大象传媒

I was a teenager living in Foresly Park near Daventry in Northants. My father, Sidney, was a game keeper and was exempt from service. He did though join two Home Guard Units; one in Newham, the other in Badby.

Foresly Park had a big Officer鈥檚 Mess there, and some five thousand troops in the run up to D-Day.

My dad was employed by the War Ag, and he went round poisoning rats on the air bases and prisoner of war camps in Northamptonshire. He was one of four men who did this in the county, and they had special badges. He used to drive around in his Humber 14, one of only four made. He had four land army girls working with him, and all the chemicals were supplied. I sometimes helped him go round the bases. We would be met by the CO or Group Captains, and then shown round by a sergeant or other NCO. My dad would pre-bait for three days, miss a day, and then poison on the fourth day. Then go round and pick up all the rats. He also had a repeating rifle, and would often stand there shooting rats.

Although there were many cats on the bases, they used to hang around the mess and the cookhouse, and be fed on the scraps. They were too well fed to catch a rat!

The rats used to come in on the cargo flights. I have seen them running off with crated of fruit.

This went on for the whole war.

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