircraft. The sidings at Malines were very knocked about 鈥� one engine had been hit through the nose and all the steam tubes were opened up like a flower. We ended up in Louvain. It had been heavily bombed and the famous town hall was just a heap of broken masonry.

We ended up in joining the 4th Welch Regiment which was originally a territorial regiment from Llanelly. It landed D plus 21 and since that time had had some hard times. We were the fifth reinforcement. The unit had mostly Lancastrians and only a few Welsh soldiers. We joined where there was a very large monastery not far from the River Maas near Venlo. We were lodged in a carpenter鈥檚 shop. He spent his time making rough plank coffins which were all used the following day. I do not know what order of monks these were but they had opened up their monastery to 5/6 hundred displaced persons of various nationalities 鈥� all in a bad way. There were 2/3 hundred children also (with no adults connected).

One thing has remained in my memory. Every evening one of the brothers had all the children out in a large area; all ages and nationalities. He sat in the middle playing an accordion and the children encircled him in about six or seven circles. Each circle skipped round in the opposite direction while he played. One piece of music sticks in my mind, though you hardly ever hear it now 鈥� 鈥淥n the beach at Waikiki鈥�. I wonder what happened to them all.

Between the monastery and the River Maas (陆 a mile or so) were entrenchments. Each soldier from time to time had to do sentry duties one hour 鈥渙n鈥� and two hours 鈥渙ff鈥� facing the river in the direction of the enemy.

On about 10th December 1944 it was decided that as the front was quiet some troops could 鈥渟tand down鈥� over Christmas. To do this meant weakening the line. The main barrier against any attack was the River Maas which was very full and fast flowing, about 50 yards wide. (We were still near Venlo). About six of us were put into a river-bank house (deserted) and similar small units were placed (in contact with each other and with HQ) about two miles apart. If there was any sign of enemy activity we were to telephone HQ.

We really had the 鈥渓ife of Riley鈥� there. There was a high levee (10-15ft high). Behind it we were perfectly safe. There were no Dutch about but there were lots of chickens, geese, eggs and vegetables galore 鈥� everything to live well. The house was well provisioned too. It always puzzled me that the owner seemed to do well in an otherwise starving country, just liberated. This pleasant time lasted about six days.

We were surprised by a knock on the back door to see about thirty or more soldiers all 鈥渢ooled up鈥� with black faces, clearly ready for battle. They intended to cross the river and 鈥渉ave a go鈥�. I think they were Marines. We just got into the truck they came in and re-joined our unit. We were to 鈥渟tand down鈥� for a fortnight, including Christmas.

The whole brigade went off by road transport and we found ourselves in Leopoldsburg, a big barrack town in Belgium. There we were told that on the following day we had to have our rifles seen by the armourers and that was it. We were to have no parades or functions of any sort for at least a fortnight. We would be free to do as we liked!

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