大象传媒

This story was heard as part of a reminiscence project at Myrddin Day Centre, Carmarthen. It is contributed to the People's War website with the author's permission.

I was in Maidstone, Kent. Born in 1919. I was just 25, in the RWK - that's the Royal West Kent Regiment. I still know my number too. 6347841. The sergeant used to say 'You can forget your name but you can't forget your number'. Your number comes before your name, always.

I remember when I got called up, ten o'clock in the morning, in Maidstone...

My father and mother told me to have a haircut, on the Saturday. On the Monday, I was in the army. On the Tuesday, on parade he says 'Get you hair cut!'. Every two weeks, you had to have your hair cut.

Had to keep tidy. Creases. What you used to do was lay on your trousers. Soap in the creases and lay on them. The sergeant was about five foot nothing. 'Boots and gaitors'. That's what we called him, that's all you could see of him. Oh, but he was tough, though! And he had a voice on him!

We had a Taffy - came from Cardigan - couldn't speak a word of English - and instead of saying something like 'My foot is bad' he said it in Welsh and nobody could understand him. Telling everybody but no-one could understand him. Proper Welsh. From a little village near Cardigan - Tresaith.

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