大象传媒

I joined a youth training brigade in South Africa in July 1942 as a volunteer at the age of fifteen. At the medical during the eye test a man with a glass eye on the right side, was asked to read the chart, covering an eye at a time. The first time he covered his right eye with his right hand and then covered the same eye with his left hand for the second test! Everyone was so keen to join up and do their bit. I was big for my age and so no questions were asked.

I completed infantry weapons training and elected to transfer to the South African Corps of Signals in 1943, where I was trained on radio telephony for armour and artillery work and transferred to an Armoured Signal Squadron. I was drafted to the Middle East for further training and sailed to Taranto, in Southern Italy. I was transferred to a mobile field radar unit and worked my way up through Italy to the North. This was under the command of the Royal Air Force and for security reasons it was known as an air ministry experimental station, to conceal its identity as radar development was extremely secret at the time. I was actually working as a wireless telegraphist by then, which was a long way from the training I had received in South Africa!

I had four years active service and was only just nineteen when I was demobbed in 1946. The price I paid was missing a lot of education, which took some years to catch up on.
I still have no regrets in doing what I did and am proud to be able to relate this story today.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from CSV/大象传媒 on behalf of Mr Les Dwight, visiting from South Africa, and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Dwight fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions

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