大象传媒

1939

War was declared on 3rd September, 1939. On 16th September, I had my nineteenth birthday so like other foolhardy young men, I volunteered for the Royal Engineers. The recruiting officer said "too young" but made a note for me to be called up for training when I was twenty.

At this time I was employed in the Architects Department of the LCC (London County Council) as a junior Technical Assistant in the Structural Engineering Division. When the war started, the Council, decided to transfer the whole of the Architects Department, to the London Fire Brigade, for use as they wished. I was sent to Southwark Fire Station. I had not been trained in fire-fighting so could not be used as a fireman. I was given a 500 cc Triumph Speed Twin motor cycle and used as a dispatch rider taking messages between HQ and various local fire stations. Unfortunately, this delightful life (I was mad keen on motor cycles at the time) did not last long. I think the Fire Brigades Union objected to a 'clerical wallah' doing a fireman out of a job.

Anyway, I lost this job, but instead of being transferred to the National Fire Service (the NFS) for training as an auxiliary fireman, as might be expected, I was instead posted to 'D' Depot, of the NFS. This turned out to be a small unit held in reserve in Sydenham Girls School. (No girls: They had all been evacuated). With six others I was employed throughout the 'Phoney War' as an accountant, checking pay rolls and other documents to ensure that each fireman in the SE District of London received his correct pay and allowances after deduction of Income Tax, National Insurance contributions etc., etc. An interesting, but unusual job to give to a junior Technical Assistant.

1940

The 鈥楶honey War鈥� continued until August 1940. The real war, for me, started in earnest in early September 1940 with the air-raids over London. I was a 鈥榝ire watcher鈥� and an assistant Air Raid Warden. The bombing got worse and worse, and the night of September 15th was hell, with shrapnel and incendiary bombs coming down all around. The house opposite ours was completely demolished by a high-explosive bomb while I was down the road in somebody鈥檚 attic dealing with an incendiary bomb and the resultant fire before it could spread to the rest of the house.

Next day was my 20th Birthday, and I had to report to No. 2 Royal Engineer Training Battalion, at Newark in Nottinghamshire, and although I was 鈥榠n the army now鈥�, it was like going from war to peace. It was so peaceful and quiet up there after being in London for so long.

The next four months were spent in 鈥楽quare Bashing鈥� (Infantry Drill), assault courses, learning knots and lashings etc., elementary bridge techniques etc., etc.

1941

When the course finished in January 1941, I don鈥檛 think the officers in charge could decide what to do with me. Most of the other Sappers were coal miners or strong burly types and they could be sent to Field or Field Park Companies but I and a few others looked 鈥榳eedy鈥� in comparison and we remained in the HQ Company of the training battalion doing odd duties as required - peeling 鈥榮puds鈥� etc in the cook house or acting as 鈥榮anitary wallah鈥�, doing guard duties etc. It wasn鈥檛 what I joined the army for but I made the best of a bad job.

One day in February, on receipt of a telegram from the War Office, I was sent down to London for an interview with Brigadier Bateman. I had originally applied for Works Services as a structural designer, so I thought this was my chance at last. I had heard that the Brigadier was, in civilian life, a famous cartoonist who made wonderful caricatures of people, so I could picture him in change of engineers and designers engaged on designs for bridging equipment, huts, camps, harbors etc.

Imagine my surprise then, when during my interview I was asked questions about my interests in steam engines, cars, motor cycles and other mechanical and electrical devices and what experience I had in taking them apart. There were about a dozen other candidates for this very secret job and we were told not to mention the interview to anyone else. Those selected would be told what the job was and would be asked to volunteer. I was one of those selected and the job turned out to be experimental bomb-disposal.

I was posted to an ordinary Bomb Disposal Company for 鈥楶ay and Rations鈥� only. Once again the Officers and N.C.O鈥檚 didn鈥檛 know how to deal with us. There were six of us, and each day we left Company Headquarters in Ealing in our own truck and drove to Richmond Park where we were expected to dismantle an unexploded German Bomb to see what made it 鈥榯ick鈥� and report back to the War Office as to the type of fuse and any 鈥榖ooby traps鈥� fitted. I enjoyed the work and we soon devised a 鈥榮afe鈥� method of working. One of us went down into the hole where the bomb was and reported to the others by field telephone, exactly what we were doing to carefully remove the fuse without disturbing the booby traps.

All went well until May when I broke my leg in a motor bike accident. After a six month absence, I returned to duty at Ealing to find that a bomb had gone off and someone had been killed. Also, on my return, I was told that our work had changed. Scientists working at E.R.A. research laboratories had developed a method of locating buried unexploded bombs and they needed our help to ensure that the final 鈥榖omb locator鈥� was a practical tool for use in the field. By the end of the year we had completed the work.

Extracts from letters I sent to my wife whilst I was serving with Chindits in Burma and Malaya :

May 9th, 1945. In India.

Today is V.E. Day, I think everybody out here is very happy and pleased about the victory in the West, it means a great deal to all of us. Our homes and the people we love are safe, that is the main thing. We are hoping, that after V.E. Day, people at home will not think the war is over and stop working hard or start having those threatened strikes. We are hoping that everybody at home will join with us in making a supreme effort to beat the Japs, so that the final V. Day will be something worth celebrating. If we get cracking now I do not think it will last too long. The 14th Army is doing wonders now, when we get more armies out here, then we really can get going. It is amazing, when you think that the biggest war front of all, has only had one army holding it. Oh! the news will certainly be different when we have more troops and equipment out here. We will go through the Japs like a dose of salts.

Did I ever tell you the story of Lord Wavell鈥檚 son? He, Captain Wavell, was with us in Burma. He was an infantry officer in the unit I was with. During the battle of Mogaung, he was hit in the wrist with an explosive bullet (a dastardly Jap invention: The bullet explodes on impact and makes a big hole in you). In this case, it blew his hand off and when I saw him immediately afterwards, it was just hanging on by a strap of skin at the back of his wrist. The M.O. patched it up, cut the hand off and bound the stump with tar etc., but as the wound was very dirty and had a bit of bullet in it he said that Captain Wavell must be immediately evacuated or he may lose his arm. Well we had built a light plane strip by this time, out of tree trunks and coconut matting etc., (the ground was flooded), and after signals were sent to his father etc., the planes began to come in. He refused to go, and said he鈥檇 take his turn with the rest of the causalities. There were many badly wounded men to be flown out and so plane after plane, that had been sent for him, carried many of his comrades to safety. He steadily refused to go, while his mother and father got more and more anxious and more and more planes were sent in to us. Of course, it was a Godsend to us and as he said, 鈥淟et me stay, while I鈥檓 here they will continue to send planes鈥�. Finally, one day long after his proper turn had come and gone, the Brigadier received a direct order, by wireless, from Lord Wavell to send him out. He went and is now quite fit and has an artificial hand with which he can do almost anything. He was a very brave man and well liked by all his men. He was always encouraging them and helping them. He carried the same pack as the rest of us and never had any privileges because he was the son of the Commander in Chief. When he was hit, he was leading an attack with his platoon.

March 25th. 1946. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.

Jeff called for me at 2 o'clock and we went to Klang (about 23 miles away) to see a friend. We had just reached the mess when it started teaming with rain. So we stayed and had tea with him. When the rain stopped, about 5 pm, we went down to Klang Airfield to try and get some sheet aluminum. Why? Well it was like this. Terry's fiancee, Peggy, has on her ward a little Malaysian boy of about 9 years, who has had to have his leg amputated. The stump is now well and strong enough to have an artificial leg fitted. The hospital carpenter made a wooden one, but it is far too heavy and so Peggy asked me if I could do anything about it. I've seen the boy, measured him up, roughly designed the leg and now I am looking for suitable material. We had a good look around Klang Airfield but we could not find anything suitable.

That was yesterday, this morning, after clearing up office work, I managed to get out for an hour. I borrowed a truck and went out to K.L. Airport. There I managed to get some sheet aluminium, which will just do the job nicely. Now I will have to get down to properly designing it and then, with the help of Ted and his Workshops, I will have to make the darn thing. Actually I am quite pleased because it's an interesting job, will give me something to do, and the little Malaysian boy is such a sweet kiddy, with a lovely happy disposition, that I want to do it for him anyway. He's a darling and its such a pity that he has to go through life with only one leg. He does not realise that yet, at least, I think he doesn't, I believe he thinks the leg will grow again. The leg I am making will last him a few years, as I am making it adjustable, so that it can be lengthened. It will not last forever though, and he will have to buy a proper one later on when he is bigger.

You will want to know how he lost his leg, I suppose. Well he had tuberculosis of the knee in 1943. If the Japs had operated they would have saved his leg but they refused and only offered to cut the leg off without anesthetic. His parents would not allow that, so he just waited until the British landed. By that time it was too far gone, so all the surgeon could do was to amputate it. This afternoon, I had nothing to do in the office, so I went to the Engineering Supply Depot, and made drawings of my "wooden leg". I am all ready to start now and I am afraid it will all have to be evening work and so may affect one or two of your letters. Hope you don't mind but he's a dear little kiddy and just think how you would feel if it were our son, David.

31st March: This morning I fixed the little boy's leg and its a really good job, although I say it myself. It fits him now and yet is adjustable to fit him for some time.

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