大象传媒

We eventually left Woolwich and went to various other venues (never in barracks) for the next eighteen months or so (in the Home Counties), by which time I had been promoted to Sergeant and then Company Sergeant Major. I only drove the odd Staff Car as I was largely involved in regimental duties and office administration and my Company had been re-designated 158(M.T.) Company.

In late 1942 I went up to Dalkeith, near Edinburgh for a month in Pre-O.C.T.U. and thence to O.C.T.U. in Windsor for two months. I made many friends in the latter, and enjoyed those two months so much. Windsor, as a town, was so alive and so steeped in heritage and we were overlooked by the Castle. At our Passing Out Parade five of us were given "a special individual rank" for the parade itself. Mine was the Regimental Sergeant Major, and it meant my involvement in the larger part of the proceedings. I was petrified and confinded in another cadet (a Scot) whose close relative owned a distillery in Scotland. It was 'the day' itself and she said the best thing would be for us to have a stiff noggin before the event. So we dashed down to the nearest pub, had two sizeable whisky and orange each and felt much better (or rather, I did)! I felt relieved after Queen Elizabeth, King Haakon of Norway and his son, Prince Olaf, had inspected the Cadets (four hundred in all, in the grounds of the Imperial Services College, Windsor) and my job was nearly at an end.

The next morning, as Officers, we had a very uplifting service in St.George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. In the afternoon we all decided (eight or so of us) to go up to Claridges for 'afternoon tea' I hoped sincerely that I had enough money on me. Seven and sixpence each, plus sixpence for the Powder Room! What would it be now, thirty-four pounds?
We departed the next day and went our separate ways, so hard, but we were at the height of hostilities and there was still much to be achieved and there would be new experiences, both good and bad, awaiting. I was offered my first one the morning I left Windsor. Would I like to take a 'confidential' post with the A.T.S? I would be in sole charge of a special unit in a Military Hospital and, because of its confidentiality, would be given two 'Pips' (instead of one) right away. I accepted and was seconded to the R.A.M.C. in a Military Hospital in Hertfordshire, where I would live in their Mess. The post involved the Pay and After Care arrangements for V.D. and pregnant A.T.S, they came from various units in the U.K.

I spent nearly two years in that environment. It was quite difficult at times dealing with the two things, Pay and Welfare. Some, or rather many of those who passed though during my stay were so young and very inexperienced about life, worried about the future, rejected by their family, many of whom felt, particularly in those days, 'illegitimacy' to be a dreadful slur on the family respectability. Some were older and used to living their own lives, but few had enough money to go it alone without financial support. Those were the ones that most needed help with their after-care and spent many hours in rather dreary surroundings in the London area, already ravaged by the war, taking them for interviews with various charitable organisations such as The Church Army, Salvation Army etc. There they would stay until the birth of their child, and, what then? That 'then' was no longer my responsibility, but it broke my heart to see them looking so forlorn and alone when I left them.

Some were better placed, they had relatives who were willing to look after them and give them some hope for the future, others made their own arrangements but they were in the minority.

My Military Hospital was very large and only part of what had been an even larger Mental Hospital. On the commencement of War most of the civilian cases had been transferred elsewhere, leaving a few less acute cases in another part of the hospital complex. My room in the Mess overlooked one of the wards and its lawn in that part of the complex, and on which an elderly lady used to sit in her chair. Frequently she would pick up a collection of shrubs or fallen branches from the trees nearby and which she would make into a bunch before casting them aside on the grass. One of the staff told me that, when a young adult, she had been jilted on her wedding day, and the 'bunch' was her bouquet. She had never recovered from the shock, and this had caused her mental breakdown.

In the Spring of 1945, I attended a Junior Officers' Course in Egham at The Royal Holloway College. During my last week there came the wonderful news that we had defeated Germany, and were no longer at war. The 6th May 1945 - V.E.Day. Such jubilation, relief, much hugging and joy, and of course, local celebrations. We had two days of excitement and the days off, and left the College having 'passed'. My promotion would mean another posting and I returned to Hospital awaiting instructions.

They came very shortly after my return and I was asked by my Group Captain, A.T.S. if I would like to be in charge of 'War Dogs' in Germany and I accepted. A few days later she returned and said she was worried about the weather over there as it could be bitterly cold in Germany in the winter and I had suffered, when eleven years old, from severe rheumatic fever. She wondered if I would prefer a posting to a warmer climate. She suggested Ceylon, but I said "No thank you, I can't bear snakes!" Being an extremely understanding person she said that she had somewhere else in mind, but it would mean relinquishing a rank. I said I was quite agreeable, and within a week or two I found myself in a 'Holding Unit' in Bristol awaiting my departure, destination unknown. We were still at war with Japan.

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