大象传媒

Fred's World War 2
Part Seven

One day out of the blue a Sqdn of Fokerwolf's 190 attacked the Airfield, they were shooting up the control tower and we were on the gun eager to fire but the planes were to low I am Number four in the gun team and I am on the gun platform a clip of four shells in the breech, I have a clip of four shells in my hands poised over the breech ready to follow the other shells in, and my foot is poised over the firing pedal, just waiting for the order to fire, We can see Gerry's planes shooting up the control tower way down to our left.

The runway is in front of us, end of runway to our right. A Mustang returns to the Station, he must be out of petrol almost, or has no idea what is going on, and he comes in to land, we watch him touch down. A Gerry too sees him and peels away from the others and as the Mustang is running down the runway this Gerry is behind him and starts to fire, we can see the bullets hitting the runway on either side of the fuselage, by this the Mustang is almost opposite our post, we can see that the pilot is aware of what is going on, for he is almost rolled up like a ball in his seat. The Gerry all this time has been to low for us to open fire, but he has now caught up with the slowing down Mustang and can not fire at it anymore, so he climbs and banks to turn, as he does so, our gun layers who have been following him have a perfect plan view of him he is high enough now, so our corporal {Boss} on the gun in action for he is in charge of setting the deflection, [ for angle and speed ] Shouted fire, and I slammed down my foot.
Boom Boom Boom Boom the gun recoiled and fired like lightning and I had the second clip in when there was a cheer all the pilots and fitters from the dispersal were out watching, and one of our shells had a direct hit on the root of the Gerry's wing where it joins the fuselage and smoke was coming from the engine, the pilot bailed out, and we were told the pilots of our station had him to supper in their mess "under escort" before he was locked up, in true Biggles style.

We were officially credited with that plane and were allowed a souvenir from it, we took the three bladed prop off the 190, and fixed it behind the cab of out lorry were we carried the tent. Talking of that, you know how bad I am at travelling, I get awfully sick. Well I am the only one I know of who had special permission to ride in this gap, on top of the tent, if I was not driving. In the back of the Lorry laid me out.

We got word that Field Marshal Eisenhower was to make an official visit to the station, a "Guard of Honour" had to be laid on and I was one of the selected, the first thing we had to do was go to the stores and get new uniforms and then a local seamstress was employed to sew on all our bits and bobs in a professional style then we were drilled until we dropped. The day came when he arrived, we could see his Limousine in the far distance and watched it approach, there was about a dozen outriders on motor cycles, two or three jeeps with military personnel, Officers and such, and then about twenty cars of all descriptions carrying the Press.

After they had all dismounted, Eisenhower was greeted by the Station C. O. they saluted each other, and then started the inspection.
The Allied Forces Supreme Commander Eisenhower almost raced up and down the three ranks He spoke to our C.O. while doing his round but no one recalls him speaking to one of the men, and hardly glanced at any of us, he did however leave the aroma of his perfume, in the mean time the press men were charging up and down and Photographers were barging through the ranks like mad men. The overall impression of us all was not a very good one.
It was about three weeks later that we were informed that we were to get a visit from our own Boss man Monty, because we had only just been kitted out and spruced up for one we were all allocated to be the Guard of Honour for him too. We were paraded and inspected by our own Commanding Officer before Monty was due, we kept an eye on where we had first seen Eisanhower's cavalcade come into sight, when some movement did appear it was two motor cycle out riders, Two jeeps and a car. After our C.O. had saluted him and exchanged greetings, he invited him to inspect us. He walked slowly round and spoke to every man, and asked questions like: How is the food? are you getting enough? Do you like your porridge with salt in like me? You look like a married man, Are you? How is the mail, do you get it regular? Have you plenty of reading material, books and magazines? the bloke he asked that question answered; " No sir, its hard to find something to read," Oh! is it, I'll see that you have some. and he indicated to his Aide to make a note. When the inspection was over and he was about to leave we would have liked to have given him a cheer, but Guards of Honour don't do things like that He was true to his word too. It was less than two weeks later that we had a tea chest full of books delivered.

We had found on our travels into the country side, (my Co -driver John Tutty from Sunderland who was going to be my best man, but at the last minute couldn't make it) an insulated sectional hut that was large enough for us all to sleep in, and would be no trouble to dismantle and erect, all we needed was permission to erect it at the side of our gun post. we told our Sergeant Finch (Who was the owner of a boarding house in Worthing.) about it he said he would have to see it first before he approached any officer about it, so the first opportunity we both had to go I took him and he agreed to try and get permission, this he got and Frank our electrical expert soon had a light fixed in from a point on the dispersal a few yards away.

A few weeks later we dropped on a railway wagon that had been converted to a mobile home and was in good condition, we had that too, and Frank got it wired up and sockets installed, and it was used by everyone including the fitters, as a rest room and a looted radio was installed and speakers fitted outside so that we could have music while we worked.

It was while scouring the back roads in this area that I came across what must have been a battle field from the Nygmagan Bridge episode for there was the skeletons of gliders over the area and two burnt out tanks. Spare machine gun barrels still wrapped in protective paper, and several shallow graves with dog tags in tobacco tins under a stone on each grave. It was here that I found what looked like a Brand new Dunlop Wellington, I picked it up and it was heavy so I looked inside and about four inches down was the end of the shin bone, half a leg and foot was still in it yet there was not a scratch on the rubber boot.

While I was stationed here there was some Week End Leave in Brussels for Christmas Eve and Christmas day there was only about six for the station and names had been pulled out of the hat, mine was not one of them, it never has been even now. But the Germans were making a push through the Ardennes, their aim to get to Antwerp and cut our army in two, and the Yanks, who's front it was, were making a bit of a balls up of holding them.

One of the lads who had won a pass was reluctant to go, so I took it and had a wedding anniversary in Brussels, we stopped at an Hotel taken over by a Royal Airforce Charity so that blokes like me could have a good time. I'm on my own, though the Hotel is full, so Christmas Eve I caught a tram to the outskirts and started to make my way back to the City centre everyone was in a party mood, having recently been liberated, and I was quickly adopted by a gang of young people that were also making their way to the Cathedral for Mid night mass, and as mid night was a long way off, they were calling in all the Cafe's and Estaminates ( Pubs ) on the way.

We finally made it to the Cathedral, having to dash the last bit to be inside when the bells rang mid night and everyone went wild for about five minutes, before they could get on with mid night Mass. The Cathedral was packed, there was hardly standing room anywhere, as soon as I could leave discreetly I did so, as I should have been back before mid night, the streets were almost deserted, I had not far to go, and I have often wondered why I had to convince myself that I was not intoxicated, by doing summer salts as I went along the pavement? the Week end was a great break, and we got back to camp without having to fight the Gerry's.

Fred's World War 2
Part Eight

The allies advance was going at a great pace, so much so that there was difficulty in keeping up with supplies, So instead of sending long slow cumbersome convoys, the decided to send small units of three vehicles, and were asking all units that could to supply three lorries and crew to man them. Our lorry was one with me and my co driver John Tutty.

We were given a map reference of a supply dump our first one was in Belgium, the three lorries went there and was loaded up, we had various loads, food, amo, petrol, we soon found that the best loads were the food, though we had no say in what we carried, but the food was in boxes , and contained twenty four hours of what was conceded necessary to sustain ten men for a day. all the food was tinned plus toilet paper and cigarettes. and when these were loaded it was often easy to slip an extra one on, and army rations went down well on the black market. not that we became spivs. The fags we kept, most of the tinned stuff we gave to kids that always crowded round us when we stopped for a break or the night, even in Germany.

We called in at our Station once a week for clean cloths and mail. Then off again, we were all enjoying this independent life style to the full, we had now got double bunk beds rigged up at the very back of the lorry, so we were always sure of a comfortable dry bed, no matter where we may be.
One day the three of us were travelling from Holland to a map reference in Germany, Enemy territory, that had only recently been taken. It was a country road, Cobbled and had a high crown, it had also been raining, the cobbled road was shiny wet and my back end started to slew, I tried to correct without braking, and the back end sewed the other way, then further to the left, then back to the right, only further still, both the left side wheels lifted off the road and continued up until we fell flat on our side, the lorry then spun round broadside on to the road, and the lorry slid like this for about twenty yards. I had lost John, there was a removable cover in the roof over his seat, for the purpose of being used to fire a machine gun from.

When the lorry went over John was thrown through this, having nothing on his side to hold on to, I had the steering wheel. My main concern was to get out and away to a safe distance, until I knew it was safe as we were carrying the equivalent to four tons of 250 Octane Plane fuel in four and a half gallon Jerry cans. I was still struggling to get out when John appeared and gave me a hand, He had a very bad cut over his left eye, and a couple of sore spots that turned out to be big busies later, there did not appear to be any spill from any of the cans visible. We took the precaution of uncoupling the battery leads, and then recovering our Sten guns,. then sat down to contemplate the situation.

We had been last of the three lorries and they obviously had not seen us go over. It was getting late and would soon be dark when a Jeep came towards us from the direction we were travelling, and it was the front vehicle of a convoy that was brought to a halt the road being blocked. the officer in charge of the convoy asked what had happened, got his First Aid orderly to see to John had all the Jerry cans of petrol stacked at the side of the road, then pulled the lorry clear of the road. told me not to leave the place and be vigilant, he would send the recovery unit for me and the stuff as soon as possible, and they took John with them to have Hospital treatment.

So, there was I alone in enemy territory that had not long been taken. Being Vigilantly vigilant, with my Sten gun at the ready a clip in the Magazine, in the middle of nowhere, and by now it was pitch dark, and cold, not even a moon, if a mouse had crept anywhere near me and farted, I'd have blown it to smithereens. It was near to mid night before I saw a glimmer of light in the distance that gradually got to be two trucks, one for recovery the other to take the petrol, each lorry driver had a mate so the petrol was loaded up in quick style then left, to take it to it's original destination.

War has no working hour regulations. the recovery lorry got my lorry sorted out, and winched up so that it was running on its back wheels, I got in the back wrapped in my blankets, and although it was a cold frosty night slept until I was shaken and told I had arrived, I was shown to a tent and a camp bed, where I bedded down for the remainder of the night, after my morning ablutions, and breakfast. I was enquiring what came next, with some misgivings let me tell you, because drivers that had any accidents of any nature were automatically charged, and all the details gone into, before you were cleared or sentence past.

I was told to report to the office, and on arrival was met by an officer, " You the lad we brought in last night?" he asked, "Yes Sir" I replied, "Right" said he, "Here are the papers for a lorry over there, go check it out, make sure everything is there and every thing is topped up etc. and when you are satisfied that it is all correct. come back here and sign for it, then you can bugger off about your business." Great I thought, that was easy, then I went to the lorry park, and found that the truck that matched the numbers on this piece of paper was for a Canadian Three Ton Chevrolet.

I rushed back to the office to the officer and told him that my M/T officer would not be pleased, when he had Twelve five ton Thornycrofts lined up for inspection, and a three ton Chev.stuck in the middle. He seamed to be highly amused, I don't know if it was the thought of our M/T Officer being upset at the sight of the odd ball lorry in among the others, or my lack of understanding. There's a war on lad, and here we are miles away from home in the enemies home land, and our job here is to keep the transport rolling, as I understand it, you are on Special Assignment, Top Priority. Your lorry wont go. we give you one that will. Sod your M/T officer. Sign this paper and get out of here.

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