大象传媒

I did my 2 months infantry basic training in York when I was called up in 1941. They asked for volunteers for either machine gunners, 3 inch mortars or radio operators.

I had 2 mates, Billy Green and Smudger Smith and we all got together and fancied volunteering. It meant we got another month or so at base whilst the others were going away but we didn't know where. So it seemed a good idea.

So I said that I would volunteer for 3 inch mortars because we ride on the band carrier, not walking you see. Billly Green said he liked the idea of being a radio operator. But Smudger Smith said, 'I'm an infantry man. I'll go front!' So he did.

Me and Billy stopped behind and did our 2 month extra training. From there we were posted to Ireland where we did about 2 months at County Armagh with the 2nd Sixth Battalion. From there the whole battalion moved down to Devon for training before coming up to Blackburn where we disbanded, sent to other units as reinforcements.

We were sent to Africa by ship from Liverpool which broke down as it was about to set sail. We had to sail to Glasgow to catch the next convoy of ships to Africa, arriving in Algiers about a week later.

We were about the second wave in.

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