大象传媒

Mine was a Territorial Regiment called up at the threat of war, we had enough equipment to compliment our training sessions in peace time but totally inadequate for a war so work had to be found to occupy our time.
One of the jobs that was allocated to my Regiment(2nd Northant Yeomanry) was the supplying of one squadron at the time was to do Guard Duties at Wyton Aerodrome close to Huntingdon using the gate and guard room on Huntingdon. The R.A.F. occupied the main gate known as the Blenhum Gate they were equipped with a Short nose Blenheim Height bomber aircraft
My squadron was "A" and our tour of duty was a period of time before and after Christmas 1939 in to the early part of 1940. Most people will remember during that period of the very bad winter, everywhere being snow bound for many weeks.
My story and experience was during this tour of duty when the big R.A.F. mission was made to bomb the Kiel canal. I understood that the equipment of planes at Wyton was referred to a Half wing (an R.A.F. referemce to size). We had heard the raid was considered to be a success but unfortunately there had been casualties.
Now most of our guard duties were known as prowlers where we had no fixed post but covered a given area of responsibility by prowling equipped with a rifle bayonet. 50 rounds of ammunition, gas mask, steel helmet and gas cape.

On this particular duty it coverd three items, one was several imemilary bomb dumps, at the other end was the lorry park in the middle there was a square building, " the motuary ", this is the object of my story!! To recover the total area were 2men who prowled seperatley from both ends and met at the 'morgue' about every twenty minutes, on one of our meetings we walked around the morgue and noticed the door wasn't fully closed (normally it was always locked) we pushed the door open switched on the light and the shock of our lives!!
Insidse were benches and several of these were dead airman having got over our shock we just stood there in silence when suddenly we heard what sounded like a sigh!! something you may do in your sleep but theses weren't sleeping.

Thinking one may still be alive we contacted our guard-room who alerted the main RAF gate who alerted the Medical officer and an inspection was made and statements taken to explain how we had come to open the door to what should have been locked.

A few days later we were told to put on our best battle dress and were taken to meet the RAF commander who first congratulated us and thanked us, the RAF medical officer then explained that until a body had hadall openings 'plugged' such as the ears , nose, mouth and any other parts, they enabled games trapped inside the body to escape? this is what we had heard.
Not a sigh but my first contact with death.
In WWII

Reg

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