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This story was related to Denis Price of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ People’s War team at the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Open Centre, Hull.

I began my military career as a Boy Soldier in the Territorial Army in 1938 as we all knew with the Munich Crisis that war was imminent. I was living with my family in Hull at the time and remember my Father`s comments when I joined up. `It`ll do you good, you`ll learn some discipline…..and get two free pairs of boots!`

When general mobilisation came about I was called up immediately on the 17th of July little knowing what was ahead of me. My war began with me being isolated at the mouth of the River Humber serving on both the two Forts known as Bull Fort and Haile Fort. I was there until 1941 serving with a unit known then as `War Office Works Company`. My next move was to Plymouth where our unit took part in heavy rescue work extracting people from the City`s heavily blitzed buildings.
After eight months our unit had its title changed to `War Office Mechanical and Electrical Company` as this was before the foundation of the REME. We then moved to High Wycombe and prepared to go to North Africa.
Our troopship was the HMS Strathallan and was supposed to land us all at the Port of Oran. Unfortunately when just off Oran, we were torpedoed by a German U Boat. The Strathallan didn`t sink straight away which gave many of us the chance of survival. I was saved by the Destroyer HMS Panther which came as close as it could to the stern of the Strathallan where along with others you judged the rise and fall of both ships and if you got it right you jumped and landed safely on the Panther`s deck, if not you fell between both ships.
When the torpedo had struck us I was in a hammock. The explosion threw me out onto the messdeck where I hit my head badly. I remember my pal, Jim Wallace slapping a field dressing on the wound for which he was later disciplined, it seemed my head wasn`t bleeding enough, such is war!
I believe that although all our unit survived, many others were lost, mainly due to panic from what I saw. I clearly remember in all the confusion, seeing an army officer running about totally beserk. He was screaming `Every man for himself`. This didn`t help matters at all and two army lads took it on themselves to do something about it. I`ll say no more except that they dealt with him in a very robust manner, there was no more panic from him! Sadly a number of those lost were from the Queen Alexandra`s Nursing Sisters.
When we were put ashore we were billeted in a place called Rueba outside Algiers and on top of very large wine vats.
Christmas dinner I recall in 1941 consisted of a tin per man of Machonachies stew and a tin of their rice pudding, all washed down with ten gallons of North African plonk, a Christmas to remember!
Moving to Philipville we were bombed by German Stukas but luckily suffered no casualties. Our two defending aircraft, a Spitfire and a Hurricane we nicknamed Gert and Daisy after the popular music hall duo of the time. We then moved to Tunis for about a year re-building captured German and Italian vehicles, mainly lorries before moving to Italy at the end of 1943.
I`d always fancied flying even though I was in the army and when volunteers were asked for the newly formed Glider Pilot Regiment I eagerly put my name forward. The selection process was held at Euston and carried out by the RAF. I got through this process which made me feel on top of the world as I`d always wanted to be a pilot and now I was going to realise my ambition.
Ground training was at Larkhill, Salisbury Plain, and was very tough, a few of us were RTU (Returned to Unit).I knew then it wasn`t going to be a picnic, it was ground infantry training plus! One day a three mile route march, the next day six miles, then nine and finally culminating in a thirty-five mile march. All this around Stonehenge to get everyone fit.
The next step was flying training at Denham, opposite the film studios which we regularly flew over. I remember once flying over the studio and looking down I thought I was in North Africa as they were filming a desert scene.
During my time training at Denham, the studio was making a film starring Richard Attenborough called `Journey Together`. It was about becoming a pilot in the RAF. This is where I unknowingly became a film star in being filmed on take-off and landing in my Tiger Moth supposedly being flown by one of the real stars.
I qualified and got my `wings` on the Tiger Moth and then moved to Stoke Orchard near Cheltenham to convert to fly Hotspur gliders, this was to be my role.
I remember an incident which would have cost me dear. I was flying the glider and against all the rules I was smoking my corn-cob pipe, this in a glider made of balsa wood! Unfortunately I must have got hot tobacco in my mouth which caused me to spit out the pipe which then fell between my legs and to my horror began to burn my seat type parachute. Luckily with slight finger burns I managed to put it out, the parachute was undamaged but my foam rubber seat was burnt. Nobody noticed which was a good thing as I would have been Court-martialled and thrown off the course.
Always a volunteer , along with nine other newly-qualified pilots we believed we were being sent to America to assist in training their pilots. It seemed a wonderful opportunity for us. We were called the10th Independent Glider Pilot Company.
As our troopship headed down the Med. I realised that once again volunteering had got me nowhere. This became obvious when for America, read India. Bombay was where we dis-embarked. Our Holding Camp was Kalyan from where we were sent to Rawalpindi where we were stationed at a place called Hythe. We would travel from there to a place called Faterjan and another called Chakalala, Faterjan was where we did our flying from. We flew alongside the Himalayas in our Hadrian gliders, a truly wonderful sight.
As we knew that we would be part of the Spearhead on the attack on the Japanese Homeland we were all immensely relieved when the Atom Bombs were dropped and the Japs surrendered. We could all now return home.
Having lost good friends and seen the waste of human life that war brings, it makes me think there should be another way to resolve differences between nations. I can honestly say that I did not benefit in any way from my wartime experiences, with one notable exception, the enduring friendships that I made.

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