´óÏó´«Ã½

MEMOIRS OF ARMY LIFE

FROM
CANTERBURY TO COLOGNE Part 1 O
by A.N. PILCHER (JIM) R.A. C. A. & A.A.
(d.o.b.06/i2/1912. d.o.d.19/05/1992.)

part 1 of 3. of

Will that R.S.M. never stop shouting at us. We have been at Canterbury for three weeks now, drilling and marching (square bashing as most soldiers call it), but we were still not up to proper standard according to him.

I never thought what a tough time I was in for prior to my call-up but guess, now that I look back at it, it was the only way to turn out a soldier as a smart soldier and to make him fit enough to go through all the trials of war.

Of course there are also the many funny sides to army life, and one of my first was our third night in Canterbury Barracks. The Cockney lad, evidently one who didn’t like being called up and who was going to do his best to get his ticket out again, roused the whole lot of us about 10.30pm by jumping out of bed brandishing his bayonet and threatening to do the lot of us, especially the Sgt. Major if he appeared at all. Imaging his surprise when the S.M. answered him back, it was really comical and he could not get back into bed quick enough, but he was in front of the officer next morning and it never happened again.

It was very nice being allowed out after three weeks, and you can guess how we felt just to get away from it all for a few hours. We felt very conspicuous in our new uniforms and when we got into a cinema a strong smell of anti-vermin powder from our B.D.’s was very prevalent and I felt very uncomfortable and hot, but after half an hour or so we forgot all that with the usual cat-calls that generally come from the services in a love film.

After many turns of the needle/inoculation/vaccination, etc. I, with many others, was sent to the Drivers Training Regiment at Clevedon near Blackpool. We were very surprised when we arrived as we had left spotless and smart with highly polished brass and Blancoed kit as it should be, and was received by a Sgt. Major who openly laughed at this as there was nothing like it there at all. I rather liked that drivers’ course, learning how to handle army trucks and the mechanics of them.

My next move was rather a shock when we arrived there, and it was a military secret I think as we were not told where we were being taken, but this was just as well I think, otherwise all of us would have deserted. The name of the place certainly brought me to a halt and made me whistle, yes, the place was called Haltwhistle. It was 9pm when we arrived there, raining hard and the wind just biting, with mud nearly up to our knees most times. You can imagine our discomfort in the pitch dark, queuing here for blankets and there for palliasses, and maybe just over 100 yards to take them to our allotted huts through the mud. I was very happy to know that the next morning we were due home for leave, but unfortunately had to come back to it. Yes, my seven days home just flew by and I was back again before I knew or wanted to know.

The next few weeks were just hell as we were on a battle course, a real tough course, but for all that I must say I never felt so fit in my life as I did after it; whether wading through freezing rivers, running mile upon mile with full kit, rifle and bayonet, and perspiring (even though the temperature was at freezing), and overnight sitting out in the field listening to lectures from the officer in charge in snow, sleet and rain. Whether this makes any difference in me in years to come remains to be seen, but it seemed pretty idiotic to me during these times, especially when we were soon shivering after listening to the officer for 20 minutes or so; in fact, it all seemed crazy to me as I was now with the R.A. and not an infantry regiment.

On Christmas Eve the whole regiment moved to Leigh-on-Sea. I was so happy to think I was so much nearer home, but was only able to get home once for all that. I had learned a few army dodges and I think it cost me about 6d even though I travelled all the way by train. I think our food was the worst ever there, and was very glad when our next move was to an RAF aerodrome where we were catered for by them. We had more than our share of food there, even down to a hearty supper. We were miles away from a town, but had quite a good cinema in the camp above the cookhouse where we used to see a different film every other night.

Our next move was to Sulby Hall, Retford, where we were fully equipped with all new A/A guns and vehicles. I was then a Medical Orderly and was very thankful for the job as it got me off many duties, although I had a jeep to clean and maintain, which incidentally carried me though many great difficulties, especially in the latter part of my memoirs. One of the outstanding things that I remember doing there was making my will in the event of death, and what a morbid job it was too. I also got 7 days C.B. there for backing my jeep into a motorbike and bending a mudguard. That same night, two drunken officers had a head-on collision with 2 jeeps, smashing them up completely. Incidentally, this was hushed up , like most things done by such men.

A trip to Folkestone for three weeks or so made quite a break as we were able to get to a cinema show when we wanted to. It was there that I first saw one of the big shells that the Germans were firing from the coast of France which put paid to a small hotel on the front. Our next halt was to be Blandford and I thoroughly enjoyed driving my jeep that full day as we hugged the coast until just before Bournemouth. It was quite a nice sight seeing the town and my thoughts were of the many holidays I had at these coastal towns in a peaceful England Our stay at Blandford, although a short one, was all spit and polish and the usual scrubbing and making things all spick and span ready for a Brigadier’s inspection. It was comical too, as the captain of each troop was supposed to know every one of his men’s history before they joined the army, but our Captain was a regular fellow who liked a joke with us better than with his fellow officers. We had quite a laugh the way he used to get muddled with our different histories a few days prior to the inspection. But on inspection day he past with honours, naming the men the Brigadier asked about and telling him their history. The Brigadier then gave a little speech telling us what a smart turn-out it was etc. etc., and said if out A/A firing could be as good he would be more than pleased.

A week later we found ourselves at Clacton, where the gun crews had three weeks at shooting at a sleeve drawn by an aircraft. We did so well that a gun team was left at Clacton for another month as a demonstration to other gunners on how to shoot. Our guns were in proper evening action most nights we were there and one night in particular we had an incredibly bad night raid which burned out quite a lot of Clacton. I was in a cinema at the time of the siren and I didn’t budge until an incendiary came through the roof and landed about 5 feet behind me. Most of the audience had left owing to the din, so nobody was injured. We seemed to do quite a lot of coastal defence after that, as we hugged the coast on and off for nearly seven weeks, finishing up at Sandgate near Ramsgate. We went off to real manoeuvres that really hardened us ready for the ‘D’ Day that we had heard about. I think we travelled every county of England, sometimes north and sometimes the south of England. I was really fed up with travelling around, sleeping out in the pouring rain and getting thoroughly wet and having most of the lads go down with colds when it was my job to get them up again. So you can guess I was fully occupied with my medical side of things.

At last we went to a place for a rest; it wasn’t much of a rest as we were back to the spit and polish again ready for another inspection. At that time I was Medical Orderly and Batman to my Captain and I also had a jeep to keep clean. It was supposed to have been cleaned on the Parade Inspection, but I hid it in a local farmhouse out of the way, whilst the Captain kept telling the Brigadier it was in the workshops, as he knew I couldn’t do three jobs at once. I didn’t have time to clean the old jeep if he wanted his belt and buttons cleaned as well. This camp we were at was in one of the quaintest little villages I have seen, just outside Stamford. It was here that I made another friend whom I and my wife still think quite a lot about and still write to. I was just getting nice and comfortable in this little hamlet when we had 24 hours notice to get moving again.

This time we were one of the many A/C Batteries defending London and it’s important arms factories. Our troop were at Cheshunt, just one hour’s ride from home. It was quite a performance there as our billets were across a canal which we crossed by raft. Many a time someone would go overboard and get a grand soaking, which always seemed to happen at night when it was so dark. It was then that I was lucky enough to get a spot of leave and it was indeed a change to get home in an hour instead of wasting a good half day travelling. I got back from leave in time for another manoeuvre, travelling during the night and sleeping by day. We were under canvas at one point in the Derbyshire Hills making the best of things in, yes, more rain; it seemed to pick the weather for do’s like that. I should imagine, in the summer, this part would make a very nice spot as the scenery was really beautiful. It was here that one of the motorcyclists met with an accident on one of the steep hills. It was quite a job for me to fix him up as he had a double compound fracture just under the knee. A tricky job as he was in great pain. It took us an hour to the nearest military hospital, moving very slowly and carefully along very bad roads and hills.

Back at Easton. What a relief to get back and sleep under a roof again, to be able to get to the pictures (even though it meant a walk of about three miles each way) and enjoy a cup of tea and a cake in the nearly canteen. Knowing that I would be at Easton for a few weeks, I thought it a good idea to have my wife and boys near me. I was very fortunate to get them fix up in the same village about two minutes from the camp. It was indeed very nice to be so near them, but alas! we had about four hours notice to quit and we were off to Northampton.

We had pretty lousy quarters at Northampton, stationed in a local school which was really in an appalling state with filth everywhere, but of course, the army had to clean it up, as often was the case. Well, whilst there, we were all on our toes as we, like most others, were waiting to know when we would start The Invasion. It came soon enough and a week after we were on a ship heading for the shores of Normandy.

We were on board for nearly 5 days before we landed; the first two days were quite rough and the rest were really beautiful as the sun was hot. We sunbathed on deck during the time we were not eating our ‘tinned eats’ and hard biscuits, which we were getting really fed up with.

We landed on the beach in the afternoon, but only after plenty of incidents, like being shelled and machine gunned. We stayed just outside Avranches until all the Regiment had landed and got together. We never slept that night as we were far too busy and at about 5am we were all making our own breakfast on our own individual Tommy Cookers. My own meal tasted really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it was biscuits again instead of bread. It was 17 weeks later that I tasted my first slice of bread and it was really an exciting memory as we had given up all hopes of getting any more. Before we moved off further into Normandy we were all handed field cards, our only correspondence to our loved ones back home. They are pretty morbid things and one can tell them that one is either well or wounded on it and no other correspondence is allowed to be written.

We arrived at jour next destination around midnight and it was one of the worst nights I have ever experienced. It was raining cats and dogs, we were being shelled heavily, and we daren’t light a fire to cook anything, even though most of us needed to eat or have a cup of tea. We laid in single 18 inch deep dug-outs not daring to move as shells were dropping all around us. It was 3am when I did go to sleep in a good foot of water and mud. I was amazed I eventually fell asleep as not many of the others were able to. It was a lovely morning when I woke at 7am with the sun shining, but what a shock to see the surrounding countryside; shell holes everywhere and about 20 gliders strewn over parts of the countryside. If I had only seen them the previous night, I’m sure I wouln’t have got quite so wet; incidentally, we did set up a cookhouse around one of them. These were some of the gliders that had dropped 11 days ago full of our airborne men. I learned that this place was call Beauville and that we were here to see that ‘Jerry’ didn’t destroy the only bridge that was the mainstay of all troops moving up. This bridge was named Pegasus Bridge and was one of the emblems of the airborne lads’ shoulder badges.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.