大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with David Mowbray, and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interview was by RBL Waterside Branch, and transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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I鈥檓 almost 79. I was 16 陆 when I joined up in Nov 1944. I went in to join the Parachute Regt. I started as General Service, then joined the Parachute Regt.

My father was already in the Army, my brother was in the Marines.
I went up to Belfast to join the RN. But you couldn鈥檛 join the RN until you were 18. Right next door to them was the Army on Clifton Street. I went in, joined the army, and went down to Ballykinler that night.
They knew I didn鈥檛 lie about my age. You had an identity card on you.
They put you through training. The very next morning I was kitted out 鈥� army boots, the rifle.
They gave you a 10 mile run. First thing when you came back, you took your boots and socks off. The doc came round, burst your blisters, put foot powder on you.

That was general training. At Folkestone they asked you for your second choice. The officer was sitting there, and I didn鈥檛 have anything in mind. So I said 鈥淧arachute regt.鈥�
He said 鈥淚s it because of that notice?鈥�
I said 鈥淣o. I was thinking of joining it.鈥�

You had to get very very fit, superfit. Your last test 鈥� full battle order on you, 10 mile run in 1 hour. If you failed that 鈥� even officers. You鈥檙e in teams, a week between each. Anybody fell out 鈥� no second chance.

5 jumps.
We trained at Rigway Airport. It鈥檚 now Manchester City airport. They showed you how to roll and all that.

I landed in Germany, and spent the rest of the war there.

At D-Day the first British to land were 250 paras. They took out the big guns, and saved a hell of a lot of lives.

Fear? It鈥檚 more excitement.
Death is just a natural thing. If you鈥檙e going to be hit by a bus, you鈥檙e going to be hit by a bus.
You shoot him or he鈥檒l shoot you. One or the other. It becomes a natural thing for you to do.

One time I was giving a talk to the Ulsters.
鈥淲hat happens if your mate gets hit beside you?鈥�
鈥淟eave him there for someone coming along behind you. You keep going, don鈥檛 stop.鈥�

When you join you had 1 blanket. When I left the army I had the same blanket,. We never had bedlinen.

Father, brother, 2 uncles all came home safely.

Churchill went to the Yalta Conference, with Stalin and FDR. He went out with Renown. Somebody told my brother 鈥渢here鈥檚 a Bill Mowbray in Stores down there鈥�.
He jumped ship and was caught. He said 鈥淚 thought my father was down there鈥�. And they checked, and it WAS my father down there. A 10 mil to 1 chance.
He came back with a lot of Churchill cigars.

The war was necessary. A lot of ways to look at it.
Britain had a pact with Poland at that time. If anything attacked them, they would defend them.

The excitement gets you. People say about jumping out of planes and all the rest. Between actions ... I managed about 40, just to keep your hand in.
I enjoyed the excitement. People say you鈥檙e mad, I enjoyed doing it.

Rigway Airport. John Mulligan, Bob Marcroft and myself. 1944.
I served in Palestine in early 1946.

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