大象传媒

My story is not one of heroics but one showing how one's life is suddenly changed for ever.
I was 21 on the 17th August 1939 and two weeks later I had notification to report to my Unit in Bulford having joined the Supplementary Reserve the year before. My girlfrield came with me to Waterloo Station to see me off with a fair sprinkling of tears. She went home and I entered another world although we were helped considerably by the few regular solders. I think 62 Company RASC grew from about 25 to around 200 in but a few hours and we had to degrease our rifles which were greased after the First World War. When we had the order to sling arms we wondered "where to", and our job was to protect the country. Among other things we had to collect requisitioned lorries from central vehicle parks so we slowly became equipped and after two weeks we had a weekend leave prior to going to France. It was a surprise leave but my girlfriend and I became engaged.
Back with the Unit we set off to Bristol enroute for St. Nazaire. So many of the lads were seasick that the rest of us ate well!
At long last we arrived at our final destination, a small village called Camblain Abbe near Arras. We had to sit in the lorries while it was decided where we were to be billeted. It was during this waiting time that I saw a few, what we thought were typical French young ladies pass by. Then came a middle aged (my estimation of her age)lady and I said to my fellow men in the lorry, that I would bet I was to be sent to her Farm - and I was. Then followed the task of getting our vehicles parked up and ourselves and kit into the barn above the cows. The floor of the place above the cows was wood beams about 12" to 18" apart and our feet kept going through the gaps, but it was to be our home for more than 6 months. The farmer's wife seemed to be as wide as she was tall and not the French Mamsel we thought we might be sent to. However, this lovely lady looked after us like her own family. The winter of 39-40 was bitterly cold and when I was on Guard duty she would come along to the vehicle lines with hot coffee during the night for me and my mates, in fact she became our French mama. She was wonderful. When the weather worsened the cobbled roads in the villages became skating rinks and so treacherous. There was no such thing as anti-freeze so on Guard duty at night we had to start the engines on the lorries every so often to prevent them freezing up. Guard was certainly a duty to keep you awake ! Then of course Hitler decided to start things going and very badly for us too. We had our destination changed enroute many times.
Then came the final move - to Dunkirk and the bombing and shelling from Jerry. The amazing thing I remember ws that when Jerry started the queues of men waiting to be taken out to the boats broke up and when he stopped they formed again and the chaps looked round to form up in the same order as before. When I finally got on a boat, from Sunderland I remember, I slept on the cat-walk in the engine room and I mean - slept!
Dover has never looked so beautiful either before or since.
I have taken my wife of 63 years back to each country I went to during the War, France to see my Mama, twice (but she has now died); Western Desert (Egypt) and home through Italy.
It certainly changed our lives, I was training before the war started in Accountancy but I couldn't face working in an office again so I was lucky enough to get a Sales Representative's job with a Unilever company until I retired 23 years ago.

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