大象传媒

This contribution to People鈥檚 War was received by the Action Desk at 大象传媒 Radio Norfolk and submitted to the website with the permission and on behalf of Roy George William Burton
I was called to HM Forces in April 1942 after serving an apprenticeship as an electrician; I did fire watching duty on the roof at Garlands, London Street, Norwich during the Blitz in April 1942 on Norwich with bombs dropping all around destroying shops and offices on the Walk, back of the Inns, Orford Place, St. Stephens etc.
I spent 6 weeks doing basic training at Hinckley, Leics. then 3 months at Northhampton Technical College, followed by a further 3 months at Mitcham Road Barracks in London. The last month I spent at the Lucas factory in Birmingham learning about batteries and car electrics. Then onto Bestwood awaiting embarkation before departure to Grenock in Scotland, waiting on board a free French ship to form a convoy around the end of March 1943. After 14 days at sea we arrived at Algiers, we spent the next two days on the beach with glorious sunshine after which followed a train journey East of some three days taking us to a vehicle dump where about 600 vehicles were situated some 60 miles inland in the desert.
We鈥檇 only been there about 10 days when we had a sit down strike in our mobile workshop, we told the Sergeant Major that we would not do anymore work until the useless Major in charge was replaced; next day he left and was replaced by a down to earth type of Major. After a few days he asked for volunteers to work in the evenings to get the work completed in 6 weeks, by the time of mobilisation we had got 300 of the vehicles in working order, the remainder were towed and left by the railway line. We then returned to Base workshops at Bone on the North African coast, while I was sent out on detachment to the 21st Tank Troops workshops, they were getting ready to go to Italy.
In April 1944 I went to Italy to another mobile workshop about 20 miles South of Monte Cassino, getting ready for the big push to take Cassino. Unfortunately there I was badly burned in a tank which resulted in my obtaining 35% 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns. I was sent to the casualty clearing centre, 32nd Station Hospital at Caserta and then onto the 65th General hospital in Naples where skin grafting operations were performed. I eventually returned to England on a hospital ship in October 1944 and ended up as a Sergeant Instructor at Colchester, before being demobbed in November 1946.

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