大象传媒

In 1940 aged 16 I joined the Home Guard. At Hinckley in Leicestershire (underage) I had applied to the Royal Navy as a cook at 14years. I was told to return at 18years to Leicester Naval Recruiting Office.
I worked at Hinckley Police Station as an ARP Messenger Boy at 16years. At 17陆 in 1942 I applied to join the Royal Marines. On Dec 2nd 1942 I enlisted in the Royal Marines at Chatham at 17yrs 11mths.
My number was CHX 111361, 243 Squad HQ (Hostilities only) and 7 months training (pre war routine) before being sent to Gillingham, Kent to guard an underground Location Unit 鈥� WAAFS, Wrens and ATS 70feet underground. In Sept 1943 I was assigned as a 14鈥� Naval Gun Trainer 陆mile rear of the cliffs at St Margarets Bay. We loaded the two guns half a mile apart called 鈥淲innie鈥� and 鈥淧ooh鈥�. We fired 18cwt shells by 3 charges of cordite weighing 360lbs which fired the shells 28miles to Calais and beyond. After 8 shells the 14鈥� gun barrel had to be replaced by naval gun experts from Shrewburyness. In 1944 the guns were dismantled as the British forces were in the area off France where we had fired into.
Being 6ft tall and 15 stone I was assigned to the Royal Marine Provost Company (Redcaps) and after three months training were on duty in Exeter, etc.
In March/April 1944 I was with the 43rd Marine Provost Coy and sailed from Gouroch in Scotland on the 20,000 ton troopship 鈥淢onarch of Bermuda鈥� with other forces male and female, dropping forces on the way east of Gibraltar and Suez, etc. We landed at Bombay 鈥� three months later we took a tank landing craft and its crew to Ceylon. We patrolled Colombo as Redcaps and patrolled by motor cycle and sidecar to and from Colombo and Kandy, Lord Mountbattens HQ where we were billeted and took over holiday bungalows at Mt Lavinia Hotel. We patrolled Colombo which included rescuing scores of locals when a garden party area was razed to the ground. We ferried locals to hospital, etc.
Later in 1944 we joined the crew of the cruiser 鈥滼amaica鈥� and were taken to Penang and Johore while we trained for the re-invasion of Singapore by flat bottomed boats up the beaches.
The next welcome sound we heard was that the two atom bombs had been dropped by USA bombers.
Had we attacked the Japanese on Singapore we should have been massacred putting white tapes up the beach having prodded it with bayonet, etc. On the Japanese surrender we took over the policing of Singapore. We let out prisoners from Changi Prison. It was heartbreaking to see our forces at 3 and 4 stone in weight, but we were very fortunate to guard the prisoners, including the Commanding Japanese Officer, at court for the War Crime trial, and also to escort the Northamptonshire Regiment Firing Squad when he was taken to the beach, and death by firing squad. I remember people taking his tunic with holes in it, his polished boots, white shirt, etc. We were pleased to let them.
After over a year, (including my 21st birthday on which my mother sent me a cake in a 4lb biscuit tin) and a month after my birthday it arrived and it was just a tin full of crumbs and icing 鈥� however the thought was there. I left the East in 1946 over a year after the end of the war. I got demobbed in August 1946 and had leave until October 鈥� nearly 4 years after 2/12/42 and 拢50 demob gratuity plus a suit, shoes, overcoat and a trilby. I had boxed in the Marines and nearly got picked for the Cockleshell Heroes over my swimming competitions. Our Officers were Col John Little ( a Hoover salesman before the War), Lt Frank Randall (not the toothless comedian) and Lt Starrett, an Irish of 6ft 8in.
I joined the Leicestershire Constabulary on Feb 10th 1947 and enjoyed being a traffic sergeant on the M1 road for 3 years. I was sent to Sutton on Sea on Jan 30th 1953 for 6 weeks to held during the floods. On Feb 13th 1999 I married a lady who I met through golf from Sutton on Sea and am now in my 81st year. I am as happy as I ever have been, and we live in Sutton on Sea.

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