大象传媒

On 3rd September 1939 My Parents Sisters Pat and Joyce and Myself was listening to Neville Chamberlain on the radio at 11.00 hrs stating we were at war with Germany .My Father who was in the1914-1918 war said the Germans was going to retaliate for loosing the first war .but everything was quiet for the few months .
We lived about midway between Portsmouth and Southampton and about the middle of 1940 during the bombing of the two towns we used to watch the dog-fights with Spitfires-Hurricanes and the German Messerschmitt 109s and we listened to their machine guns chattering and often we would see a aeroplane break away belching smoke and sometimes see a parachute floating down .
Often we would get M.E.110s on nuisance raids they flew very low about 200yds apart and machine gun anything that moved or took their fancy ,a terrace of houses near Swanwick railway station still have the bullet marks to this day .
At night during the bombing we could often see the sky red from the fires. On my Mothers side of the family most of her relations lived in Southampton so in the evenings some came to our bungalow to get a nights rest, and back to work in the morning.
My Father who grew fruit and vegetables and sold them to his customers in the Chapel area of Southampton, I as a schoolboy went with him each Saturday one day the Germans bombed Supermarine Spitfire factory at Woolston just across the River Itchen about 500yards from us it was a bit scary, a few weeks later the Garibaldi Public House was bombed and quite a few killed ,also many of our customers in Endle St, Dock St ,and surrounding area had their houses destroyed .
Easter 1941 I left School just 14years of age and two days later started work at an aircraft factory which were repairing Spitfire wings ,My wages for a 45hour week 14/6p .today鈥檚 money 72and half pence .At school most of us lads joined the Army Cadet Force we thought to do our bit ,we paraded twice a week at Park Gate Drill Hall we were taught how to march ,also arms drill ,we were very pleased when we had uniforms issued and felt soldiers .
When I was 16 years I joined A.T.C. Air Training Cadets at 1917 Squadron at Hamble our Sergeant was John Sharpe from my old school he and two others worked for No 15 Ferry Pool which had two taxi Anson and one Rapide aircraft John got me a job part time for weekends and holidays ,my job was to wind up and lower the wheels sitting next to the pilot, I often flew with Jackie Sorour from South Africa ,also Philippa Bennett ,Margot Gore was the Commanding Officer .
I then got hooked on flying at age 16and 9months I put my age on 6months to 17and a quarter and volunteered for the R.A.F. I was sent to London for medical and educational exams on 26th April 1944 I received a letter from Secretary of State for Air stating I had been accepted for air crew training and given a rank 2237069 A.C.2.Simmonds E.C. R.A.F.V.R. And told to carry on in the aircraft factory until required, I was very excited; I then decided to do as many flying hours as possible.
The Anson taxi aircraft was used to collect pilots that had delivered new aircraft from factory to operational units in central Southern England ,when the plane was full I had to work hard to get the undercarriage up then we returned to Hamble ,all the pilots at Hamble were women
September 1944 I was told to go to Torquay for further tests for three days, as aircrew were surplus, because D day had gone well and the Germans were being driven back to their own country ,so the majority of the reserves failed .

About one month later I had my call up papers for the army at Fort William Scotland. I did not like that so told them my correct age and was finally called up eight days after my 18th birthday.

The spring of 1944 many temporary ca mps were put up in our area ready for D-day which was expected at any time .I remember the Canadian tank Regiment on Botley Road Park Gate .one of their tanks was hit we thought by a bomb but later was told it was one of the first V.1 flying bombs ( doodle bugs ) many areas were out of bounds ,so we did not know what was going on ,later we heard that Lord Lovett and his Commandos went from Warsash to relieve Major Howard who commanded the British Airborne Division that had captured Pegasus Bridge in France ,recently a stone have been erected to commemorate the occasion. Also we later learnt that Midget Submarines were tested on the River Hamble .many things that went on we learnt about after the war.

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