´óÏó´«Ã½

THE FORTIES

I was lucky (?) tp get a Radio Bursery from school in 1941, to UCL.But as Gower Sr was bombed just before we were due to go,the Physics dept was evacuated to Bangor UCNW.
Near the end of the first year,a recruiting team came round,demonstrating a simple version of Radio Location
(Radar) with an eye to getting people into the Army,Navy RAF,or civilian research.As I was making hard work of doing a 3 year coursew in 3 ,and we were promised a quite return after the war,and of my interest in Radio, I volunteered for either of the later two.After an interview in London,I was allocated to The RAE Farnborough ,which suited me.However.after college we went to Shrewbury army camp to do further work on our OTC certificates,we had done many hours in the college Home Guard,and finally to take the certificates.After a brief trip home to Braintree,we went back for a six weeks crash course to prepare us for Radion ewtc.This was the best and most interesting part of my education.Many practical sides of radio were covered,engineering drawing and workshop practice,including the metal lathe

So in September 1942 ,I turned up at the RAE,fully prepared to shatter the world with my inventions
to win the war!!After about a week,I eventually arrived at Radio Dept 70 Building,and there to my disbelief to Progrees and Planning,not a soldiering iron or screwdriver in sight.I had to go round the various laboratories to access progress then write it all up once a fortnight.After much moaning and complaining,after a year or so I was transferred to an outstation at Ambarrow about 5 miles north beyond Camberley.
Whilst at Farnborough we did see the original Gloster Whittle plane fly,which was nicknamed the flying vacuum cleaner.It only used to manage about on lap, our theorolising being the the pilot sitting almost directly above the engine,came down when his backside become too hot!
Air raid pravtises were very realistic,especially after RAF bombed Peenemunde.Al labs ,roads etc were covered with Tannoy and aircraft noises,bombs were well relaid whilst we ran down to the bunkers.I was relieved when we had to go to a Home Guard camp!.

Ambarrow was a lovely old country house —before the MAP got hold of it.The main building was admin,and in the walled vegitable garden there were about 6/7 wooden lissen huts containing the Laborities.These were for Tropicisation,where componemts were put through tests for Inter Service type approval.I was originally in Condenser (now capcitor) lab,where we subjected 10 components to 6 hours in 70 degreesheat,60 degrees 1oo% humidity,minus 40 degrees freezing.Testing insulation resistance in between to test their reliability,if passed they got a service number allowing manufavturers to use them.Other test involved vibration,dropping evacuation to 40,000 feet in a bell jaretc.
One day we had sent over from armaments at Farborough a large valve a CV222 a double pentode in one large glass case.Ths was not o go to valve section ,fut for us to give a vibration test.I bolted the valve to the vibration table and gradually increased the speed.Over the table was a electronic strobe,so I could check the speed.At one point the internals vibrated furiously in resonance,so I took the speed,and refered back to armaments.Of course I was fasinated to fine out the backgroud to this.After a bit of quissing,I found out it came from the American Azon bomb.This had four fins at the rear,two opposite ones were radio controlled,the other two were free to flap to stop it retating,and guess what frequency that was.The Yanks had brought it to the RAE because of many failures.What they did as a result of these tests we did not hear,and I heard nothing more until I was ahowing a film for a friend to I believe the British Legion about the American 8th airforse in East Anglia.This was in about 70s-80s-,and the Azon was mentioned as being the great American success.Also in a TV programme in 2003 it appeared again,how it virtually won the war,you know the yanky films.Well I began to think I had dreamt it.BUT on close examination my name was not mentioned anywhere.Surely this must have been a mistake,but being magnanimous sort of guy,I did not ring up the Pentagon to complain!!
At Ambarrow we had 2 rooms called the Burma rooms.That is they were permanantly recycled between 25 &40 degrees C at 100% humidity.Thus we could get in much larger equipment.Radio Communication Franborough had large transmitters in there,working.It was a rule that there should always be two people at a time in these rooms,with one standing buy to give any necessary aid,like resusication.It was while I was connected with these that a Doctor came over from physiocological dept to try out a simple heater.You remember the little Meths stoves we had for camping etc.well out in Burma meths was difficult to obtain so the proposition was to use 100 octane aircraft fuel which was much easy to get,so he wished to try it out in the enclosed conditions of Burma.He had no companion,so enforcing the rules I insisted on going in with him. The stove was lit,as was to go on for an hour.He was to write his signature and name every 5 minutes.After a few times thiese began to decline.Nearly the hour up,and one could not read it.I poped out to see if his mate had arrived,and I was very glad to,as I was feeling decidedly shaky with a rotten headache,going back in we completed the hour and we both came out to the other Doctor.He tested the original Dr,to fine he had a 50% fatal dose of Carbon Monoxide in his blood.No wonder we felt decidedly dicky,how suicide people manage to complete the affair I cannot think,as ones only interest is to get out.
Many other minor problems arose outside the regular routine ,which at least broke the monotonous bordom of testing.
During the war and just afterwards,they had open days at Fanborough,were we could see some of the other activities. For instance I went roud the circuit of the big,low speed wind tunnel,driven by a large 20 Ft or so
huge fan,one just hoped no one switched it on.!On the aerodrome we saw many German planes.I went in G0erings private Heinkel 111,complete with cocktail bar,an an emergency trap door so he could drop out with his parachute. There was the Ju88 which latterly was obsolete to the germans,so they filled it up with as much explosives as possible,and somehow controlled it from a FW 190 connected oon top.Both were flown to England when the JU 88 was released.I have a photo of these,anyway it was a novel form of recylcling!Also on show was the Dornier 335 night fighter,with an ebgine and propellor at each end,and of course many others.These were often flown,but always of course with a Spitfire escourt! Many Yank plnes including test for the American twin boom lightning,which the RAF rejected
After the war (I think) we saw an opened wersion of a V2.
The RAE Home Guard was probabley one of the youngest units in the country,many were direct from OTC training at college,so we were often used in demos.One spetacular event was for one of the V for Victory days (or similar) about 20 of us were dressed up in german uniforms,complete with bullet holes and paraded in front of the crowbs,with large thunder flashes being thrown at us fro the top of the adjacent large wind tunnel.Those german helmets certainly,contained the sound! Of course the loca; HG had to capture us,even thufg most of them were 3 times our age,we then were paraded around the field wth our hands above our heads. But at least we did not have to carry the rifles.

I hope I havn`t bored you,for I could go on for ages.
My wife and I ,who I met at Ambarrow,were married in 1947,and in August 1948 I left to join the family company at Braintree,dealing in Leather and Grindery,would you believe.I kept radio as a hobby,together with Photograhy am Film Making.

D.onald A.W OSBORN

(I am getting a friend to help me with the Internet as at my age 80 years,I am slow to learn)

THE FORTIES 2

I was just 15 when war broke out and attending a girls boarding school in the heart of Sussex,just a couple of miles from Gatwick Aerodrome as it was then,there was one hanger a few sheds , a fdew light planes and a few workman all well camouflaged including the workman.there did not appear to be
A great deal of, activity.The girl whose father more or less owned the place,Pam Desoutter,came to our school as a weekly boarder.A day or two before war was declared , our family was on holiday in south wales with my fathers family. Rather hurriedly we had to return home to Lancashire my brother was hastily summoned home .Having just sinished his law finals that summer he and his mate had together joined the territorials so of course he was called up nad told to report to Rochdale on Sept. 1st .Finding him was a bit of a job as he was sraying on a farm,in a rmote part of the Lake district .The nearest Post Office was five miles away.! Both my parents were terrified,he woulkd get into trouble if he did not report immediately.They managed to contact him eventually and back he came and reported.On the Sunday morning we went to Church as usual and on the way back we met my brother comoing off the train.He had been sent home again , My mither asked him if war had been declared yet . `Oh yes ` he said ` they heard nothing from Adolf.`All very casual ! When he came home on the Monday he had been made C.Q.M.S. in caharge of the famous quartermasters stores. A good deal of leg pulling then ensued. Three stripes and a crown on the first day.!

In those days we did not go back to school till 15th or 16 th Sept. In trhe mean time of course we had been blacking out the house.Stiff black paper was sold in abundance ,and drawing pins! My mother went out into the garden each evening to listen for german planes as soon as it was dark. Father told her to come in ,he would not pay Hitler the compliment of listening for him.

Well back to school I went. Incidentally all those who lived in a danger zone had been advised to go back at the end of August.Two of my friends ,one from Portsmouth amd the other from Croydon had returned early and had had a whale of a time helping to black out the school. School was an old mansion originally belonging to the Montefiore family.A good many of the windows were fitted with shutters . Most of them were still in very good condition, although they had not been used for many years.These proved a wonderful asset to blackout. The one place it was impossible to black out was the school library. It had been the old conservatory and had an enormous glass dome. They could only black out the windows adjoining the main corridor . Consequently it was locked after dark and we had to make sure we had got our refernce books out during the day time and return them immediately.Not very helpful if you happened to be doing English and History m\in subjects. We used to take our Certificate on Matric earlier in those days .

Many people will remember ghat about ten minutes after Mr Chamberlain had made his announcement that we were at war with Germany,the airraid siren went. The 30 odd girls who had gone back to school early were having a service in the assembly hall.Everyone was shaken. Then the head Mistress declared that they should file down to the school cellar.
As we all know it was a false alarm,but they said that there stomachs turned over and they wondered if they would ever see their parents again! Apart from that they had a lovely time; helpinf wuth the harvesting of the school kitchen garden and orchard ; thsy could swim when they liked , go anywhere in the grounds,play games , feed the chickens . ( donot know about the pigs!) They could go to bed what time they liked , with in reason.
Natually things soon changed when we all went back to school.

One of the first people I met on the day we went back was our German mistress, Fraulein Michael. It made me swallow hard when I bumped into her, but she was very chatty and relaxed. She said she was alright ` I can stay here as long as I go every so often to report. Where she reported I wasnot too sure. Now I know beyond ant shadow of doubt that this good lady was an anti Hitlerite as we termed them in those days. She did not know the Nazi natioal song , preferring to sing Deutschland Deutschland uber Alles. Well she had to ge to report more and more often until finally , towards the end of term, they came for her.She was interned without even being allowed to say `Goodbye` , or set us any work! Yet in Germany this never happened. English people were allowed to go about their business as usual.
(no doubt they were closely watched)

Another incident that sticks in my mind related to the shutters . Each night when lights were switched out , they shutters were opened and the windows were opened to there full extent,all of them ! they were determined we would not catch TB.One night the girl in the next bed who had a stiff neck threw out her bolster complaing it was hard. It landed on my bed and I threw it to another girl and a pillow fight got under way,which grew a little noisy ; the house Mistress who was somewhat melodramatic came in and bellowed “who is talking “ silence was the rule once lights were out and indeed after 9 PM . No one answered at first as we were all gobsmacked . Then followed “ If the girl or girls in question do not own up I am going to switch the lights on “.Two of us hastily owned up , the girls I had thrown the pillow to and mtself ,we naturally took the blunt of it,although the whole dormitory was involved. It was c;ever stuff really , she knew if she turned the light on it would have been seen for miles,and would have brought forth the wrath of many ARP wardens and possibly a few german bombs as well.

Now for when the Airaids started . We had airaid practices from day one. The rule was that the fire alarm would go off when there was an airaid. The shutters had to be closed , Everyone had to put on their tunic, black wool stockings and shoes, and wrap their red fire blankets around their shoulders, and then go to their assembly point,with their gas mask ( still in its cardboard box) over the left shoulder. We then filed down to the cellar with teachers running hither and thither blowing whistles . ( never did know what that was all about!) once in the cellar there hard benches to sit on , and the gas mask in cardboard box was to be plaed on the knee. There was to be NO TALKING . truly,this was actually said one night when talking broke out . “Silence — there may be bombs dropping and no one would ever hear them “

There was more melodrama when the BEF retuned home after being rescued,and France capitulated.
All three senior forms were assembled together and told that Hitler would almost certainly invade, and we may be asked to renounce our Christian faith. Was our faith strong enough to stand the test??!! I think after a few traumatic days and much arguing I realised for the first time in my life that we should quietly put our trust in God,and get on with it!. A week or so later ie the end of june 1940 we were given a weeks notice to get out.The school was commandeered by the military!! Eventually accommodation was found in Lynton Devon. A couple of adjoining Hotels where the school spent the rest of the war.

E.JOY OSBORN

We have a friend for the last 50 years who went through the Africa cmpaign,and was indeed marooned in Tobrook for six months surrounded by Germans,(supplied by sea).He has returned twice recently ,at about 90 years,and met Micheal Palin on his Safari trip.He is menmtioned and a photo in his book,a copy of which Micheal sent himefree.We asked him to give a few memories.

GOING AWAY
( in the winter of 1939/40the first Calvary division were assembled in wintry Nottinghamshire.Elements began to move overseas.to the Muddle East via France and the med.)
On the night of February 6th 1940 ,after this date,the 339 Battery of the Essex Yeomanry,fell in at the Battery Headquarterrs and marched down the long village street to the railway station. Our departure had not been announced,yet people seemed to know that this was not just another night rout marc,.it was pitch dark but we felt men women and children gathering on the pavements and sometimes a warm midland voice would call out in the darkness,`Good luck lads`or `give the bugger one for us,lads`One soldier kept on whistling loudly `La Paloma`. This must have been a sort of code, because out of the night a girl called in s tremulous voice`Good bye darling` The soldier replied and after this whistled no more.
Ther was a long night journey, and next morning we were marched on to a troopship at Southhampton , immediate destination Cherbourg.
On deck we lined the rails,the ships engines throbbed and the last two lines were cast off,and the ship began to move away from the shore.The dockers stood back,sort of stood to attention,took off their caps and called ` Good luck- God bless you all`For some reason,this gesture invoked insulting shouts all along the deck.`Get stuffed,you stupid barstards` was the most polite.
Why did they do that ?I wish they had not done that.

ENCOUNTER with a GENERAL

( in February 1941,British and Aussie troops engaged and defeated superior Italian forces at Bda Fomm south of Benghazi. Th e Iralian General Bergonzoli,was captured)
It was a lovely morning ,but dusty. The Signals truchk pushed on southwards into empty desert.We were akone,but not lost for we were following the tracks of others. We had not been told where we were going only to push forwards as fast as possible. In ourcase this was not very fast as the truck kept on bogging down in the deep sand. Then we would all jump out cursing and get to work with shovels and sand trays..
.Once,as we struggled,a cloud of dust appeared speeding towards us.Out of this cloud we eventually saw a staff car.It stopped nearby and the window was rolled down,revealing an important officer,yes a real General!Our Sargeant knew how to handle this sort of thing.He marched up to the staff car,and performed a parade ground salute.As his heels came together,puffs of dust rose to his knees. Unlike us ,the General seemd delighted1 Ah sargeant ` he cried `I thought you would like to know Beda Fomm has fallenan Begganzolis in the bag` Rigid to attention the Sargeanr replied `Thank you sir,the men will be delighted`.The General smiled and the car drove off.Our main anxiety was that it would be bogged down.and we should have to dig it out.However it kept going and the Sargeant relaxed and said` who the bloody hell is Berganzoli? ` No one knew so no one answered.

THE LAST SHELL

( in October/November of 1942,the battle of Alamein-`the end of the beginning` reached its climax.The great,brave German gun linewas at lasr broken,and then the German retreat out of Egypt,and out of Africa began )
339 Battery had fired all day,hour after hour.Now in the night they rcceived the reply.Shells cdashed down on the battery position.In an L shaped slit trench ,two men lay with their heads close together at the base of the L.They were discussing Thomas Hardy.I suppose it was a form of escapism.There was a final crash as a shell fell very near then silence except for men shouting somewhere.The very last shell had fallen into a slit trench where a signalller,Wee Forbes had been laying.There was no more shelling..Lookung back ,I think those last shots were from the German artillery emptying their guns before pulling back in retreat.
Next morning was a lovely desert day with bright blue sky and no wind. Our tanks came through,racing forward,dipping and swating,pennants streaming.Many were elated,crying`Look, Look Its over the tanks are going in` It was a beautiful sight , but those of us who stood around what was now the grave of Wee Forbes,a small Scot from Paisley were sad ,and reproved their excitement.

Stephen Dawson

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.