大象传媒

ED鈥橲 STORY OF THE WAR YEARS

On the first Monday in February I travelled to Salisbury to visit a place called Hale Hall. This was a recruiting centre for the army and I was going to enlist for war service. Finally I was called for a medical and pronounced fit.

From then on all particulars were taken and I was sworn in and became a member of his majesties forces.
To be Continued
I was then told to go home and wait for my instructions of where I would have to report.

They asked me then what part of the services I would like to join and I told them I would like to join the bakeries. They told me there were no vacancies in that department so I agreed to go in as a driver. I came home and waited for the dreaded call to come.

Within a couple of weeks it arrived and it stated that I had to report to Herne Bay in Kent - to a training center on 1 March 1940.
(At that time my son, Denis was only three years old)

March 1st arrived and I went to catch the train at Breamore station where my dad was stationmaster and signalman.

It was a very hard time to have to leave my wife Rene and son Denis, to go away from family and friends. It was a very tearful occasion.

I had to change at Salisbury and catch the train for London to Waterloo station. From there I had to catch a train for Herne Bay on the South Eastern Line.

I arrived there just after two in the afternoon and with about twenty others who had just arrived, we were herded into an army truck and taken to the training center.

After going in and having all particulars taken we were then given instructions to go to the stores and pick up our uniforms, a Palaisse (a sleeping mattress) and two army blankets. We were then taken to our billet, which was a large house by the sea. When we got to the billet the sea was frozen all along the sands.

WE DEFINITELY KNEW THAT WE WERE IN THE ARMY NOW!

From then on it was training every day and being cursed and bullied, trying to get us to learn what they wanted us to do!

After about a week or two we were moved out into private billets, just like being home, but our luck lasted about two weeks as we were made into a company. We were to be the transport section attached to A56 light ANTI AIRCRAFT COMPANY, who were supposed to be in France. We were then sent over to France and toured around to given locations, but we NEVER found the parent company.

By this time the evacuation at Dunkirk had started and we were directed to go down to the port of Brest.

Away we went and arrived at the port and were herded on to a tug with hardly room to move. Still we got away and made for England, finally arriving at Falmouth in Cornwall. After a few hours we were taken by coaches to Painton in Devon to a Butlins Holiday Camp!

We were granted a week鈥檚 leave and home I went only to wait there for further orders.

It was lovely to be back home again with Rene and Denis, but alas, the orders were not long in coming and my orders were to report to Chesterfield, the town where the church has a crooked spire. We were here a few weeks and lucky to be put in private billets. But, again, good things never last long and we were, once again, moved back down south to Southampton Airport, to guard duties at the airport attached to the fleet air arm.

Again it was not a long tour of duty as we were ordered to back to Chesterfield to get ready for going abroad.

We were ordered to go to the Quarter Masters stores and draw kit for service in Egypt. I had to write to Rene and tell her I was going abroad and that I did not know how long for.

So, off I went again to Liverpool to embark on an old banana boat called Anselm. This was about 2 weeks before Christmas 1940. When we set sail the carpenters were still working to get everything ready.

We sailed nearly out to American then turned back and arrived at Freetown West Africa. The natives came out by the dozens to meet the convoy, trying to sell fruit and many other commodities.

After a day鈥檚 rest we were off again, back well out into the ocean. Many slept in hammocks, some on the mess tables or anywhere you could find a space.

We were some way out and making for South Africa when our convoy was shelled by the German battleship Scharnhost and the ship behind us was sunk.

Eventually we turned back and made for Durban. We docked at Durban and were taken off to go to a lovely meal in a big hall. (When we were sailing into Durban a boat came out to welcome us in, and on the boat a lady was singing some beautiful songs and she was dressed all in white, apparently she did it for all convoys who stopped there and they told us that she was called 鈥淭HE LADY IN WHITE).
After two days we were off again, this time making for the SUEZ CANAL and PORT SAID.

We disembarked there and were taken to a place way out in the desert called EL-TE-HAG.

There our company got divided into two parts, half had to stay in Egypt and the other was sent to GREECE.

Sad to say, I was split from the mates I had made and had to start all over again. Our company now was stationed in ATHENS at the rear headquarters of the army out there. I was given a 15cwt truck to drive and had the job of driving an officer in charge of all army postal affairs.

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