大象传媒

When I was called up I had to go to Woolwich. I had been in the Army for about two months when I had to do fire picquet.

At Woolwich there is a large building called the Rotunda. Inside the building was a museum of the weapons used over the ages. Our job was to patrol the flat roof and look for any lights showing. It was cold with about three inches of snow on the flat roof. There were two of us doing two hour shifts. My sparring partner said "I am going to sit down behind the sandbags" He did so and I was on my own. Then I heard some very strange noises, they came out of the sky, a loud hissing sound and a flapping noise. It got louder and louder and then I saw it. I ducked down as a barrage balloon flouted by. When I ducked my rifle was pointed up and the balloon just touched the muzzle as it passed. I had to phone down to the Corporal and tell him about the balloon. The phone was behind my sparring partner!! He was fast asleep, and could I wake him up, never before had I met such a dozy b..... Eventually he awoke but would he pass the phone over? At last I managed to get through to the Corporal, he came up to the roof and I explained about the balloon. He had just woken up and was just as dopey and just as I thought I had got through to him he said "I know what happened you have been asleep in the dug out and dreamed all of this" I was speachless, he could think what he liked.

Eventually 6am came and we made our way back to the barracks. Across the road was the balloon, it had finished up against a row of houses. Beside the balloon was an ambulance. I was told the lady of the house had had a heart attack.

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