大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the site by the 大象传媒's Peoples War Team in the East Midlands with Bill Cross' permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

In peacetime Britain 1939 there were shadows of war with the threat from Hitler. Parliament realised we had poor defence against air raids and passed a new law to conscript all young men aged 20. They were to be called Militia Men. Six months training on air defense, then on reserve. In July 1939 thousands of lads were called up. History was repeating itself as twenty years earlier their fathers and uncles had done the same in 1914. They were surprised that the army was still in a time warp with their equipment and uniforms. They had knee briges and puttees, with a brass button tunic, Lee Enfield rifle with a 1914 two foot long bayonet and horse artillery dress, but no horse. They looked like ghosts of the first world war.

In May 1940 three young militia men Frank, Joe and myself were posted to the 44th Leicester regiment, searchlights at Fulney park in Spalding, Lincolnshire. They stood out in their horse riding dress against the new issue battle dress of the unit. This was the headquarters of an anti aircraft unit in the flat farm lands spread out to the coast. It was a small detachment which challenged every plane with the long piercing beam into the night sky.

Back at camp, the commanding officer broke some very serious news. On the coast of France, hundreds of small boats and ships were preparing for an invasion. The flat fields around us were ideal landing grounds for planes and parachutes. The infantry units were desperate for rifles and ammunition after the retreat from Dunkirk, so we had to send most of ours from the searchlight crews leaving us just the Lewis machine gun for defence. I told the sargeant major to prepare a defence squad against enemy landings. The next day the sergeant major came to Frank, Joe and myself and drove us along the narrow roads. He said 鈥渨e are now enemy soldiers we are to phone back and give a map reference to report enemy activity鈥�. Three civilian lorries commandeered from Spalding will bring the anti parachute squad with twenty soldiers and three rifles to get us. However, the sargeant major pulled into a village pub so we could have a couple of pints before we were captured. As we hid in a ditch not far from the pub we were encircled and captured. The colonel was pleased with the exercise. The men on the sights now scanned the sky by day light as well as night looking for any invaders.

One day the sergeant major brought from Spalding two hundred empty bottles. Me and my mates were told to fill them with petrol, put in a rag fuse and tape a match on the bottle to make Molotov cocktail bombs. In the lecture room a large poster was displayed with the title 鈥渒now your enemy鈥�. It depicted a German soldier with a sub machine gun and stick grenades. The instructor who was talking to us had been in occupied France and he explained to us how to disarm a tank. The idea was to conceal yourself, light your fuse and throw it at the tank track. This will burn the rubber grips on the tracks. Another way was to hide in a doorway in a town and throw metal objects into the tracks, or take a chance as the tank passed by, by climbing on the back and throwing your bomb into the turret. This had been done in France. There were a lot of grumbles amongst the lads. They all said this was a suicide squad but the instructor told them they would be in a life and death situation, every man for himself.

We were told that when a parachutist lands he is most vulnerable with all his equipment. We should conceal ourselves in hedgerows, jump on him and take his gun and grenades. The enemy also lands soldiers dressed in civilian clothes. They could be dressed as parsons or nun and they speak English to get local information. We were told that all road signs had to be removed to confuse their map readings. Vehicles left unattended must have their rota arms removed to stop the enemy using them. Leaflets were also going to be sent out to warn the public that an invasion could come at any time. Thus with the little equipment we had we would be able to slow the enemy advance.

In the small copse near to the camp we dug a large hole to make a hide out. It was covered with bracken and soil. A secret entrance and an escape hatch were constructed and food, water, petrol bombs and what rifles we had left were stored in it. If the camp was over run the sergeant major and his team were to stay in the hide out and then come out at night to sabotage the enemy.

Through the hot summer months we watched the skies and patrolled the fields, mostly nothing happened. Then day light air raids began to bomb London. I was sent to an ack ack site as a searchlight operator. With the blitz of London begun it seemed that it was all part of the invasion plan, but for some reason I still do not understand, Hitler turned this powerful force to attack Russia. This gave Britain time to re arm and with America and others prepare to go back into Europe to end the war.

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