大象传媒

This story has been added to the Pewople's War Website by CSV Volunteer, Ann Toomey, on behalf of the author Mr. Norman Grey, who fully understands the terms qnd conditions of the site.

I have various memories of World War 2 and I will give them to you as I remember them.

n 1942, when I was 22 years old I volunteered to join the RAF and went into 341 Squadron (Uxbridge)

I didn't get the King's shilling as I was a volunreer . I did an engineering course, flight mechanic air frames and then went to the Midlands and also Harlech.

On one occasion a chap fell off his bike and broke his wrist and he was posted, so they sent a replacement - guess who - "me". I was sent to Perranporth where there were three squadrons - 341, 340 and 329 wing second tactical air force.

My wife was in the Army in May 1942, so I was in the RAF and she was in the ATS. When we got married I think I had a five day pass and then we didn't see each other for three years.

I left from the Isle of Wight - after a couple of days we arrived at Aramanche (Mulberry Harbour). On the way there, on the boat, we were having brekfast down below when there was a big bang - we had already been told that we were in range of German guns on the coast. Panic stations - after the explosion, when all the saliors started rolling about with laughter - we discovered it had been a magnetic mine going off.

At Aramanche we stayed near Bayeaux, then we moved to Colne and then Lille, next place ws Wyvellcom (nr the War Memorial - we were the first troops they had seen and when we pulled up everyone came out cheering, chucking bottles of beer.

From there we went via the Somme to Antwerp, all in one day, this was in the September or October. We were based on a little aerodrome (or field) in Antwerp for Christmas. Prior to Christmas the Squadron was wiped out twice by V2's.

Bert Nelson was working on the Spit. engine when he said "help me I've been hit - and he had been he had shrapnel in his shoulder. We couldn't make it out as the Spit was on one side and the rocket on the other - the rocket had gone straight through the engine of the Spit. We lost l8 aircraft twice within two weeks, smashed up by rockets. We had to work 24 hours a day. I tasted my first rum ration at 3 o'clock in the morning. The weather was very bad there was a lot of snow and we had to cover the engines up and then every two hours we had to out out, uncover them, start them up and then cover them again. This was to prevent them from icing up.

One night there was a JU38 flying over the aerodrome - when the plane flew over the second time the searchlight picked him up and the boffa gun wiped him out.

We used to go to the cinema in Antwerp - there were two - one called the Rex - not sure of the name of the other. We went to the other cinema on this particular night and were watching Diana Durbin "100 Men and a Girl" - after about 20 minuters there was a big bang, a notice came on the screen - "all service personnel outside with field dressings - direct hit on the Rexz" - weren't we lucky!

From Antwerp, in the snow, we were off to Holland, near the Phillips factory, where there was airfield covered in snow, it was freezing in a wooden hut. Squadron Officer decided he wanted to make an early shout - we all stood there in the freezing cold - as he took the salute he stopped back and fell into a trench full of snow - we didn't have any more early shouts!

After being on guard one night I was having breakfast in the back of the Patrol Room, I looked out for my Spit - it wasn't there. I said to the Flight Engineer - "where is my aircraft" he said its gone off, you had better get form 200 as the pilot has not signed it" - I hadn't refuelled the plane and someone had taken it out - the pilot was court martialled. Another pilot took off and did come back - he said that he had went to put on the jet tank, however instead of a jet tank being uner the plane there was a 500lb bomb - he had dropped the bomb instead of the jet tank over Holland.

145 Wing finished up at Cella and were 6/7km from Belsen, we were asked to each give a blanket so that the ladies in Belsen could make skirts. I did actually go into Belsen.

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