大象传媒

When war broke out in 1939 I was 15 years old. I was working at the LMS, that was the London Midland Scottish Railway, and I volunteered for the LDV, which stood for Local Defence Volunteer, later known as the Home Guard. LDV for us stood for Look, Duck and Vanish鈥�. We were attached to the Northampton Regiment and known as the Church and Chapel Brampton Home Guard on the Spencer Estate at Althorp. I spent 2 years in the Home Guard and then went into the army. Into the Infantry, The Northampton Regiment.
We spent 6 weeks primary training at Britannia Barracks at Norwich and then moved down to the old cavalry barracks, Nelson Barracks. There I was taught to drive Bren Gun Carriers, which carried 2inch mortars. In 1943 we moved to the racecourse at Northampton, No 2 Infantry training centre. I was then posted to Sloane Square in London, where we used a house for an office and were put into Chelsea Barracks overnight. I had met my future father in law in a pub at Wood Green. That night we had the worst air raid over the Chelsea area that anyone could remember. I was asleep in the barracks by this time and no one could wake me, as my future father in law had dosed me up with whisky and beer.

Name Bill Bandy.
Location: Eastbourne / Canterbury.
Title: From Bar to POW Camp Guard

The next morning we were put on a train to Eastbourne, about 400 of us and we were the beginning of SHAEF (Supreme HQ of Allied Expeditionary Force). We had to prepare a hotel for an intake of 400 officers, American, British and Canadian. They were in training learning French, and German in preparation for the invasion.
I was a Lance Corporal by then and I was put in charge of the American Bar. I was only allowed 2 bottles of whisky a day. The Americans would have liked more. There were two old English die hard Colonels who said 鈥� Can鈥檛 you save a little for after hours?鈥� I said, 鈥淵es sir.鈥�
They used to knock on the back door after I had thrown everyone else out and I used to let them in for their tipple.
12 months later I as posted to Northamptonshire Holding Barracks at Ramsgate. There we waited for 2 weeks. During this time a doodlebug came over. As the engine cut out I dropped down behind a wall. When I got back I found I was covered in dog muck. We were then sent to an old barracks behind Dover Castle. There we were in charge of German prisoners 鈥� 412 POW camp. It was an outback camp at Ash near Canterbury, where 3 of us were in charge of 1500 German prisoners. They used to go out and work on the farms. They used to go out in the village at night. They were glad to be out of the war. Three of us, we had our own personal cook.

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