大象传媒

I was breaking my neck to be in the Navy but my father wouldn't allow me to join up - so at 14 I became an office boy in the Cotton Exchange, Liverpool. However, on my eighteenth birthday - May 12th 1941 - I took a tram down to the recruiting centre at Central Hall in the middle of town. Liverpool had been badly knocked about by the Blitz. All through the previous year there had been night raids on the docks - the May Blitz was the heaviest - something like 4,000 people had died and many areas of the city were devastated. At the end of the street where the recruinting centre was there was a burned out shell that used to be our largest department store - Lewis's.

Central Hall was packed. Hundreds of men were milling around after getting their call up papers - but I didn't have any. So I didn't know what to do. Then I saw this royal marine sergeant with all this gold braid on his arms and went up to him and he said, "What can I do for you,son". seeing this little meek lad of 18 standing in front of him.... and I said, "I want to join the Navy." "Do you?" he said. "And what d'you want to be?"
Now a lot of my older mates from the Old Swan Boys' Club had gone before me and they told me that the best thing to be was in Signals - part of the Intelligence Branch - so I said "I want to be a Signalman."
So he says, "Right, spell President."
So I did.
Then he says, "Spell beautiful."
So I did.
Then he says, "Spell admiral"
So I did.
And he says, "Right, you're in."
So that's how I became a bunting tosser.

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