大象传媒

This story has been written onto the 大象传媒 Peoples War site by CSV Storygatherer Ian Hollins on behalf of Roy Bertram Downing. The story has been added to the site with his permission. And Roy Bertram Downing fully understands the terms and conditions of the site.

My war began in August, 1939, when as a 13year old schoolboy I was camping with a party from my school with the Hitler Youth Organisation on the banks of the River Mosel in Germany not far from the Luxembourg border. Throughout our stay there we had all had a very active and friendly time with the German boys and their leaders. Our activities covered many sports including swimming in the river, climbing the mountains, football and rounders, and rowing up river in a large rowboat and returning down the river singing English and German songs. I was fortunate that I had my piano accordion with me and together with a German boy who also had an accordion we played while the rest of the boat sang in unison. It was a very moving experience and they even taught me to play the Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel) As boys on holiday we were not really aware of the current political situation in Europe, although it was noticeable that German fighter planes were daily flying overhead and male civilians were marching eastwards along the road on the other side of the river each holding attach茅 cases. We were aware whilst we were there that the Germans had signed a non aggression pact with Russia. That night a German boy camper threw an apple core into our tent and said 'Give that to Mr. Chamberlain' but this was the only incident of this type we experienced. On the Saturday night 2nd September, 1939, a German boy was calling out for any English boy that was awake stating that he had a telegram for our camp leader who was on the other side of the river. I was awake at that time and joined the German boy, both in our pyjamas, and rowed across the river to the Beer Garden Hotel where the camp leaders were having a meal. While waiting for the telegram to be taken to our camp leader we were taken down to the cellar and given a soft drink. At this point the German boy said to me 'I hope it is not war, war is bad for everyone'. I have always remembered his words and still wonder if that young German boy survived the war as I did.
The telegram was from the British Consul in Cologne ordering us to return to England immediately and so our holiday came to an abrupt end and we arrived home late on the Sunday night 3 days before Germany invaded Poland and a week before we declared war on Germany. We probably just missed being interned in Germany for the rest of the war. On Sunday 3rd September, 1939, when war was declared, I was evacuated along with my Mother and twin sister to the village of ToIlesbury in Essex where we were first billeted in a large house with an elderly couple and it was clear from the start that it was going to be too much for them to cope with three more persons in the house and soon afterwards we moved billet where we stayed until we returned home to Woodford just before Christmas 1939 where we stayed despite the blitz.
During the time we were evacuated to Tollesbury my father who was a carpenter and joiner by trade was working away from home helping to build the many army camps around the country and so even when we returned home we saw him very few times and this was a great strain for our Mother during this period. Since I was now 14 years of age I decided I should find a job and so it was that I started my first job under the District Engineer Mr. Maurice Finch, M.B.E. in the East End of London as a Boy Messenger in the local office of the Metropolitan Water Board in the area now seen on televisions Eastenders programme formerly East and West Ham. Having joined the Air Training Corp in 1940 I believed I was now proficient at aircraft recognition so apart from my other duties of tea boy and runabout I was detailed to climb the three storeys to the roof whenever the air raid siren sounded to await and report upon whose aircraft were coming. On most occasions I was right but there was one occasion when I was wrong and I jumped down the three flights of stairs as the bombs were falling. The MWB Office was some 6 miles from my home and so I cycled to work each day since my wage at the beginning was only fourteen shillings a week (old money) and I wanted to help contribute to the family income which was very limited in those days. I remember on several occasions while cycling to and from work during air raids I was forced to take cover to avoid injury from falling shrapnel from the anti aircraft gunfire. I still have my RPW (Repair Party Water) Tin Helmet issued to me when I joined the MWB and gasmask. During the Blitz there was serious bombing of our water district resulting in many water mains being damaged. On the 6th September, 1,940, there was a total of 12hours and ten minutes of air raid warning periods throughout the 24 hours and a total of 86 water mains from 3 inch to 36 inch diameter were damaged by enemy action on our district alone. We were hard pressed to maintain the local water supplies for the fire fighters. One of my jobs was as a junior bomb hole expert where I was required to work with a senior engineer visiting the sites of bomb damage to our water mains and to prepare a repair programme in conjunction with other damaged services such as sewers, gas mains, electricity cables and telephone lines. The deepest services had to be repaired first followed by the others. In the case of damage to both sewers and water mains the water mains had also to be sterilised before being returned to service. I kept a record of all the air raid periods in the district and the damage sustained and this was also in graph form which I still have. I also have a number of war mementos including part fired incendiary bombs, pieces of German V2 Rocket with German writing on it, and a variety of other items. The District Engineer Mr. Maurice Finch under whom I served from February 1940 to June 1944 when I joined the RAF was awarded an MBE for his wartime services and led the water contingent in the London Victory Parade. A great boss.
I joined the Air Training Corp 241 Squadron Wanstead and Woodford (Winston Churchills鈥� constituency) in early 1940 and spent every free hour attending training classes in signals, mathematics, navigation, meteorology, aircraft recognition, engines, anti-gas, law and admin, hygiene, as well as drill and physical training. My progress in the ATC was recorded on my leaving certificate of service as follows: 'An outstanding cadet with marked ability to lead, and possessing strong personality. He has acted as Drum-Major to the Wing Band for 20 months, and under his
leadership the band has attained a high standard. He is, an accomplished and natural musician, a good sportsman, and an all-round athlete'.
I volunteered for the RAF for aircrew on the 1st April, 1943, when I reached the minimum age of seventeen and a quarter years and was accepted by the aircrew selection board for PNB duties on the 13th May, 1943. Unfortunately due to the number of volunteers wanting to join the RAF as aircrew I was not called up until late June 1944. During my 3 and a half years service in the ATC F.Lt Freddie Wood was one of many good officers giving their time to our training for the RAF. He was later, in 1953, awarded an MBE for his work during the Canvey Island East Coast floods.
When I was finally called up I was posted initially to barrack flats in St.Johns Wood North London. This was at the time of the V1 鈥淒oodlebug鈥� attacks and once again I became a roof spotter listening out for Doodlebugs and reporting any close threats to the controller down below. Also at this time I spent many hours at Lords Cricket Ground doing Physical Training as well as 'Square Bashing'. One day four of us were detailed to report to Pinewood Film Studios which meant travelling by bus to Baker Street Station and on to the London Underground train to Uxbridge and finally by bus to the end of Pinewood Lane followed by a walk up the lane of a mile. The whole of Pinewood was taken over by the RAF during the war and at the time of our arrival they were making a film about aircrew training entitled 'Journey Together' with Edward G. Robinson and Richard Attenborough as the stars with the Boulting Brothers as joint film directors. We four 'volunteers' were to act as film extras and to undertake a variety of parts. When we arrived at Pinewood we were asked if we had brought any food rations with us and since the reply was negative/one of us (me) had to return to St.Johns Wood to collect our food. I was given a large cardboard box full of food which included sugar, rice, cheese, bacon, eggs, and tea. I then made my way back to Pinewood but just as I was alighting from the bus at the end of Pinewood Lane the bottom of the box fell out and the contents spread out all over the road, which had just been gritted, much to the bewilderment of a bus queue of ladies who had probably never seen so much food in years.
The sequel to this whole episode was that having collected the food and grit from the road surface I walked the mile up Pinewood Lane to the studios and quietly put the box and contents in the 'cookhouse', and we had cheese sandwiches for lunch! In more recent times my wife presented me with a video of the film 'Journey Together' and I am still searching for my appearance as a promising star of the screen! From St.Johns Wood I was posted to ITW at Torquay where I was billeted in a seafront hotel (Ramleh Hotel) at nearby Paignton. The beach was just across the road from the Hotel but the barbed wire and tank traps along the beach prevented us from swimming. One highlight of my stay in Paignton was meeting the former WorId Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey who was an officer in the U.S.Navy and was stationed nearby. I still have his autograph as a reminder of the meeting. By this time most of the American Army had landed in Normandy and were engaged with our own Forces in fighting the Germans in France. We were however aware daily of the RAF and US Air Force bombing sorties flying overhead across the English Channel.
Our training continued but at a slower pace and we were able to take short spells of leave when I took the opportunity to travel home by train from Paignton to London. It was during one of these periods of leave when walking home from a local dance that I saw several V2 rockets falling to earth in the night sky, their red nosed heads being quite visible in the clear dark skies. It was a horrifying experience to follow the rocket down to earth in the distance over London and to witness the flash of the explosion, and to feel so helpless to do anything.
With a decreasing demand for Aircrew those of us who were previously in what was a reserved occupation were given the opportunity to apply for an early Class B release which I did and was eventually demobbed complete with demob suit, overcoat, trilby hat, etc., and returned to civvy street to resume my training as a civil engineer with the Metropolitan Water Board.

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