大象传媒

PROLOGUE - Pre-war recollections

EARLY DAYS OF THE WAR - Joining The Royal Army Medical Corps - 30.10.39.

British Expeditionary Force. 1940 -
Joined No.1 Casualty Clearing Station 1st Medical Unit.
Into Belgium 10.5.40.
Back into France 17.5.40.
Left France for Blighty 22.5.40.

ROTHERHAM 1940 - 16 weeks Civilian Billets.

ISLE OF MAN - 18 months Hospital for Garrison.

NORTH AFRICA 1942 - 1st Army landed Algiers - Tunis 1943.

ITALY - 1943 - 1st Army
Landed Taranto - Hospitals in Italy until the end of War. 13th May 1945.

AUSTRIA - 45 British Occupation Force
Hospital Veldon - end of No.1 Casualty Clearing Station - 4.1.46 disbandment.

Demobilisation - on 7th February 1946 - Awarded 1939 - 45 medal.
- Africa Star with first Army clasp
-Italian Star

7 Long Years 1939-1946

1939 was full of preparations for the war - I was a 19 year old employed by the L.M.S. Railway as a clerk in the Goods Dept. Coventry and I joined the L.M.S. St John Ambulance Association learning ambulance work. Also I was being trained in A.R.P. (Air Raid Precautions), one other duty was to operate a telephone exchange at weekends. Late in August, in case of emergency, I was operating the exchange one Sunday. I was alone in the depot when a call came through on the Postal line, the caller asked 鈥業s the Manager there? No, I鈥檓 on my own I replied. 鈥榃ell could you contact him and ask him to call me on my Coventry number鈥� - I gave the enquirer the number of the District Goods Manager at Birmingham. A short while later another call rang out - it was the Assistant District Goods Manager who ticked me off for giving out the District Manager鈥檚 Telephone number on a Sunday - He was playing golf!! He then instructed me to carry out my emergency instructions to get a foreman to ring back. The next thing Cartage Staff were called in to pick up goods from the Naval stores, and load up into wagons for distribution to Ports - it was Minesweeping equipment.

Next Sunday was the day War was declared. A few days later I was 20 and due for Conscription. Over the next few weeks I made a momentous decision and I volunteered for the Army Medical Services and on the 30 October 1939. I went to the Coventry Recruiting Office and was sworn in and received the Kings Shilling! I was released by the Railway Company who promised to make my Army Pay up to the Civilian level (which they did for the next seven years).

The next day I went to the R.A.M.C Boyce Barracks near Aldershot and joined other new recruits for training, discipline, marching, P.E. and lectures. Clothing, kit and equipment was thrust upon us and we were each given a number, mine was 7520975, (which I鈥檒l never forget). Having been trained to look like soldiers we were eventually allowed a Weekend Pass to go home after duty Friday to Sunday night - short but very sweet. Christmas leave came next and when I reported back to Barracks I was told not to unpack as I was to go on Embarcation leave! I asked where I was being posted to - France! History was repeating itself, my Father had served there in the First World War. He came home and died four months before I was born.

Early in January I joined the B.E.F. and that was the beginning of a great correspondence with my fianc茅/wife. During my service abroad - 648 letters, all of which I still have, she endorsed them with date received and kept them. I am amazed how much that I got into them - an Airletter page 5鈥欌�� by 7陆鈥欌�� 50 lines of writing on each of 3 sides when I鈥檇 got plenty of news 鈥� and most times I had. Besides writing to my fianc茅/wife I wrote to my mother and other relations, office friends and friends I had made during my service.

Early in the War we used ordinary paper and envelopes 鈥� also we had an issue of one green envelope a week (this was not censored by Unit Officers, but was liable to be opened by Base Censors). Censorship was a nescessary evil to be sure Secret Information was not passed on 鈥� one soon got used to the fact that someone other than the intended was going to read your correspondence. We also had post cards with phrases printed on them (for people who for one reason or another could not write a letter)鈥�.

I have been admitted to Hospital
{ Sick {and am doing well
{Wounded {and hope to be discharged soon

I am being sent down to Base
I have received your letter dated鈥�.
Telegram 藵
Parcel 藵
Letter follows at earliest opportunity
I have received no letter from you
Lately
For a long time

Signature only } 鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��...

Date }鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹��

Army Form A 2042/7 51-4997

(Cross out the unwanted words and sentences)

Later we had air letter forms 鈥� Army Form W3077 - a sheet of paper which folded in half and then half again. The front was lined for Name and Address and required a three penny stamp. The back was blank. The inside pages was for the correspondence and nothing could be enclosed. Or you could send an Airgraph which was a page set out with receivers address positioned so it fitted the envelope space. Senders address and a space for communication. The form was sent to the Army Post Office, photographed onto film 鈥� reduced in size 鈥� dispatched by air to Blighty and printed onto a small letter form, enveloped and put in the ordinary post in Blighty. It was supposed to be speedy 鈥� I note the particular one I am looking at was written on 4.5.43 and delivered on 19.5.43, an air letter written on 11.5.43 delivered on 16.6.43 (all these were from N Africa).

I note from my bundles of letters that the air letter forms became the most popular from 1943. On the 5.4.43 we were surprised by the announcement that we no longer need put a three penny stamp on our air letters - we were caught out with a stock of 3d. stamps!

Also from May 1945 censorship by Regimental Officers was changed to a certificate signed by the writer 鈥� 鈥業 certify on my honour that the contents of this letter refer to nothing but private and family matters鈥�. There was still possible examination at base!

Our correspondence was our lifeblood and we were always watching for the postman. In later days of the War transit got down to five days from Italy and Austria.

We were all able to send parcels home and the local shops were pleased to help us select something. I tried under ripe peaches but they didn鈥檛 travel well - oranges and lemons were better.

My fianc茅/wife kept up the correspondence to me 鈥� not perhaps as often as I wrote to her, but her life was more or less routine, whereas mine was chopping and changing!! We both made it the most important thing to do. Just as we kept up our lifestyle as we had practiced it at home 鈥� no smoking, alcohol or swearing, regular Church going, being decent and neighbourly with our Comrades or the locals.

Life was difficult really but one had the opportunity to form friendships with similar outlooks - we had to find them, but they were there. A lot of our Comrades were away from home and behaved disgustingly but one had to ignore their 鈥榤istakes鈥� and when one had the opportunity try to show them a different and better way. At home one-saw drunks on the street, here we had them in the same billet and night after night (not always the same person). A free issue each week of cigarettes was habit making. Brothels were available and I鈥檓 told, were popular. As a 20 year old I had had a somewhat protected life, one found these things disturbing鈥�. but far from attractive鈥�. In latter days of the war I worked with the Salvation Army and the Army Scripture Readers and in our Unit we had a quiet room where we had Christian Study and prayer meetings 鈥� not many in numbers but full of hope and determination to show others the way.

This is what I would refer to as a Prologue and should it be found to be of interest and accepted. I would continue with my experiences (not official) recorded throughout the War years.

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