大象传媒

I thought that I should write this account of a very bizarre happening during the 39 -46 war. There were many bizzare things but to the best of my knowledge the following has never been mentioned because it seems to ridiculus to believe- but it really did happen- even though sometimes I think that I imagined it all.
Early in 1940 I was an N.C.O. in charge of a searchlight site in a remote part of Sussex, I cannot remember exactly where. We had been there for two or three weeks with no radio or telephone, our only warning that we should "take post" at night was a vertical beam from our Battery H.Q. light.
Early one morning the sentry came running into the tent and cried "Bombardier there's a London cab coming down the farm track!"
Quite frankly I thought at once he was joking even though it wasn't April 1st. Eventually he persuaded me that it was really happening and we all rushed out to see this phenomenom. Sure enough, there was the cab complete with driver, an "Old Bill" type from WW1. Our first thought was to shoot him being sure he was a German spy or paratrooper although how he could have landed complete with cab we didn't think. Eventually he did persuade us he was "kosher" and told us that our battery O.C. was close behind and he would explain what was happening. he did tell us that the B.E.F was falling back and being evacuated. This was astounding news to us - the British Army retreating! - In those days things like that didn't happen and in any case we had no inkling of what was going on.
We got the cabby settled in a tent, complete with his "donkey's breakfast" - a straw palliasse_. "Thought I's finished with this on the Somme" he grumbled, but as I said "As an old soldier you shouldn't volunteer for anything!"
The officer arrived shortley and vouched for the cabby's credentials and launched into the most ridiculous part of the story.
"You will find a railway sleeper in the back of the cab" he said, "You will tie the sleeper verticaaly behind the driver and mount your Lewis gun on the piece of half-inch gas-pipe protuding from the top."
(I should expalin at this juncture that the old London cabs had a rear half above the passengers that folded down.)
"Can I ask what this is for?" I asked. "All in good time" he answered. "As you will now know the British Army is falling back across the Channel in some disarray and we are expecting a large scale landing of German paratroopers. You will patrol the South Downs with two men as a flying column. Take field rations as we may not be able to reach you."
"What about the civilian driver?" - "Oh, he will have to remain with his vehicle."
So there we were; sent off to meet the might of the German crack troops with two pans of Lewis ammo and three inexperinced Territorials with twent rounds apiece.
"You'll be on you own, Bombadier and will stay on your designated patrol untril relieved"
"Or killed!" we thought.
However after three days we were called in, someone obviously thought that the Gremans would die laughing and certainly shoot the civilian cabbie.
So ended the most ridiculous idea that as far as I can ascertain has never been previously chronicled.
I would be interested to know if anyone else had a similar experience.

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