大象传媒

INTRODUCTION
I hope that whoever reads this summary of my time spent in the armed services during the period from December 12th 1939 until my demob in March 1946 will find it of interest.
To start at the beginning, we shall have to go back to when Mr Hitler came to power in Germany. He then started to look around to see how he could expand the boundaries to make a greater and more powerful Germany, the only way he could do this was to invade the countries adjoining Germany i.e. France, Holland, Belgium. After these victories he turned his eyes to Poland and that is when the politicians in this country started to get worried, and turned to Hitler and told him to keep out, or there could be war between the two countries. After this statement was given out there was much discussion of what was going to happen and nothing looked like being settled between either Government, and all the population was wondering if we were preparing for war with Germany.
Whilst different ministries were trying to get things sorted out between the different countries the government decided in 1939 that all men of 20 years of age should all sign on as Militia Men. The date they set for this to begin was 16th June 1939. Yours truly was one of those ordered to go and sign on the dotted line which I did at 3 p.m. that afternoon, which meant, that I was a member of the armed forces. After this day it was just a matter of waiting to see what happened next. Anyway, I managed to get my summer holiday in the August of that year.

CALL UP

The time went on, until about the end of September I had to attend for my medical at which the M.O. passed me as A1 fitness. October and November came and went. And then in December I came home from work and my father said to me when I walked in the house, here you are Bill, they have caught up with you, there is an O.H.M.S.letter for you, which turned out to be my calling up papers to report for service on the 12th of December 1939, at the Gibraltar Barracks, in the City of Leeds by lunch time.
On arrival we were taken into the hall where we handed in our papers to the O.I.C. who then directed us to the section of the hall allocated for our party of recruits. There were quite a number of different units waiting for to be sent on to their respective Regts After a short time a meal was provided for us, and for our party it was the last food until very late that night. During the afternoon things started stirring as members of the different units began to be collected and moved out of the hall to go to their different stations. As this was going on the members of our party began to talk among ourselves as what are they going to do with us, as, at this time which was just after tea time there were not many people left in the hall apart from us. Whilst we were talking and trying to guess what was going to happen to us the O.I.C.came over to us and said what are you all looking worried about, you will not be long before you will be on your way. I guess you are wondering where you are going so I will put you out of your misery. Where did you say you had come from and someone said Nottingham? Well, he said, do not get upset, because you are all going back there today, and the best of luck to you all. If there had been a photographer there he would have got a smashing picture of the most surprised people in the country. After that shock, it was just a matter of waiting for our escorts to come and collect us for our return journey back to Nottingham. The time passed on then we were all called together, as our escorts had arrived, and so back to the railway station we went to catch our train back to Nottingham. On our arrival back at the Midland Station from where we departed from that same morning, we were marched through the City Centre up to the City Boy鈥檚 High School where we were to be billeted for a while. A meal was laid on for us, and then we all had to go through the process of documentation which lasted until the very early hours of the following morning, and then we were allowed to bed down on the parquet floor with two or three blankets each and believe you me that floor was very hard, no sprung mattresses in those days. So that was the end of a perfect day. Ah! Ah! The next morning, it was rise and shine, and so we, the new recruits embarked on our first day of service in the British Army. After breakfast we were gathered together and welcomed to the 150th, South Notts Hussars Regt, R.A. and there I stayed until the Regt was split up later on in 1944.Later that morning the issuing of uniforms were begun, and, this was done at Regimental Headquarters to which we had to march to be suited out. When this was completed it was back to the billets where we changed from our civilian clothes into our uniforms; there was some good laughs at the sight of some of us compared to the day before. The aftermath of that morning was after dinner we were allowed to go home and take our civilian clothes with us, and that is where they stayed. The time we had to report back was 9.30pm that evening. One of the first things I did was to pay a surprise visit to the office where my young lady worked, and what a surprise she got when one of the members said she was wanted at the counter. At the sight of me standing in my new regalia she could not speak. When she had got her breath back, What are you doing here! I thought you had gone to Leeds my reply was, I did, but they have brought us all back to Nottm. And we are all at the Boy鈥檚 High School Forest Road. Anyway after that shock I arranged to meet her that evening.
My next surprise visit was to see my father to ask for a key to get in the house to leave my clothes until I needed them. I knew he would not be at home but had a good idea where to find him, so, off I went to the firm that my Uncle worked, upon arriving there one of the fellows who worked there and knew me said what are you doing here Bill so I said just visiting, and then asked him if my father was working there to-day. Wait a minute and I will find out for you, the next moment my uncle was there and showing as much surprise as the person that had fetched him. I said to him, is Dad there? And the answer was yes. You had better come down and see him so in I went and there was my father looking mesmerised at seeing me standing there in my uniform, What! the dickens are you doing here so I told him that the crowd he had seen leaving Nottm the previous day were all back in Nottm the same day that we had left.
After breakfast next morning it was time for our first parade in our new uniforms and to start our marching drill, and Oh, boy did鈥檔t some of the lads find it tough with their brand new army boots on. Most of them had not worn boots for years and so they found it a bit rough on their feet, but as I had always worn boots at work they did not effect me as bad. This went on until after Christmas, which was the last Christmas, a lot of us had at home until we were discharged from the forces. This carried on a few weeks interspersed with a few route marches, and then the rifle drill commenced and boy was that fun what with sloping arms and all the different salutes, we were glad to get back to our rooms and relax. During this period we were all detailed to our sections and I was on the list for the drivers section, and that was when I learned to drive which I did until my demob.

AFTER DUNKIRK

While this was all going on, the evacuation of Dunkirk in France was happening and our billet was one of the sites to be used as a clearance point. To facilitate this my Battery was moved to a place at Bulwell Hall just outside of Nottm, but I was one of the gang known as the rear party and our work was to welcome these fellows back. No one knew when these chaps would descend upon us. Often in the night, there would be a lot of noise and we would be roused from our beds and told there were about fifty men or more arriving at a certain time which meant all hands to get moving, and help to get a hot meal ready for when they arrived. Whilst these fellows were being fed another party of us would be at one of the large houses close by waiting to issue them with blankets for the night. You may think this was a bit rough on us but it was not too bad, as we would get quite a bit of time off and they did not come in every day and night so you see it was not too bad. A few weeks of this and then the rear party was ordered to join the rest of the Battery at Bulwell and so our training was set to start up again which was going out on exercises round the area and these would last all day, but it was a change from marching and rifle drill.

OFF TO YORKSHIRE

The Battery remained at Bulwell for another month or two and then orders went up on the notice board that we were leaving Nottm, for somewhere in Yorkshire and so preparations began to get every thing in order for the move. The advance party was organised and every one was assigned to their sections, i.e. M.T. Signals. Guns.and Headquarters staff so that there would be no problems when the day to move arrived. And so the great day arrived and we prepared to leave to leave Nottingham for our new destination, which turned out to be a place called Bolsterstone near Stocksbridge Yorkshire. What a sight it was before us, all we could see were the Bell tents the advance party had erected for us to occupy and at the top of a hill. Lovely it was Ugh. After all the vehicles and guns had been put in their respected parks it was back to the site and sort out the tents that had been allocated to us. I think it was about six to a tent which was not too bad and so it was bedding laid out then over to the mess tent for a hot meal and I must say we were all ready for that so that was the first day of many more moves we were to make in the future. There was not much we could do after the meal so you sorted your kit out and made yourself ready for the night then had a good natter about what we thought was going to happen next. Some of the chaps had a walk round the sight but there was not a lot to see and nowhere to go for a drink, so it was back to the mess to see if there was supper or a mug of tea going for us to finish the day then back to our tents. While we were there it poured down with rain and we had to dig channels round our tents to divert the water from entering them. Oh boy it did not stop to rain and as you could imagine being on a hill, so you can imagine what it was like. Anyway we weathered it out and then the story got round that we would soon be moving again.
The rumour gathered strength and it turned out we were moving very soon to a place called Cawthorne Park which was situated a short distance from Barnsley in Yorkshire, and when we arrived, it was to find that we were under canvas again but there was nothing to do but stick it out till we moved again to our next destination which took us further north. There was the usual meal laid on for us and what a meal. Instead of getting the mess orderlies to prepare the potatoes properly the cook had told them to empty them all into the sawyers {cookers} complete with soil they had been grown in so you can imagine what it looked like on our plates. When we returned to the mess tent where meals were taken there was much muttering and so when the Orderly Officer came in and asked, were there any complaints every one stood up and said yes, and was he shocked to see every one standing and wishing he had stayed out side the mess. I can honestly say that was the worst meal I had in the army.

ON THE MOVE AGAIN

After a month or two or maybe a bit longer it was time to load and pack all our kit again and this time the move turned out better than we expected. 435 Battery found them selves billeted in brand new council houses in a village called Sunny Brow, just down the road from a place named Willington one way and the other way took you to the town of Bishop Auckland situated in Co Durham. What a change to have brick buildings to live in but we had to do all our own cleaning but we did not mind that although some of the chaps were not very keen on doing that so one fellow was detailed each day to tidy up for morning inspection by the orderly officer of the day. From then on it was back to maintenance of Guns and Vehicles and then back to exercises round the area, sometimes short ones but often as not they would be full days out which meant haversack rations being taken by every one or a cookhouse would be set up and a hot meal provided and then an ordinary tea laid on for our return to billets. Often these exercises lasted three or four days so it meant sleeping on the ground or making your bed up in the back of your truck if you was a driver, but, the gunners had to sleep where the guns were set up, using the tarpaulin that was normally used for covering the gun. I can remember one night some of the drivers had to sleep under the same cover and you should have seen the white tops showing the next morning, there had been a lovely frost the night before, smashing sight for sore eyes.AH.AH. Continues in Bills Story 2

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