- Contributed by听
- Rutland Memories
- People in story:听
- M.E. 'Griff' Griffin
- Location of story:听
- Austria
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A3566964
- Contributed on:听
- 24 January 2005
As told by Mr Griffin to Rutland Library Service.
Mr Griffin served with the 2nd Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment in B Company Transport from Christmas 1942 until March 1946. He was known as Speedy because of his skills on the football field.
In Austria we were based in Deutschlandsberg and got to know the civilians well. One day the Company Commander said that he had bought a field of potatoes but we only had spades and entrenching tools to dig up all the potatoes. However we managed and took them back to a shed by the hotel.
Several weeks later the cook sergeant said to me, 鈥淗ey up Speedy, can鈥檛 you do anything 鈥 the fellows are fed up with peeling spuds鈥. So I got to work and it took me about a week. I started with a small dustbin and lined the sides with sheets of tin, which I hammered with nails so that it was like a nutmeg grater. Then I put a platform in the bottom with a shaft to revolve it and a system of pulleys and a fan belt so that when you turned the handle it turned the platform. There was a hosepipe on top leading to the drain. And lo and behold in 20 minutes this contraption had grated enough potatoes for the whole company! Everyone was pleased and I got made Battalion Transport Sergeant.
The second in command (who was from Scotland) came to have a look at Sergeant Speedy鈥檚 masterpiece. Later after I left the Army I went to work in Ayston in Rutland for Major Gee with whom I served in North Africa. I noticed that his wife had a similar gadget and I turned it over 鈥 on the bottom it said 鈥楳ade in Scotland鈥.
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