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TIM HARRIS
Army Service 鈥� RASC
Memories 1939-1945

I was 21 when war broke out in September 1939 and was called up in early December, engaged to be married and far from pleased! I was posted to No 10 Driver Training Centre, RASC Cromer for initial training.

I was introduced to the army 鈥渧olunteer鈥� system!

Morning Parade: CSM calls 鈥淒rivers A, B, C鈥�
Reply: 鈥淪ir, Sir, Sir鈥�
CSM 鈥淩eport to Company office on dismissal鈥�
Reply 鈥淪ir, Sir, Sir鈥�

In due course CSM approached, confirmed our names and said 鈥淵ou were clerks in Civvy Street鈥�, 鈥淪ir, Sir, Sir鈥�, 鈥淵ou are about to become clerks in the army鈥�. 鈥淪ir, Sir, Sir鈥�. 鈥淩eport to CQMS Waters 鈥� Dismiss鈥�. Three volunteers indeed! Our December intake of 220had to provide 200 Drivers for the BEFat the end of January 1940.

We three were so lucky as we heard later that three quarters of that draft were killed by German fighters strafing the convoy taking them to France to collect their vehicles. That has always stuck in my memory!

The cliffs of Cromer created a 鈥淰鈥� with the church tower in the centre, making a perfect land-sighting for German bombers heading for this country. They would head inland, then strike north or south or further west for their targets, returning by the same routes. We had scores of air-raid warnings and a number of bombs were jettisoned as you may guess.

Our companies were split up into squads and after daily routines we would take it in turns to man Observation Posts or stand by our vehicles at night to watch for parachutists. One of my jobs was to take the Duty Sergeant to all posts to change the password and check all was in order.

Members of the clerical staff were given training in First Aid, including stretcher-bearing. This was done under quite realistic conditions on the cliffs south of Cromer.

At 7.0am each day everybody had to go on a short run round the town in singlet and shorts, and that first winter of the war was very severe. Inches of snow that froze made learning to drive and passing tests great fun (?), especially in a 3 ton Albion on the cliff roads. Remember that at Cromer there is nothing between yourself and the North Pole to stop weather from the north, north-east and east.

I can remember only one leave from Cromer and that came to a full stop at Chingford, East London. 鈥楯erry鈥� had bombed the railway shortly before our troop train arrived and we were stuck there for hours before we could be passed into Liverpool Street Station in the early hours of the morning. A taxi took several of us going to South London and dropped me at the Elephant and Castle, from whence I walked to meet my fianc茅e at Vauxhall (all in a road shelter). Then on to my aunt at Stockwell (all in the back garden Anderson shelter). I sat on my valise with my tin hat on in the front doorway and slept until another air raid woke me!

I was posted to Chesterfield on Armistice Day 1940 and Cromer was taken over by troops evacuated through Dunkirk. Here I got my second leave and travelled to London on 23 January 1941 for my wedding on 25 January. My wife and I travelled to Portsmouth with mother and a few friends, we discovered that the town had been heavily bombed the previous night and that the Harbour Station was out of action. Buses were running in place of trains from Portsmouth and Southsea Station to the Harbour. Our bus (double decker) broke its roof on the station canopy 鈥� there were no casualties fortunately! That was the start of our week鈥檚 honeymoon at my home in Newport, Isle of Wight and of 55 years of happy marriage.

Next posting was to HQ Northumberland County Division at Morpeth, HQ York Sub District at Pannall Hall near Harrogate and in due course to British Army of the Rhine in West London. The first two were normal office routine jobs, but the latter presented a totally different face. By now I was a Staff Sergeant and the work was very different 鈥� instead of acting upon orders received, I was involved in the creation of instructions 鈥渇rom them above鈥�.

Being stationed in West London I was able to get home to my wife and family (now in Balham) most nights, but naturally I was subject to the air-raids on London and intense security precautions.

St Paul鈥檚 School, Hammersmith was used as a mess and one midday going there, we heard an airborne motor. We had been warned about V1s and this was the first one (I think) over our area. This was a residential area taken over as offices to create our HQ and everybody shot into the nearest front garden and ducked behind the front wall. The V1 cut out and after about one minute there was the expected crash. I believe it hit Cadby Hall.
This reminds me of the Cockney AA shell which chased the a V1 approaching London. The shell shouted 鈥楤limey mate you鈥檙e in a 鈥�.. hurry aren鈥檛 you?鈥� To which the V1 replied 鈥楬eil Hitler.Gott in Himmel -so would you be if your backside was on fire!鈥�

This was our normal routine until one morning we were told to get all personal and office equipment collected, ready for moving off that night. After dark lorries arrived, we all jumped aboard and off we went to Wentworth Golf Course, where we offloaded and set up shop. We realised that this was a staging point route to Portsmouth and shortly afterward came another set of lorries and a repeat performance, this time stopping in a residential area (Portchester?) at the back of Portsmouth Harbour. I remember it was a beautiful sunny day, but of course we were confined to our lorries.

Suddenly from a house opposite came an elderly man and he spoke to me. (I was making a cursory inspection of things 鈥� my lorry held the bulk of the office gear and about 10 bodies.) He said 鈥淚 am an old first war Naval PO and I know where you are going. Would you like a good luck drink with me?鈥� Detailing two volunteers, (that鈥檚 the army way, as I said earlier) we were there and the gentleman produced a jar of navy rum and said, 鈥淚 brought this out with me when I retired and was keeping it in order to celebrate a certain wedding anniversary, but unfortunately my dear wife passed away before we could use it, so I am opening it to bring you good luck and a safe return.鈥� Naturally we toasted the couple and wished him well, but it certainly gave us food for thought.

Shortly afterwards we moved off and boarded an American crewed TLC and went out of the harbour to join a huge convoy forming up in Spithead. The Yanks gave us a good meal and we settled down for the night, which was very clear and warm. Several of us got on top of our lorries where the canvas dipped between the ribs, making comfortable hammocks. I awoke during the night and found the huge convoy steaming across the Channel, Aldis lamps blinking away to each other.

In due course we landed on the Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches and moved a short distance inland, occupying a huge orchard , where we set up canvas. It was very sobering to think of the reception the D Day forces had received and how they had battled on.

Being under canvas meant placing your groundsheet on the bare earth and stacking your personal gear (tidily) on top. Remember to make a dent for your hip and another for your 鈥渢in hat鈥�, which made a reasonable pillow, especially if you slept on your back. When we left there I found out that I had kept company each night with a frog! Unfortunately I never knew if it was a boy or girl, not that it mattered as it was squashed as flat as a pancake!

Off we went north to Brussels in Autumn 1944, crossing the River Seine at Vernon, the journey obviously revealing the devastation of war in so many ways and places. One item of interest that struck me on our particular route was the number of large churches which somehow escaped damage from bombing and battle. Battle-scarred perhaps, but not badly damaged. At Arromanches we were close to the battle of the Falaise Gap and one such escapee was the huge Cathedral of Ste Therese at Caen.

In Brussels we were billeted in Prince Albert Barracks, but our office was on higher ground past the Palais de Justice, off Avenue Louise. I think it was on New Year鈥檚 Day 1945 that we saw German Stuka鈥檚 dive-bombing Everes Airport 鈥� a sort of 鈥榝inal fling鈥�.

The people of the Low Countries suffered a lot at the hands of the Germans. Large dogs were cared for as they could pull small carts and help keep business going, but you never saw a cat or a small dog. These had been eaten! At any stop we made, locals appeared from everywhere, welcoming British troops and offering eggs in exchange for a tin of bully beef or cigarettes.
With our forces now settled down in Germany our HQ was left clear to cross the Rhine at Wesel 鈥� over a Pontoon Bridge. Wonderful jobs but creating a strange movement sensation, with the combination of forward moving vehicles crossing a sideways moving river current! Later when on a leave train from Germany at the French coast, we crossed the Rhine at Essen and saw the results of Allied bombing. Our Royal Engineers made a wonderful job of the bridge and heavy train crossed. Huge timber baulks creaking and groaning every foot of our slow journey across, with Sappers stationed at intervals below keeping a close eye on things

I was on duty in Main HQ on the evening of 4 May 1945 when a TPM came through at 2050 hours confirming a 鈥榗easefire at 0800 hours tomorrow, Saturday 5 May鈥�. There it was in black and white, the news all of us were awaiting. All normal office procedures were carried out , then after 鈥榲olunteers-to-stay鈥� were arranged, the rest of us (Officers and other ranks) repaired to a Funfair nearby and released our feelings on bumper cars etc for an hour (and I do not remember anybody getting drunk). Remember that this was the result of a 鈥楽ECRET鈥� message received in our office and under no circumstances could we pass on its contents.

After this, back to the office, normal routine, move to Bad Oynhausen near Bielefeld in Germany, a lot of preparatory work for the handover to the Control Commission, then DEMOB 鈥� in my case Group 26 in March 1946.

I have a copy of that wonderful TPM and a copy of the book of Monty鈥檚 Personal Messages to 21 Army Group Personnel from 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945, which are great keepsakes.

My most frightening experience came after the Armistice. A Court Martial had been convened at Iserlohn and the JAG department had exhibits to take there. My department was known as 鈥楢dmin-Personal Services鈥� and our work was closely linked with JAG at times, so their chief clerk asked me if I would like to accompany him. We left in the morning and our journey took us along a road, across the Moene Dam, which had been breached by the Dambusters and was in the final stages of repair. Crossing the dam from the north and going along the south side of the valley, we could see the terrific flood devastation caused by those RAF boys.and the huge cup shaped hole caused by the 鈥淏arnes鈥� Bomb.

Our vehicle on this trip was a 鈥楤attle Wagon鈥� 鈥� a large steel box mounted on a Humber Snipe chassis, driven by a very laconic down-to-earth chap from a Scottish Regiment and he proved his worth!

We returned to base after dark with no road lighting out in the country. Going back up the valley to cross the dam, our driver missed the turning to the road across the top of the dam and continued a short distance further, where he found another road which he took. This ran on to a lightweight contractors鈥� road bridge, which comprised of approximately 10ft planks laid loosely across long, light girders, certainly not intended for use after dark. This was winter time 1945/46, with obvious wintery conditions, even if dry. We left it to our driver to decide the fate of the three of us; either to plod on slowly in the darkness, or stay still and await morning.

We were already on the bridge and could not back off, added to this was the thought that the bridge might end abruptly halfway across! The driver decided to continue! How long was this 鈥榬oad鈥�? It went right across the valley, parallel with the dam itself 鈥� perhaps 500 yards? I don鈥檛 know. All I do know is that the three of us were watching ahead and listening to the individual sound of loose planks, as the driver inched his way along the absolute centre of the road. That Scottish lad got us safely through 鈥� he certainly earned his salt that night 鈥� whatever time we got back to base.

The HQ had settled down to a normal routine, one of our biggest jobs being the creation of the administrative instructions to hand over to the Commander in Chief for G (?), when they took over from our HQ. A Staff Captain and myself did an awful lot of proof-reading , and this still makes me very critical of everything I hear and read. (I expect somebody will be critical of this article, in turn!. I have tried to be accurate but at 87 years of age, the memory can be a little shaky!).

I enclose a copy of a poem which I wrote in 1895 when it suddenly flashed into my mind at the time of the 40th anniversary of VE Day
This should revive memories for some readers..

Brussels 1945

We'd worked our way from Mulberry Pier
Through Bayeux, Caen and Lisieux,
At last t' was time to make a stop
In Brussels where we set up shop.

Off Avenue Louise our office lay
Attending there each day by day.
Prince Albert Barracks held our heads
A hard stone floor but reasonable beds

Between these points each day we'd get,
on foot when dry - by tram when wet.
The tram of course was that much faster
But what techniques we had to master.

"Alstublieft鈥� conductor would say
But seeing us would look away
Give a yank to the jolly old cord 鈥�
Of course everybody was on board!

"On board - you said chum", that's a grin,
You might be out, you might be in.
He didn't say "There's room on top" 鈥�
No upper deck - but we didn't stop.

Up on't roof with a heave and a lug
Hang on tight like a bug in a rug.
Downstairs on -platform, thirty or forty,
Dearie me, it was so naughty.

Two long running boards held the surplus
"Get in mate there is some more of us".
One or two or three or four -
You're joking chum there's twenty and more.

Off we'd race a-pitching and rolling
Like a boat our North Sea trawling,
And woe betide a motor car
Who stuck his nose out just too far.

The driver simply thumped his bell
The tram continued fast as ...... well!
No brakes allowed except at stop
Bodies and cars just had to hop.

Back to billet safe and sound
Gee, whose turn to buy a round?
Les Bruxellois were glad to see
From high to low the British Tommy.

Theirs was a very sad, sad story,
They covered our boys with lots of glory,
Things had been tough against the torso,
Not only food but treatment also.

I've been back twice the place to see
Not only just the Mannequin Pis!
Grand Place and many other places
But best of all such friendly faces.

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