大象传媒

Firstly my story is about the existence of about 100 of us new RAF lads mainly aged between 19 and 21 years in Iraq. We did eight months training in England, discipline and a 17-week course to learn your selected trade.

A sergeant suggested I should take an exam because of my good drawing, and then go on to be leading air craftsman. I passed the test but that made no difference to me. I still have my course book. After the course, within about a couple of months, we were making our various ways to the 鈥淲indsor Castle鈥� near Glasgow to go to Basra in south Iraq. After this episode we go to Palestine, which is now Israel and that will make 3 鈥淏etter Born Lucky Than Rich鈥� episodes in this story.

The 鈥淲indsor Castle鈥� was branched off its course to Iraq to go to Bombay in India to have a large repair done, caused by the 鈥淲arwick Castle鈥� (in the fog), crashing into us.

We slept in our boat for five days and then we boarded a smaller boat and set off to go to Iraq with 1500 miles to go. We arrived in Basra ok. The second day there, a corporal took us around the camp, and as we approached the bottom end I noticed a large plaque with about 200 names on it. I said to the corporal 鈥渢here were a lot of casualties in the past war鈥� and he replied, 鈥� They are not casualties鈥�. I said 鈥渨hat were they then鈥�. He replied 鈥渢hey just died鈥� things went very quiet.

Little did we know, it would not be long before we knew how they died.
Our C.O was a horrible bully as anyone would tell you, and before we built the first bomber, I cannot say what he shouted at us because no one would believe me.

I can tell you that Lord Trenchard flew in to see us and we were standing to attention with the C.O behind us. From his Dais 50 yards away.

Lord Trenchard said come round me chaps, and we dare not move, that was the fear we had of our O.C, but Lord Trenchard said come on boys I want you to gather round me, that gave us a good lift and we moved.

Basra is on the Gulf and is classed as 鈥榖elow sea level,鈥� and no doubt is the reason for the high temperature and high humidity. An American weather station near us for 3 or 4 weeks informed us that they have recorded 145F during the day and the highest temperature at night was 112F. We worked at the old Basra airport in aeroplane hangers 2 miles from Billets, rebuilding Boston bombers coming up the gulf stripped of their heavy parts. We only wear shorts and we sweat all day, everyday. At night we move our bed to the sand outside (too hot inside the Billet). Up at 3:00am and the sun is very hot then, yes at 3:00am, have a wash in a sort of shed with about 15 taps in it, then breakfast then its get on the lorries to the drome and start work at 4:00am until 12:00 noon, and that鈥檚 another 8 hours of constant sweating, then back to the camp, have dinner and then into our Billet at 1:00pm. But we are confined in the Billet until 5:00pm. That is strict orders from HQ for

several months because of the immense heat and humidity, so we again sweat for 4 more hours inside and you can do nothing to beat it.

We never pass water and no one would be over 7 stone. Illnesses you will get not may are:

Dysentery
Diarrhoea
Sunstroke
Prickly heat
Sand fly fever
Malaria
Bites and scratches go septic
Pneumonia
Benny Benny
And humidity that often nearly stopped you breathing

Crabs in funny places (private parts) about 30 of them 1/8 inch square, for that it was rub in ointment for a week, we all got that one. If you were fairly bad you carried on but if you were seriously ill you went to the hospital. The average illness you got would be 5 or 6 in one year and we visited some serious ones in hospital, a good walk away.

Asking later how they were we were told they had gone to Iran to recuperate, but we wondered why Iran? Northern Iraq has less humidity and was Iran and Iraq friendly then? We wondered and thought about the plaque we saw with the 200 names on it, we struggled health wise and were certain why the names were on that plaque.

About 3 week before we moved to Palestine, we were taken to Habanya in the very north of Iraq, because we were told Palestine were not ready for us. But we thought it was because of our poor health situation, they were trying to build us up. There was a large lake at Habanya and a Sunderland flying boat landed on it, and no other planes, so why tell us the very ill had gone to Iran when Habanya was available? Palestine busses called 鈥渆gged鈥� 4 of them I think, through the desert, collected us and we slept in the busses when we stopped at night.

Taking 4 days through Jordan to Lydda (lod in the bible) in Palestine.
Oranges were the first thoughts in our minds, because we were never given any fruit in Iraq and we really were desperate for some, we were lucky, 戮 of a mile away from our Billets were 200 trees mainly oranges but some grapefruit, they could not export them because of the war, six of us filled our kit bags and our Billet all had a long awaited tuck in. We were enjoying working on 4 engine Liberators and the temperature at about 100F was no bother at all,

I taught those in our Billet to play bowls with oranges and grapefruits after moving our beds sideways, later in life I played for Lincolnshire for many years and I played for England for 9 years, good practice, play with the bowls and then eat them!

After about 3 months at Lydda 8 of us were taken to Ramat David, 60 miles north of Lydda and 5 miles from Nazareth because the Germans were trying to capture the island of KOS near Turkey, we were to load twin-engine planes with items to keep our forces on the island. We were loading 鈥淚ndia鈥� motorbikes on the plane and the commanding officer came to us and asked If any one of us was a clerk pre war, and I was the only one. I was to help him in the office as he would be busy and out of his office a lot of the time, I would have to go through his mail and keep his files in order, check the weather forecast and answer the phone if he was out. He was a pleasure to work under and a true gentleman.

One day he came to the office and said to me 鈥� I am going to make a phone call and I want you to keep this to yourself and not tell anyone, I promised I would and I have kept that, as you can tell, for many years. I cannot remember his name but I know his father was high up in the British government, I would only tell his family if they wanted me to.

The eight of us were back in Lydda after 2 months as the German鈥檚 were beaten on the island. On our camp notice board it said 鈥� If anybody would like to go to TELAVIV for a swim at the weekend put your name on the board鈥�, four of us decided to go (it was 20 miles from the camp). On the lorry there was 25, we splashed about having a natter in the sea and there was a strong undercurrent and little pebbles were hitting our legs and pushing us from the beach to deeper water, Daniels said 鈥淢y leg has gone鈥� and we all said 鈥渢ell us where it has gone and we will try to find it鈥� and we were drifting further out and he said 鈥淚 cant move my leg at all鈥� we rushed to him as he was panicking and we were all trying to hold him up, we passed a sign saying 鈥淒anger do not pass this point鈥� shortly after that Taff Davies said 鈥� I will go and get some help鈥� then left Ken George and me, taking it in turns to hold Daniels up under his chin. It must have been half a mile out when Ken said to me 鈥� I will have to go Jim, I can鈥檛 manage anymore鈥�. I said ok mate and he swam away. I am the sort that does not panic under any circumstance because if you do your system tightens up and you lose your strength. The waves were small, but I couldn鈥檛 see any land, so I held him up with one hand under his chin, and the other hand treading water and vice versa.

I was talking to Daniel鈥檚 but he didn鈥檛 seem to reply, and the water was slapping our chins all the time, it was thinking time for me 鈥� the big hole in the Windsor Castle鈥� then 鈥� the submarine that was 陆 a mile at the back of us, Basra in Iraq tried hard to finish us, and I don鈥檛 think we all got through! We are enjoying our work on the bombers, and a nice hot climate, what more could you ask for, so I must keep going for Daniel鈥檚 sake and I told him I shall stop with him right through what ever happens. I was starting to think 鈥榠s any help coming because we must be a mile away.鈥�

When help did arrive there were two lads, and each of them had a sort of pontoon and they were standing up straight on them and pushing them with a large oar, Daniel鈥檚 was lifted into one and I got into the other. When we arrived back they took Daniel鈥檚 into a tent for half an hour, we waited on the beach and eventually he had very bad cramp. I had a camera with me so we asked one of our mates to take a photograph of the 4 of us (see picture), when the film was developed they (three men) signed the back of the photograph and Daniel鈥檚 wrote 鈥済reater love hath no man than to lay down his life for another鈥� I just thought it was my duty, I don鈥檛 think we told any one in camp about the episode.

Fifteen years ago me and my wife were driving to Swansea to see my wife鈥檚 sister because she had moved from Boston, we had entered Wales and I noticed a sign saying 鈥楻ISCA 5 MILES鈥� I remembered that Davies lived there and we decided to try and find him. We went to a ironmonger shop and he said that there were too many with that name so we decided that was it. We were about 80 yards away and the ironmonger man was calling us back, he said if this old lady can鈥檛 help you no one can. I told the lady he was tall and had dark hair and he was a good cricketer, and she said I know a tall man but he plays bowls not cricket, I said I taught him bowls with oranges and grapefruits in Palestine. She knew where he lived and we waited there and she collected him from the steel works and it was he. He asked me to correct his bowls delivery and I did and I am still coaching bowls.

He told me Ken George had been Mayor of Cowbridge (Wales), so I wrote a letter to the present Mayor asking him would he please deliver to Ken George the letter inside if he knows him. He did deliver it for me and he had been the Mayor of Cowbridge and Ken told me he had 3 businesses, but he has emphysema, but he manages to drive his car. No one mentioned the Middle East, I tried to find Daniel鈥檚 but I had no luck and no body else knew anything of him, I know that Daniel鈥檚 lived in a town near Birmingham (Edgbaston) before the war, but he told me he was in Canada with the RAF but thought we were having a rough time, so he decided to be transferred to the Middle East, but I could not work that out.

Jim Grigor
Boston
Lincs

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