大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/大象传媒 Radio Nottingham on behalf of Eric Middleton with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions"

AFTER THIS WE HAD A FEW DAYS IN LILLE AND THEN WE MOVED ON TO EINDHOVEN, WHERE WE WERE BILLETTED IN A SCHOOL. WE TOOK OVER FROM THE CANADIANS AND THE WORKING OF THE EINDHOVEN TRUNK SWITCHBOARD. THIS WAS A FIVE POSITION SWITCHBOARD IN THE PTT, WHERE THERE WAS A CIVILIAN SWITCHBOARD ON THE FLOOR BELOW. VE DAY CAME WHILST I WAS HERE. SOME OF US HAD VOWED TO GET DRUNK ON THAT DAY BUT IT WAS VIRTUALLLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DO SO AS THE DUTCH BEER WAS VERY POOR STUFF AND WAS ALMOST NON ALCOHOLIC. HOLLAND SEEMED TO HAVE FARED MUCH WORSE UNDER THE GERMANS THAN HAD FRANCE. IN THE EVENING LARGE NUMBERS OF DUTCH GIRLS AND YOUTHS STARTED DANCING AND PARADING THROUGH THE STREETS. UNFORTUNATELY MY NIGHT DUTY STARTED AT 10 PM AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN IN THE CELEBRATIONS AS MANY BRITISH SOLDIERS DID. INDEED I HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY IN GETTING TO THE PTT AS SO MANY DUTCH FOLKS WANTED ME TO JOIN THEM.
BY THIS TIME THERE WAS A VERY LARGE NETWORK OF TRUNK TELEPHONE LINES ACROSS EUROPE AND THERE WERE SEVERAL DIFFERENT ROUTES TO PARIS WHERE THE SWITCHBOARD WAS MANNED BY AMERICAN WAACS. IF NIGHT TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT WE SOMETIMES
USED TO AMUSE OURSELVES BY CALLING PARIS BY TWO DIFFERENT ROUTES AND
WHEN TWO DIFFERENT GIRLS IN PARIS ANSWERED "THIS IS PARIS" WE WOULD CONNECT THEM TOGETHER AND LISTEN TO THE ARGUMENT WHICH THEN ENSUED AS TO WHO CALLED WHOM.

WE SPENT MUCH OF OUR OFF DUTY TIME AT THE SWIMMING BATHS OWNED BY THE LOCAL CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY.
I GOT LEAVE FROM EINDHOVEN AND JOINED MOTHER AND DAD AND ANNETTE WHO WERE
ON HOLIDAY AT THE CAT HOLE INN IN KELD IN YORKSHIRE. IT WAS A REAL OLD-FASHIONED PLACE: THE LOO WAS A 2-SEATER BOX CLOSET IN THE GARDEN!

SOON AFTER THIS HALF THE SECTION WAS MOVED TO PARIS AND THE OTHER HALF, INCLUDING ME, WAS MOVED TO BRUSSELS. LIFE THERE SEEMED TO HAVE RETURNED TO ALMOST NORMAL. THE BLACKOUT WAS OVER, THERE WERE AMUSEMENT FAIRS WITH SHOOTING GALLERIES AND EVEN INDOOR GREYHOUND RACING. AGAIN WE WERE BILLETTED IN A SCHOOL, IN THE AVENUE LOUISE DISTRICT WHERE OUR SIGNAL OFFICE WAS LOCATED ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF A BLOCK OF FLATS. THHE WORK WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY DEALING WITH DESPATCHES TO BE SENT BY DESPATCH RIDER BUT THE BULK WAS SO GREAT THAT JEEPS HAD TO BE USED IN PLACE OF MOTOR CYCLES. THE JEEPS USED TO PARK IN THE STREET JUST BELOW THE FLAT AND WE DROPPED SACKS OF DESPATCHES FROM OUR BALCONY, HOPEFULLY TO LAND IN THE BACK OF THE JEEP. IT WAS QUITE A JOB SORTING ALL THE DESPATCHES AS, OF COURSE, ONLY THE NAMES OF THE UNITS WERE GIVEN ON THE ENVELOPES WITHOUT ANY LOCATION. THE MILITARY POLICE HANDED IN LARGE NUMBERS EVERY DAY AND WE SOON LEARNT THAT MOST OF THESE WERE REPORTS THAT SOLDIERS FROM VARIOUS UNITS HAD BEEN FOUND IN BRUSSELS WITHOUT PASSES AND THAT ON RETURN TO THEIR UNITS THEY SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH BEING ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE. I THINK THAT MANY OF THE SOLDIERS WHO HAD BEEN PICKED UP HAD THE BRAINS TO GIVE THE NAMES OF NON-EXISTENT UNITS AND, OF COURSE,
IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO FIND ANYWHERE TO SEND THESE DESPATCHES SO THEY FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THE WASTEPAPER BASKET, AS DID MANY OTHERS! THE MILITARY POLICE PICKED ME UP ON MANY OCCASIONS BUT I HAD A RESIDENTIAL PASS FOR BRUSSELS (NO 77 ISSUED 9 JUNE 1945) SO I WAS ALWAYS IN THE CLEAR.
TROOPS FROM ANY COUNTRY WERE ALLOWED TO RIDE FREE ON ANY OF THE BRUSSELS TRAMS OF WHICH THERE WERE HUNDREDS AND THIS WAS A VERY EASY WAY OF GETTING AROUND. THE SONG 'CLANG, CLANG, CLANG WENT THE TROLLEY WAS VERY POPULAR AT THE TIME AND SEEMED VERY APPROPRIATE.
BY THAT TIME TROOPS WERE ABLE TO GET 48-HR PASSES TO VISIT EITHER PARIS OR BRUSSELS. NATURALLY I CHOSE TO VISIT PARIS. I INTENDED TO LOOK UP ONE OF MY PALS WHO HAD GONE TO PARIS WITH THE OTHER HALF OF THE SECTION. HE GOT 48 HOURS LEAVE AT JUST THE SAME TIME AS I DID AND VISITED BRUSSELS! I WAS STANDING RIGHT UNDER THE EIFFEL TOWER WHEN THE AIR RAID SIRENS SUDDENLY STARTED. NOBODY SEEMED TO KNOW WHY UNTIL SUDDENLY THE NEWS GOT AROUND: JAPAN HAD CAPITULATED: IT WAS VJ DAY!

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