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The Victory Parade
Once I applied for a long weekend pass and much to my delight I was granted one. Of all things, I looked at the notice board on the Friday just before I was due to go home for a few hours, and noticed I had been detailed to be on the Victory Parade. I went to see the Regimental Sergeant Major but he wouldn’t do anything. So I went to see my officer but he said he couldn’t do anything about it either. So instead of a few hours relaxing at home it was more than a few hours of spit and polish!
The parade, as you might expect, was not only for the Engineers but all the units stationed at Aldershot were involved. So it was a really big do. After we had all assembled, which took hours, we marched through the town. The roads were lined with people all waving flags and banners. We marched to a large playing field where a platform had been erected. All the high ranking officers and the mayor and town councillors stood on the platform to take the salute as we marched passed. It took hours before we were able to march off to eventually be dismissed, by which time I’m sure most of us had had enough of the whole thing.

Ivy’s Visit to Aldershot
Whilst I was at Aldershot I did ask Ivy if she would like to come down and spend a week with me. I had been recommended to some people who would put us up and I had managed to get a sleeping out pass. She said she would like that and so I arranged to meet her and Margaret in London.
On the train from London to Aldershot an American soldier sat opposite us. He gave Margaret a rather large bag of sweets. I’m sure she had never seen so many sweets at once. The sweet ration was only a couple of ounces a week. So at home each week when she bought her ration she would divide the sweets into seven small packets so she had a few each day instead of eating them all in one go.
The people we stayed with where very nice. I, of course, had to work during the day but was able to spend the evenings and nights with Ivy and Margaret. The only thing that spoilt the week was the weather. It was bitterly cold and Ivy and Margaret spent the days wandering round looking for places to keep warm.

Escort Duty to Halifax
I was once detailed to escort three men who were being transferred from Aldershot to another Royal Engineer’s Company in Halifax. As luck would have it the train stopped at Victoria Station in Nottingham. (The station has now been demolished and the Victoria Shopping Centre has been built in its place). As near as I was to home I had to carry on to Halifax. When we arrived I handed the papers to the officer, made sure the lads were settled in then had a bite of something to eat. I then went to see the officer and said that as the train made a stop at Nottingham could he give me permission to get off at Nottingham and catch a later train back to Aldershot. I explained that this would give me a few hours with Ivy and Margaret. He did give me a pass and because of the train service I got a full day and a night at home. I was more than pleased with that.

Regimental Quarter Master Stores
During my time at Aldershot I worked in the Regimental Quarter Master Stores. I was given three duties. One was to look after all married quarters, another was to manage the fuel (i.e. coal) and the third was to collect all the equipment handed in by the men as they were demobilised.
All married quarters were completely furnished with carpets, furniture, bedding, curtains, the lot. So as the houses were vacated the entire contents had to be thoroughly examined and checked and someone had to sign to say that everything was there and in good condition. Then when the next family moved in everything had to be checked and signed for again.
The coal was in a large bunker and I had a corporal and a saper to distribute it. Each man was given a coal ration which had to be divided into four portions. One part was for heating the barrack block, one was for the cookhouse, another was for the laundry and the fourth portion was for the baths and showers. So I had to know how many men were in the depot at any time so that I could calculate the precise amount for each of the four places. I had to keep strict control and make certain that each section received its correct quota.

The Jeeps
The Sergeant’s Mess at Gibraltar Barracks was divided into three areas. There was the dining area where all the meals were serviced, there was a bar with tables where we were able to play cards, dominoes and chess and there was a games area with a billiard table and dart board. Although it was a pleasant enough place to spend a relaxing evening when you were not on duty, me and my three sergeant mates only went there on the odd occasion as it was not really our scene. Mostly we just stayed in our room. As we had no radio and television had not even been invented, we were sometimes at a loose end. One night one of the lads was browsing through a magazine and came across a picture of a model Jeep. After he had studied it for some time, he turned to the rest of us and asked if we could have a go at making one. After we had thought about it, we decided to give it a try.
The first thing we decided we needed was some cardboard boxes. I was able
to gets these from the stores. We then drew templates on the cardboard from the design in the magazine article. We then cut out the patterns and put them roughly together to give us an idea of what the model might look like. As this turned out not too bad we decided that if we could get some proper materials, we would see what we could do.
Firstly we asked the cook house sergeant if he could get us some large clean tin cans which fortunately he was able to do. I was able to get my hands on some camouflage paint and a couple of brushes. The lad in the company store was able to get solder and flux.
Bernard Ruff lived only a few miles from Aldershot and was able to regularly get home for a few hours. His father must have had quite a large garage or workshop where he did repairs to farm machinery and tractors. So Bernard was able to get an electric soldering iron and some cutters to cut the necessary shapes out of the tin. Bernard also had access to a motor bike and sidecar which came in very useful to us.
We also managed to get hold of a couple of lengths of round hardwood as well as some steel rod. As Bernard was the workshop sergeant we had access to a lathe and were therefore able to cut up the hardwood to make wheels and cut the steel rod into lengths to make the axles.
We were now ready to make a prototype. We decided to work as a team and formed a production line.
One of us scribed the metal using the cardboard patterns we’d made and cut the pieces out. Then the second lad bent the pieces into shape. The next did the soldering and finally the fourth lad did the painting after fitting the wheels onto the axles.
When the first one was finished, it turned out a lot better than we thought it would. So we carried on with the good work. As we progressed we kept changing the jobs round between us so that we wouldn’t get too bored.
As it was only three months before Christmas we said we would make as many Jeeps as we could and give the ones we didn’t want for ourselves to the married soldier kiddies Christmas Party.
So we carried on making the Jeeps. After a while we had a change and made two or three lorries. One of the lads came with two lengths of brass curtain rail. With them we were able to make just one tank transporter which, of course, the lad who had got the curtain rail had for himself.
The lads also made a wooden battleship. It had a strong flat spring in the base which was connected to a button protruded through the side. The deck was put loosely on top of the hull and on top of the deck was placed all the rest of the superstructure including the funnels, the guns and the bridge. When the ship was all built up, the button was pushed in to release the spring which hit the underside of the deck causing it to ‘explode’. I took the ship and one of the Jeeps home with me. I don’t know what became of them.
As I have mentioned, Bernard lived on a farm and was able to get home on his motorbike and sidecar. I asked him when it got nearer to Christmas whether it would be possible for him to get me a chicken which I would pay for. With the rations as small as they were, to get a chicken was a luxury in those days. He said he would be able to get me one, which was great.
When it was near Christmas, Bernard went home for a few hours and came back with two live chickens. As well as me, one of the other lads had also asked for one. There was an old wooden table in our room. So we had to tie them loosely to the table legs with long thin pieces of string and leave them with plenty of food and water while we went to work.

The Room Inspection
Try to picture a big old house with a very large front room. In the room was a large wooden table and four small camp beds. Even this fairly basic accommodation was palatial compared with what we had had to put up with whilst we had been overseas. However, there was nowhere to store our equipment so it had to be piled at the end of our beds. As I’ve already said, we were making toys. The room was kept reasonably clean but it was in a bit of an unsightly state. There must have been well over a dozen fully constructed Jeeps and an assortment of lorries. The table was covered in tin and parts in various stages of construction. Also all the tools, paint and brushes were scattered over the table. And to top all of that, the two chickens were roaming around. So who should walk into this mess but the orderly officer with his sergeant on a routine inspection. I don’t know who was more surprised, them or us. After the initial shock, the officer bellowed, ‘What on earth is going on and what do you intend to do with that lot?’ — pointing at the trucks. We told him we only wanted two for ourselves and the rest were going to the children’s Christmas Party. That calmed things down a lot. He then pointed to the chickens and told us in no uncertain terms to ‘see to them’ and then we could put them in the cook house fridge. That was a job that Bernard did for us although we did help pluck them and clean up afterwards.

The Children’s Carol Singing
Just before Christmas some youngsters came singing Carols. There were two boys and a girl and would have been about ten years old. We asked them to come in and told them that if they sang nicely they could pick a truck each. After they had sung a couple of carols we said that was enough and they each picked a truck (and were given a few coppers). They went off clutching them as if they were priceless. As things were those days there were no proper toys like today so I am sure the children would have been very proud to show their pals.

Christmas at Home
It came up on Company Orders that the lads who had served overseas would be getting a few days Christmas leave. So for a week or two before we all worked hard to make certain we left everything in good order. The very last thing we wanted was our leave to be cancelled. And it wasn’t — at last I got my pass for a week, the first Christmas at home for five years. I loaded myself up with as much as I could carry. The chicken was the main prize. The lads gave me some sweets for Margaret out of their N.A.A.F.I. ration, which was really nice of them. I managed to carry a Jeep and the battleship.

Back to Aldershot and De-mob
With the things I was able to take and the very small ration, we had a most enjoyable time. What with visiting and people coming round to see us, the time went all too quickly and it was soon time to return to Gibraltar Barracks and all the polish and military discipline that went with it.
In the front of the barracks was a large tarmac square which was the Regimental Parade Ground which was only used for drills and parades. It was almost a sacred piece of ground with strict rules about its use. If anyone was seen walking across it to take a short cut they were in real trouble.
So now it was back to our routine with all four of us sergeants looking forward to the day of our de-mob. The Regimental Quarter Master did try to get me to stay in the Army. Although I did know the married quarters, as part of my work, and they were really nice, I wasn’t having any of that. I’m sure Ivy wouldn’t have wanted it either.
Although I had plenty of work to do to occupy the time, we had to make the best of the conditions and time seemed to drag on as we waited for our de-mob. (I still hadn’t got used to the spit and polish). At long last in April 1946 my de-mob papers came through. After they were signed, I had to go to York where I was issued with civilian de-mob clothes which included a suit and a Trilby hat. Owing to the rations and the conditions the clothes were very poor quality and the same dark colour for everyone. The clothes were packed in a brown cardboard box with a bag to return your Army uniform after you had eventually got home and at last become a true civilian again.
I should say that I was given a cheque for seventy pounds gratuity and seven weeks wages which I was able to cash in at the Post Office. I don’t remember how much the weekly wage was but it was enough to carry us over until I’d settled down and got a job.
If anyone should read my story, they may think the five years in the Army was a holiday at the expense of the Government. If that is the case then perhaps they should borrow a book from the library and read what it was really like and the horror of it all. Fortunately, unlike millions of other men who weren’t so luck, I managed to get back in one piece. I haven’t written about the grief and trauma that I went through during those five years, although the memories are still clear in my mind and that is were they will stay.

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