大象传媒

In September 1943 I volunteered for the RAF at the age of 17 years and 9 months, having just completed three years in the Air Training Corps. I was hoping to train as a Radar Mechanic.

In December 1943 I was called up to the Radio School in Yatesbury, in Wiltshire, for the initial training course. For 18 weeks we were put through our paces - square bashing, drilling and weapon training which was interspersed with an introduction to the basics of Radar. During June 1944, after this initial training we were moved to London to the Northern Polytechnic in Holloway Road, where for 24 weeks with a civilian instructor we were trained as Radar Mechanics. All those on the course were housed locally in large houses near Highbury Corner. It was a great change to be at school from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm.

On the occasions that I was able to get weekend leave, my lasting memory of my journeys on the Underground, is of picking my way onto and along platforms crowded with men, women and children a lot of them tucked up for the night taking shelter from the bombing raids. Many of the deep underground stations in London were used this way. London was under attack by V-1 Flying bombs, several of which did much damage locally.

On completion of the course I found myself on embarkation leave with orders to report at Blackpool 21 days later. My memory of that journey is of having to stand all the way to Crewe and waiting for over two hours for the connection. For a few days we were housed near Blackpool Tower (these houses I think must have been requisitioned Bed and Breakfasts). We were told to report to a Centre nearby and await further instructions. On the third day we moved to Liverpool to embark on a ship called the 鈥淐apetown Castle鈥�. The kit we were supplied with suggested we were going somewhere hot!

During January 1945, the day we left Liverpool, the weather was very stormy. We were soon joined by six other ships and travelled in convoy. As we passed Ireland we ran into severe weather - one ship lost its deck cargo and had to return to Liverpool. The remaining ships travelled at the speed of the slowest and headed west for two days. All those on board wondered where we were going 鈥� it took a total of six days to reach Gibraltar. During the journey I have never seen so many people suffering from seasickness 鈥� they literally littered every deck.

I shared a mess table with 14 fellow airmen on 鈥淓鈥� deck which was just above the water level. We slept in hammocks over and around the table however when the sickness struck many wanted to stay in their hammocks but this was impossible. It was the practice for two people from each table to go to the galley to collect our food. At this time I went along with a mate and the first thing we were asked was "How many are on your table?" We of course replied "15". The breakfast consisted of greasy kippers, fresh baked bread and a lump of butter. We failed however to find anybody else wanting food so we ate all we could manage without any ill effects!

The seas calmed and the weather eased soon after and we eventually arrived at Alexandria in Egypt. The ship I was on was very short of drinking water. On entering the harbour there was a rush to the side to see the numerous boats that came out to meet us trying to sell fruit and trinkets and because of this the ship started to list so badly we were all ordered below to the mess-decks. By now we all knew that India was our destination and very soon after arriving in Alexandria we were back on our travels and proceeding down the Suez Canal. Soon after leaving the Suez Canal the ship dropped anchor and we were given the chance to be ferried ashore to stretch our legs and relax a bit - we had been at sea for a total of four weeks. Once back on board after our rest and recuperation, we continued our journey eventually reaching Bombay.

We left the Bombay by troop train, the track had many long sections where it was single track only and our train was frequently shunted onto a parallel track to wait for an oncoming train to pass. Our destination was Ceylon, and after passing through several transit camps where different groups were formed, the train was carried by ferry to Ceylon then on to Colombo.

377 A.M.E.S. (Air Ministry Experimental Station).

My final destination was a posting on the East Coast of Ceylon. Once in Ceylon travel was on a normal service train and we were told to get off at Valachini Halt. This turned out to be just a small hut in the jungle with no platform. The only way to tell where we were was the nameplate. There were only two of us who alighted at the station so we started looking around, wondering if we had been misled, however in a short while a truck appeared further up the track, the driver apologized for being a bit late and said he had been picking up supplies. We climbed aboard and sat in the back of the open truck and this is how we travelled for many miles along jungle dirt tracks alive with monkeys and many different types of birds. We finally reached a clearing on the beach where the Radar site was to be set up.

The Site was known as 鈥�377 A.M.E.S鈥� - (Air Ministry Experimental Station) - the early days of radar. It was quite a well-established unit with several huts for accommodation, administration, messes, and technical areas. The beach was bleached white coral sand with a reef about 150 yards off shore that was partially exposed at low tide. One of the officers was keen to fish and acquired some nets that were fixed just inside the reef. To our surprise and shock there were two hammerhead sharks caught in the net the next day. They made for good eating, perhaps because they were baby ones only about 3 feet long.

The Technical site consisted of three huts that housed the radar transmitter, receiver, and a diesel generator to feed the whole site. Nearby were two 110-foot wooden lattice aerial masts, which had to be climbed for maintenance work. One climbed inside the lattice to about 90 feet then on the outside to the top when required. What price 鈥淗ealth and Safety鈥�? The soldering connections to the feeder wires was carried out using a "Mox Iron鈥�; this was heated by Thermite, an aluminum powder and metal oxide mix.

The site was fully operational 23 hours a day, this allowed one hour for maintenance each day. We maintained all of the installation for three months until the site was closed as there was no longer a need for radar coverage of the Indian Ocean. My spell in Ceylon lasted from March to late July 1945.

RETURN TO INDIA

The journey back to Colombo was not without trauma. Of the group on the train one person was suffering from sleeping sickness, caused by some mosquito bites, and had to be woken at intervals all the way. Myself I do not remember anything about the return to the Bombay area as I had contracted Dengue Fever and had had to spend some days in hospital before leaving.

Again in transit camps we were formed up into our respective units, mine was 鈥�314 Mobile Signals Servicing Unit" of which more is recorded.

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