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Medals

Recently, I had occasion to apply for my medals of 39-45 and they had my full records at the — whatever it was I wrote to at the Army Headquarters, and they used my civil number. Everybody had an identity number during the war; mine was AQNW 65/5. There were five of us in the family, 65 was the family number, 65 of whatever group — I don’t know. Rather like the postcode at the moment. It was AQNW 65/5. It was number 5 because I was the youngest in the family. Dad was number 1, mum was number 2, Jessie was number 3, being the oldest child, Rene was number 4 and there was two years between them and then five years between Rene and me as number 5.

I was amazed at what came back. Full details: 19 Ben Levy Street, Poplar E14. Now of course, within the confines — or whatever the word is — of Tower Hamlets. I was born quite close to where the Canary Wharf stands at the moment, which I believe is in the West India Docks, or what used to be known as the West India Docks. It’s where my dad used to work and where I used to drop him every day after the war. He went back to the docks to work as a Docker and I was working close by at W.B. Moore Ltd, the lifting gear specialists, where I picked up most of my engineering of the day.

I’d applied years ago, only qualified for the 39-45 Star; the France and Germany medal and the General War Service medal. They wouldn’t give me the defence medal. It all depended on whether I could get proof of the eighteen months or so that I spent in the Home Guard, which added to the two years or so I spent in England when I was in the Air Force before I went over to Normandy. This made up over three years, which was the qualifying period, for the Defence Medal. Anyway, when I wrote to this Ministry, organisation — Army Records actually, they had it all there. My background details- my QNW 65/5 which I used as my regimental number, which in fact was my civilian identity number. I had to apply for these medals and I turned up wearing the four of them one night. There was something on — some sort of anniversary. Probably it was the anniversary of D-Day or the anniversary of VE-Day, which was May 8, 1945. One of them anyway. I turned up at their house with medals clanking and it must have been then that Jennifer — probably a little bit impressed — I hope, anyway —asked Rob what I did. Which was really sod all, I suppose! Those that did anything didn’t really talk about it.

The France and Germany Star — not the France and Germany medal. There were two stars — two medals — that I wanted. One is the 1945 Star which if you’d been in anything at all. France and Germany Star was a campaign medal for those who were involved in Normandy. A general sort of service medal for anybody who had any sort of uniform on — and the defence medal for those of us who’d done three years of what could be called the defence of the United Kingdom. So that’s sort of straightened that out a bit.

Defence medals were green and red and the general service medal — the red one at the back. The two stars — the 39-45 star; the second one is the France and Germany star is an actual star. The other two are medals. Defence medal for three years’ home service before you ever went where you were going abroad. The other one is the general service medal for anyone who did anything. That’s the last one as you look at it on the right.

I hope you’re interested because they form a fairly large part of my life, from the start of the war, 1939, to November 1946 when I was eventually released. I’ve never been demobbed - I was released. So I can be recalled on Category G — not Z. So they can call me back any time, now. See me clambering over the wings of a present-day Hawk, or whatever they are these days. Or putting those rockets on underneath, because that’s what the armourers are doing at the moment. It’d be interesting. I’d love to get my hands on them. When we were being taught about the guns of the day at the time, there was a ´óÏó´«Ã½ news announcer called Alvar Liddell. They had him on a sort of talk over machine, which was rather like a television set, although it was a self-contained thing on which were threshed up parts of guns: guns all broken down into their tiny component parts. There was one that caused a lot of amusement — it was on the Colt 455 automatic pistol, not a revolver. A revolver has got a chamber that goes round and round. People call everything a revolver. This was a 455 — just under half an inch diameter automatic pistol. And it had in it a part called a barrel link and Alvar Liddell came up in this beautiful Oxford or whatever it was — Cambridge voice — and a barrel link shown in pink. This used to set people rolling about laughing. I suppose it was funny at the day. It just got everybody going round saying ‘the barrel link shown in the pink’ in Alvar Liddell’s voice. And it was just that. A little connecting chain link, chaining the barrel of the pistol, which sort of reciprocated as it fired. Went backwards and forwards anyway. And we cocked the gun, and pushed the next round up the spout and this was held loosely to the body of the handstop by this link. And it was called the barrel link — simple as that.

The guns we had — ordinary 303 rifles, which were very cumbersome, awkward to use in a confined space. So they brought out what I can only describe as a sten gun. It was about the most basic weapon you could probably get but it was very useful and very close hand fighting in jungle warfare. It was only about 2 ft long and it was quite tinny — you could have bought it in Woolworths for 6d a part. That was when Woolworths used to advertise nothing over 6d and you thought you were going to get the whole thing for 6d. But of course, it was 6d for this bit, 6d for that bit — and you had 25/- before you realised it.
(Ted was in hospital suffering from lung cancer when he dictated these stories. He died 24/12/1999.)

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