- Contributed by听
- Bob Spence
- People in story:听
- Bob Spence
- Location of story:听
- Essex
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A3140876
- Contributed on:听
- 16 October 2004
During WW2 I was in the Army mostly on Searchlights and in 1944 I was posted to Great Bardfield in Essex, Our job then was to provide a Beacon every night as a guide to the Fighter Pilots who were trying to knock the Doodle Bugs down before they got to London,
Our camp was quite small and just one person a day was given a half-day off, We had one old bicycle on which we were able to cycle into Braintree so on my first half-day away I went,I had been given a private address
in Braintree where I could leave
my Byke for six-pence, Which I did, I had a good look round the town and had some tea at a Toc-H I think it was, I then went to the Cinema, However when I came out of the Cinema it was dark and with the Black-Out on I hadn't a clue how to find the house where my Cycle was stored, It just happened in
the dim light I saw a girl coming out of the Cinema behind me, I very politely explained my problem and as she knew the address where I had left my Cycle she offered to show me the way, It was dark of course but she seemed ever so nice and friendly and we chatted away and I actually arranged to see her the next evening, Me having time off the next day would have been my 24hrs leave.
When I got back to camp things were in an uproar , We were all off early next morning onto an Infantry Training Course up in Yorkshire, I was quite stunned as I just couldn't get a message to my new friend, I didn't even know her name, She did work at Courtaulds I remembered,
When I didn't turn up to see her the next evening I wonder what she thought, Of course there was a war on and these things happened, Thinking about it a bit later I could have tried to find her somehow if only to say sorry,
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