大象传媒

This story is a continuation of my war memories alfready on this site entitled " From Durham to Alfreton".

As a fully trained soldier with the RASC in Alfreton in 1940 I was put to work at a place on Highstairs Lane, Stretton and one day when I had returned to Alfreton I met Captain Alexander on a camp at Limes Avenue (where Bishop Street is now)who told me he was looking out for someone to look after him at Alfreton Hall. He took to me and when I told him I was 'on draft' he got me off and I spent my time as batman to him at Alfreton Hall. After Captain alexander left after a few months I continued looking after a Major Lamb until July 1941.

We were then shipped down to Weighbridge, Surrey in army vehicles to undergo extensive training and on New Year's Eve 1942 we left Walton-on-Thames under cover of night. We stopped at Carlisle station but nobody was allowed off or any telephone calls and we went to Gorrick, Glasgow and as the train pulled on the quayside we went stasight onto the boat. We layed in the dock for 14 days before the convoy was assembled and set off.

We crossed the Irish Sea to Gibralter (it was at this point that some of the men were beginning to suffer from sea sickness) I was not too badly affected by the sea travel myself, where the convoy split and half went to the Mediterranean and the rest of us went on the Atlantic after stops for refuelling etc., but still we were not allowed to get off.

It was 6'oclock in the morning and I looked out of the porthole as we arrived at Freetown, West Africa and I remember the scene very well, all the colours of the rainbow, still we were not allowed to disembark and carried on to Capetown. It took about 3 to 4 days at sea to arrive at Capetown and on the way our boat hit a submarine wreck and panic went throughout. A lot of the men wanted to get off and the officers actually turned guns on some of the men to try and calm them down and stop them from running amok. When we landed at Capetown the boat went in for repairs and as I disembarked I was met by a Polish Jew who chose two of us to stay with him and his English wife and family. There were other cars picking other men up also. Their house which was very modern for the time was situated right in Capetown. There was a RAF Officer also staying with us and the family looked after us very well. We had dinner at eight of an evening and were taken out on the town from 10 o'clock 'til 2.00 am travelling from our camp, under Table Mountain, by rail there and back.

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