大象传媒

I was called up for the Army in 1940 and was sent to a searchlight regiment. The lights were dotted about the country, mainly around towns and cities most likely to be bombed. I was sent to a site between Portsmouth and Southampton on the edge of the Solent.

We were the poor relations of the Army, short of everything because this country had not prepared for war. A great deal was lost at Dunkirk and most new equipment was being sent to the famous 8th Army fighting Rommel in North Africa.

There was a minimum of nine men on the site, most of us 鈥渋ntakes鈥� (called-up men) and three or four Territorials, no professional soldiers. We had one WW1 American rifle with only nine rounds and a machine-gun with thirty-five rounds, probably effective against one or two paratroopers, although none of the 鈥渋ntake鈥� knew how to use either gun.

The light was served by two spotters with binoculars, three listeners with stethoscopes, a man to guide the light and a searchlight operator 9that was me). All this equipment was WW1 except the lamp itself which was very up-to-date and so big I had to stand inside it to polish the reflector (150cm diameter).

We very seldom illuminated a target, not surprising considering the out-of-date equipment, but I suppose it helped to stop them flying low.

One night they raided Southampton and we heard a plane approaching 鈥� apparently on its way back from Southampton and we tried to illuminate him. This must have annoyed him and apparently he hadn鈥檛 located his target and still had his bombs aboard. He released them and we heard them swishing down. Everyone threw themselves flat on the ground and I took off from my operator鈥檚 seat six foot off the ground, only to be hung up by the strap of my respirator.

The bombs exploded, I managed to free the strap and fell six feet down flat on my face. No-one was hurt and we found out that he had missed us by a few feet, and the site being on the top of a cliff, the bombs had landed on the sandy beach. The only damage was our living-hut was shaken by the blast and all our crockery was lying smashed up on the floor. So, we could boast an illumination and he could go back and say he鈥檇 bombed a searchlight site.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Melita Dennett on behalf of Alan Hill. Alan fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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