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In 1938 I was 14 years old, leaving school and living in south east London, near the London Docks. When I left and with war on the horizon I decided to join the ARP as a cycle messenger.

My job in the ARP was to carry messages between different sectors of London. When the war started it became more hazardous as the bombs began to fall, and there was me on my bike trying to get through all the mess. One of my regular duties was to report bombing and alert the emergency services, telling them where they were needed and what was going on in my sector. At the time I also had a job, so I would be there until five in the evening, go home, eat and then report for duty with the ARP until midnight. The next day I’d be up again at six so I was a very busy lad!

At 16 I joined the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers, later known as the Home Guard) under the command of a World War I major. There I’d serve on fire watch and also in anti-aircraft duties. I remember one day we actually had a visit from the Duke of Kent. We were all paraded in the factory yard, and I remember he went along the line inspecting us and asking how we were getting on, if we were getting enough food and things like that.

At 17 I was old enough to join the army, so that’s what I did in early September of 1941. In 1943 I was stationed in Burma on the east coast and after both VE and VJ day we were still fighting small pockets of Japanese who had no idea that the war was over, and certainly weren’t inclined to believe us! Whilst serving there I sustained minor injuries and was sent home to hospital and got three months leave in England before returning to Burma with G Branch, army intelligence, where our task was to track down Japanese war criminals.

All in all I guess the war for me was quite an experience, and I was proud to serve my country in all the various ways I did from an early age.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by James Barton and has been added to the website on behalf of John Greener with his/her permission and they fully understand the site’s terms and conditions.

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