大象传媒

This story has been written onto the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by CSV Storygatherer Sandra Ramsay on behalf of Jack William Bottrill. They fully understand the terms and conditions of this site.

I was stationed in Palestine before being sent to the western desert where I was wounded.
When I came out of hospital I was moved to the Base Unit in Egypt, where there were several different regiments. Before long we were rushed off to Iraq as the Germans were very close to Moscow. I transferred to the Service Corps, HQ Car Company, where I was given the task of driving Brigadiers to Persia. (Now Iran.)
On one occasion, I was a corporal at the time, a union jack was put onto one of the cars I was to drive, although I wasn鈥檛 told where we were going. It turned out myself and a colleague were being used as decoys, making the enemy think it was Churchill in the car, while Churchill himself was being driven in a pick up truck to a vital meeting with President Roosevelt and Stalin.
I also saw the same trick being used with a decoy Montgomery in the desert, while the real thing was at the second front.
I came home in November 1944 to spend my first Christmas at home since 1938. I went on to Blackwell Camp in Newcastle and almost immediately received a message to go to Epping Forest, where I was to pick up a unit and go on to Normandy, a place I was sent to twice in all.
I finished up in Berlin in April 1945, where I was responsible for getting displaced persons to Hanover. I was demobbed in March 1946 after a total of eight years service.
Unfortunately my brother never returned, he had been killed at the age of 19.

My Colonel had promised me he would get me home safely, and he did.

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