大象传媒

It was only after that first telephone call to Joan that I realised how panicked and upset she had been. Before receiving the postcard that I had sent from Weymouth, she had previously received a letter from the War Office. This reported me as missing or killed and was confirmed by our padre of the battalion. It was only after receiving the postcard and my call that she knew it to be wrong and that a terrible mistake had been made.

After a week or more in Blackpool, 48 hours leave was issued before reporting to a new unit. With all the haste I could, I headed for Bournemouth. Joan and I then decided to be married as soon as possible, both aware that it would not be long before I was sent abroad again.

Joan and I were married on the 16th November, 1940. I was only allowed 48 hours to be with my new wife.

I had now joined the Fifteenth Queen' Regiment as a driving instructoe and three weeks later was transferred to Dover to be billeted in Dover castle. It seemed this might be a good experience. Sadly, the day the unit arrived in Dover, the Germans shelled the town with their long-range artillery. Our orders were to stand down, meaning be ready for anything. We were put in pillboxes, as they were known. Myself and four other chaps were sent to a pillbox which was situated at the corner of a road leading out of Dover.

If you have ever been shelled as we were, you will know how terrified you can be. If not, then I will try to give you some idea. Firstly you hear the loud screech as the shells approach. A large ball of fire and then the loud explosion follow this which is the most terrifying. Once the shells begin to land, the siren's wail echoes over everything.

The next thing we saw were houses, flattened to piles of rubble strewn across the ground. Our job became digging through this rubble hoping to find survivors. My friend and I rescued an old lady who although was not injured, was badly shaken and in shock. We managed to get her taken to the hospital.

Most nights we would stand guard at a place called St. Margaret's Bay which was close to Dover. We had to remain on guard at all times as the Germans sent over raiding parties, none of which got very far. There were many mock gun placements along the coastline and also some large long-range guns. These were moved along the railway tracks and used to shell German positions in France. It was very clever tactics to have these guns always moving as they were never kept in the same position.

Now, when on guard duty, we stayed at a house by the cliffs which overlooked the sea. Behind this house was a big open field. In the centre of this stood a machine-gun mounted on a tripod and sheltered by sand-bags. I had just come off my guard duty and my friend had taken over the machine-gun. Just then, a big black German Dornier plane appeared above the railway tracks. A bomber, it must have been returning from a raid as it was still very early in the morning. It was flying so low that if I had reached up, I could have slmost touched it. I shouted to my friend on the machine-gun to fire - everything happened so quickly and the Dornier disappeared. Our colonel had previously told us that if we were to shoot down a plane, it could be worth a pound.

I was now driving a small covered army wagon. Two officers had to go to Brighton for a conference and I was to be their driver. We arrived in Brighton and stayed at a large hotel. We stayed for one day before returning to Dover castle.

Each afternoon, Dave, who was a lance- corporal, would invite us into his room, where he endeavoured to teach us judo for self-defence.

A short distance out of Dover was a large house where some of the married men would arrange for their wives to stay and visit them. As there had been no shelling for several weeks, I telephoned Joan and asked her to come and stay at this boarding-house. She agreed to do so. As Dover was a restricted area, she had to travel on to the next station where the owner of the boarding-house would meet her and bring her back across the railway lines and into Dover. I would then meet her at the house.

Though this was not as easy as it seems for any of the men. I had to leave the castle by the back door although the boys on guard duty were aware of what was going on. Then I had to return to the castle before reveille at 6 in the morning. That first evening, when all had retired to their beds, the Germans decided to shell us again. The landlady woke us and we were forced to shelter downstairs.

I now realised I was selfish to ask Joan to come to Dover, although it was wonderful to see her. It was wonderful for us to be together, if only for that short time. All leave had been cancelled.

The landlady and I felt it was not safe for Joan to remain in Dover any longer. She kindly made the trip back across the railway lines and put Joan on the train to return to her home in Bournemouth. I then had to rush to be back at the castle before 6 a.m. I then telephoned Joan the next day to ensure she had arrived safely. She told me how kind Mrs. Jones (the landlady) had been to her. Unfortunately we have never seen her again. She was an extremely good woman, as were most women in our country during that terrible period in our lives.

Life was never dull at the castle. It seemed there were always parades of one sort or another, and of course, guard duties. I recall on one occasion I was on guard duty. I had already done my stint and was resting. It was all very quiet so my friend and I decided to have an extra sleep. Alas, the orderly officer, who usually checked the guard once a night, decided to check twice. Just when he did so, we were not doing our time on guard. The next day both of us were taken in front of the C.O. We were given seven days detention, cleaning out toilets, etc.

It seemed almost every night we were called to stand to and informed that the Germans were making more raids. These did not come to anything. I was told most raiding parties were caught in the crevices of the cliffs where large drums of oil were stored. These were to be released down the cliffs and set alight in the event of being raided. Thank the Lord it never happened.

After being at the castle for several months, I was called to the company commander's office and told I had once again been chosen to be promoted to lance-corporal. I did not refuse. Being due for some leave, whilst I was there I then asked the company commander if it was possible for me to take my leave. I think this decided him to revoke the offer as I did not hear any more about the promotion. I was not sorry.

It was then we were told we were being moved to Redcar which is in Yorkshire. No reason was given for the move and we had to travel in convoy. The truck I was given was a guy open truck. It was loaded with boxes and was a difficult truck to drive. When we were almost ready to leave, the officer in charge informed us that we were no longer going to Redcar - that would come later. Instead, we left for a place called Honiton, in Devon.

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