大象传媒

At the age of 15 and a bit I had passed the entry exam for No 1 Technical Training School
RAF Halton, and at the end of August 1939 I was told to report for duty. I lived in North Devon and my Mother had arranged for me to be met at Waterloo Station by my Aunty who would put me on a train to Wendover the next day, that being the nearest station to Halton.
I got into a carriage, which was full of Class E reservists (Ex soldiers who were being recalled for service) 鈥淲here are you going Lad 鈥渢hey asked? 鈥淭o join up鈥� I replied.
They all seemed very pleased with my answer. Why should England tremble they said you shall have a beer, they gave me a lot of beer. I was in a poor state by the time we arrived at Waterloo but they found my Aunty and delivered me to her, she, bless her never did tell my Mother of my fall from grace.
I arrived at Halton the next day, and soon had swore my oath and became an Aircraft Apprentice 40th Entry to RAF Halton training to be a Airframe Fitter. I soon learnt the meaning of the word bull and jankers and who to salute and who not to salute. A few days later War was declared and I became one of our brave boys in blue fighting for King and Country.
I was paid 6 shillings a fortnight and 拢5 plus a railway ticket when I went on leave. Once while at home on leave I woke one morning with stomach pains and my Father contacted the nearest Military camp who sent a MO to see me who diagnosed appendicitis鈥檚 and had me sent to No 9 Field General Hospital which was in a large manor house at Tiverton. As they were putting a large pad soaked in chloroform on my face someone said how old are you, 15 I replied and passed out. They had given me far to much chloroform and it was 2days before I fully recovered from it, each time I came around they would ask me how old I was. When they established that I really was 15 I was treated very well indeed.
A week later we were all moved to a hospital in Bath, Plymouth had been bombed and the hospital in Tiverton was needed for the casualties from there. I was soon up and walking around Bath in my hospital blue. One day as I came out of a shop I was confronted by two ladies one of which was Queen Mary who said 鈥� Where were you wounded鈥� I said 鈥淒unkirk your majesty鈥� she turned to the other lady and said 鈥� Oh dear and so young鈥�. She looked exactly like the picture of her and the King that hung on our schoolroom wall. No one would believe me when I told them that I had spoken to Queen Mary. When I arrived back at Halton I found that most of my kit had been stolen, so I was still in trouble.

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