大象传媒

I was 17 when the war began, I was born at Thorpe bay ,SOUTHEND.
My family lived there until 1938, when my father was posted to a radar station at GREAT BROMLEY , between COLCHESTER and HARWICH.
We all realised that a war was imminent, frantic preparations were being made.
On my 18 birthday March 1940 I enlisted in the R A F, I was soon called and after training as an engine fitter at BLACKPOOL, I then found myself at HORNCHURCH fighter station near LONDON, the blitz was on and I can still recall being duty crew on the runway during raids.
I had five brothers , the eldest was an officer in the RAF, The second was in an essential occupation and could not enlist.
The third was a sargeant in the RAF, the fourth was in the Artillary, and the youngest was serving on a mine sweeper.
Meanwhile the war had visited home, when German bombers were turned back from LONDON they looked for prominent targets like radar towers which were very high in those days,
the house windows were broken and the bricks cracked.
The Anderson shelter was perpetually full of water and one would soon have suffered in there, my parents never used it.
My mother must have spent very many lonely nights whilst Dad was on night duty, with all her flock flown to wherever, and the raids on. I had two days embarkation leave,in 1940 my mother was in CAMBRIDGE, and we said farewell on the railway station there ,on my way to LIVERPOOL to catch the troopship, the Monarch of Bermuda a very naive bewildered young airman was puzzled at my mothers admonition , not to go with dirty women.
Of course we did not know where we were bound,
It turned out to be EGYPT, where as it so happened, I was fortunate to be posted to a maintenance unit at ABOUKIR.
Aboukir is quite famous for the battle of the NILE where Nelson first defeated Napoleans' fleet, it is also the site of the ancient city of CANOPUS.
I revelled in antiquity and when the opportunity arose indulged my interest, as the threat from Rommel receded I took two other young chaps to the Pyramids and then to LUXOR, where we had the luxury of having all the ancient sites to ourselved.
The very scent of antiquity was intoxicating, in those days one could climb the pyramid and explore the interior.
I met my eldest brother Norman , now a Wing Commander and my third brother Claude ,an SIB Sargeant in ALEXANDRIA,on leave, meanwhile Dennis my fourth brother was now in ack ack in Glasgow.
Stan my young brother was on a minesweeper in WEST AFRICA.
We worked 52 hours a week repairing crashed Spitfires, Spits in trouble were often sent to crash land on our runway, to save having to go out to collect them.
Being in Test and Despatch , I witnessed many incidents .
When Winston Churchill returned from the Yalta conference he called in and visited us, I recall how surprised I was to see how small he was.
I had a small boat a Snipe at the boat club, Sir Keith Parkes visited us, being a keen yachtman he wanted a sail, I had just painted the hull grey with a black gunwail, the black paint had not dried properly, and of all the boats he chose mine, I got a severe dressing down because he was very upset at the black stripes on his white slacks.
Sir Keith was an Air Commodore I believe.
I returned home in 1945, and was on disembarkation leave when the atom bomb was dropped on Hirishama.
When I arrived home I realised ,probably for the first time just how much civillians had to endure, there were very many bomb craters in the district.
The cold dark winters with severe rationing of everthing opened my eyes, but the fortunes of war are beyond our petty control.
Our family was so very fortunate, with all eight of us involved we all returned safely, whilst many families were decimated.
I recall with a good deal of nostalgia those days when everyone pulled together, before it became every man for himself
Footnote, Mum and Dad have long gone of course as have my three eldest brothers, I emigrated to NEW ZEALAND in 1953 and have never regretted my decision.
My memories of Britain are only of the happy times ,despite the hard times, and the sight of a picture of a derelict wartime airfield brings it all flooding back
I would love to hear from old comrades from Aboukir, but realise most have passed on now, but who knows? someone may recall those days there, when comeradeship was everything.
Frank Mark Robinson

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