大象传媒

Staffs County Council libraries, on behalf of the author, have submitted this story. The author fully understands the rules and regulations of the People's War Website.

I was born in 1922 (Sept). However, I did not join the Army until I was twenty. I was deferred until then due to my employment in engineering. However, as the war went on more men were called up as women and girls had to take over our jobs. For the next eighteen months I moved to various locations during my training but never knew where I was going or when (they never told us anything!). This included doing tests for the Reme engineers. When I was stationed in Sennybridge (Wales), I worked along with the engineers improving the roads in the Brecon Becons and Black Mountain areas ready for heavy artillery training. We were there in December 1943/1944 and the weather conditions were terrible (with nothing but sheep or mountains). We would have our lunch which would be two rounds of cheese and someone was delegated to make the cocoa (in a bucket). We would know when it was boiling by putting a match stale on the top. The Americans came in and didn't we know it. We got back one day to our depot at about 5pm and the Yanks had flooded the bloody site. They'd taken over the road in front of our huts and they were playing their usual game - throwing the ball to one another - like kids with big gloves on! We soon got used to them though and enjoyed their company and their food for a while. Breakfast would be pancakes, bacon and syrup with a banana. They were very generous and thought we had nothing to eat when they saw our rations - two sausages and beans! Our women (dancing partners) disappeared somehow. The Yanks even took our toilets over to play poker!
By now we realised what was happening and had more strict training. We then moved to Built Wells for more training before being kitted out with new equipment down to Ashford, Kent. Up to reaching the coast we hadn't seen any active action. From there we waited days (which seemed like weeks) to be put on a boat. We were not aware that D-Day had started. Eventually, one night we boarded a boat (it would hold about 500 troups). We travelled through the night then stopped until the following afternoon. It had been rough weather through the night and one or two were still feeling a bit queasy. Then we were on our way until we were almost beached. We scrambled down to a floating deck that had been put there so that we didn't get wet when getting off (but we did!). We were told to run across the sand as quick as we could to the sandbanks. We then marched off single file for about seven or eight miles to an allocated location. There seemed to be thousands of troops about making for the sandbanks. So we've landed!!
On the beach were a lot of Army vehicles - some disbanded probably put out of action. The organisation for the landing must have gone very well with the amount of troops and vehicles filling the roads.
From then were were fully engaged in carrying out duties morning, noon and through the night moving through France, Belgium, Holland and finishing after passing through the Reichweld Forest. It was about 5pm in the afternoon and we were near a P.O.W camp which held mostly Polish people. They came out in droves shouting in jubilation. They hadn't got many goods but they managed to give us a bottle of home brew.
On the way back to our camp, we came across two dead Germans. One was a young lad of about 14-15years in a uniform about four sized too big. It certainly made you think - we always said "It's someones boy".
We were all then called onto parade to hear the news from our Major and Officers of the end of the war and what would be. We also celebrated with a tot of rum!!

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