大象传媒

This story was submitted to the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by Wymondham Learning Centre on behalf of Walter and Alice Wade and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Walter was called up in 1939, changing his job from chauffeur/handyman/gardener to Captain Barclay of Colney Hall to become a mechanic in the Royal Army Service Corps.

Adoption

In about 1942 the all male unit, by now stationed in Wolverhampton, was joined by women of the A.T.S. The male officer in charge discussed with the female Sergeant Hunter of the A.T.S. how they could create an atmosphere of mutual respect when men and women had to live closely together in unusual circumstances. So it was that Ruth Last of the A.T.S 鈥榓dopted鈥� me Corporal Wade! The men mostly benefited from having their socks darned. As my contribution I woke my adopter for early duties, counting the beds in the A.T.S. dormitory so I only disturbed one woman with the early wake up call.

An early marriage

In 1942, I married Alice Glister from Hill Farm, Colney. We were both in uniform for the ceremony at Colney Church.

Life on the Road in Germany

As a mechanic to the unit I and my mate would bring up the rear of the convoy and would then help any driver whose lorry had broken down. On one occasion en route for Osnabr眉ck, the mechanic and I found ourselves a long way behind the rest of the convoy at a T. junction. There were no signposts on the roads in Germany, (nor in England), in the war. A lorry was coming along the road in the mist, so I asked my mate to stop it and ask the way. In broken English the driver of the lorry said 鈥渢o Osnabr眉ck鈥� and pointed the way he had come. When my mate climbed back into the cab he was shaking. As the lorry moved past we saw the swastika on its side! Inexplicably, the German did not want a confrontation and gave the right directions.

My duties included moving supplies up to forward troops in the region of the Rhine. On one occasion transporting a large number of smoke bomb drums delivering them to the bank of the Rhine I wondered how they were to be used 鈥� a question answered many years later. A later consignment was 1500 gallon cans of petrol to be delivered to troops on the far side of the Rhine. As I waited to cross the pontoon bridge I looked down at the river and in the gloom in the water I saw a weasel, (an amphibious tank), and in it were Churchill and Montgomery 鈥� or their doubles. This was greeted with incredulity by the other members of the unit, but it happened! Of course doubles were employed during the war to confuse the enemy.

Many, many years later my wife, Alice, and I are living in retirement in Wymondham. Among the other residents I saw a familiar face. This was Ernie Hewson who I had seen occasionally in Wymondham over the years. Reminiscing together, quite by chance a mention of the Rhine reminded Walter of the smoke bomb drums on the bank. 鈥淥h鈥� said Ernie, I was in the royal engineers, and we used those as a smoke screen to build that pontoon bridge! Sadly, although we arranged to meet again to discuss old times, Ernie became ill and died, so it was a very brief encounter.

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