大象传媒

The year, 1951-when all young men aged 18 were called up to do National Service, and I was no exception. I landed in Oswestrey in the afternoon, to be met at the station by a load of sergeants yelling their heads off at everybody!
Eventually we reached the camp and were put in individual huts, after this we were issued with our uniforms -tin hats etc.we had a meal, bully beef and mash, followed by rice pud. Late that night we got to bed, I must have fallen straight to sleep, next thing I remember a sergeant yelling `Wakey Wakey`and we all had to scramble to the wash room and get into our ill fitting uniforms, and paraded outside-we must have looked a right dozy lot!
This is the start of My Story in The Royal Artillery- two weeks into training I was woken by the usual sound of the sergeant-shouting Wakey Wakey-I went to speak to my mate in the next bed and found I could not speak, I had lost my voice! I think it was the constant rain we had the procedure was, when you were ill you had to go to the medical room, taking a small wash bag with soap -towel, shaving items etc. You had to stand outside the medical room until called
in, giving the sergeant on the door name and number. When the medical officer saw me he told me I had laryngitis and I would have to stay in the hospital for approx. two weeks the things that happened in the hospital is unbelievable but too long to tell here.
Finally the day came and the medical officer released me and to my surprise he handed me a travel warrant to go home for a week鈥檚 leave, to Dunstable where I lived.
On reaching home my mother was out at work, my sister was still at school and I had to stop with my neighbour, as I had no key to get in- till mum came home. When my mother came home she had a shock when she saw me, then she showed me the letter she had received from the medical officer, on it, it stated as far as memory goes that your son has been placed in a military hospital
not stating what was wrong with me-and at the bottom of the letter saying `in case of death- we will inform you`
You can well imagine how my mother felt.
I had a week at home then returned to camp taking the letter with me. I got permission to see one of the leading officers and showed him the letter, I told him my mother lived with just my sister as my father had died in the army during the war, and I wanted to know what was going on- I was told by the officer that this was how things were done, and he could do nothing about it, which to this very day I still think is a disgrace. After training they sent me to Cyprus to Famagusta, which I thought was very nice and a bit different to training, {up at 6 finish at 12, unless on guard duty} after a few weeks of having white knees I had brown ones!
This was how it stayed for approx. 18 months. Then I volunteered to go to Tripoli with a mate to join a new battery- 181 Light Mortar Battery- but unknown to me while I鈥檇 volunteered to go to Tripoli, the battery had been moved to the Canal Zone in Egypt!
I can tell you it was a little different to Cyprus! Sand everywhere, in your food 鈥搃n your bed-and unmentionable places! Which I will leave to your imagination.
Eventually my 2 years National Service came to an end, I flew home in a Hermes aeroplane to Blackbush aerodrome, then on to Woolwich where I was finally demobbed to go into the Dunstable T A for 3 years, and that ends my story of my National Service.
I hope by reading this it has bought back many memories for you if you were a National Serviceman or regular soldier.

After 50 odd years the War Office decided to give all those that served in the Canal Zone Crisis a Canal Zone Medal. Unfortunately, there are a lot of men that are not around now to receive it.
Mick Carter

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