大象传媒

This contribution to People鈥檚 War was received by the Action Desk at 大象传媒 Radio Cleveland and submitted to the website by Jane Tombling, with the permission and on behalf of Don Bilton.

The year was 1944 and everyone in Britain was being prepared for their support of the formidable tasks they were called to do in the launch of the D-Day landings. In my case I was to leave my job in Wolverhampton, where I had been a shift chemist on the furnace landings of the huge Stewarts & Lloyds Steelworks.

In next to no time I was in ensconced, in the gloomy carriage of the night train to Perth, where I was to do my initial military training at the famous military training at the famous Blackwatch Depot. Well, the full compliment of midland men and myself who had travelled north were dished out with kit and shown our bedrooms. In our case it was a large shed open at both ends, and since the gale force winds blew, the current snowstorms, we certainly had a bad night.

However, we all managed to finish our six weeks stint, before we were sent to join our permanent regiments. For further training, in my case, I was to join the East Yorkshire Regiment, and sent to Richmond, Yorkshire to train with the Green Howards, after my stint with the Blackwatch, I was quite able to cope with further training, however since I had passed the required course and suitable for training as a wireless operator I had to move on.

This time I had only to travel about two miles down the road to Aske Hall, which had been taken over by the Infantry Signals Training Wing, for special training when I reported in I was shown my bedroom which turned out to be a horse stable, recently occupied by a large hunting horse who had left much evidence of his stay. Well, I made the best I could of this lavish box now including a single folding bed for my use. Unfortunately when storing my kit as best I could, I cut my wrist on a large rail that had been used to hang a horse鈥檚 collar. I little realised, the subsequent significance of this happening.

A day or two after this, this cut turned into a large painful area. On showing this to the medical orderly he said I should report back to Richmond Camp to be treated by the Doctor. In the following weeks, I had to walk every day to Richmond to be treated. To my horror my cut grew into large septic areas to bad flesh over my body. They were all blood poisoned. Since the treatment was losing ground rapidly it was only a matter of time I would be able to carry on.

Then the Doctor said he had some good news, a new ointment had become available called penicillin and he was sure it would be effective. Well it didn鈥檛 do the trick and I got worse. However, a new Polish officer had just been posted here and he had escaped from a Prisoner of War Camp, he may know more about wood poisoning, when he saw me he asked if he could treat me, certainly I said he then got his own special instruments and selected a sharp pointed scalpel and scraped out all my wounds from the scabbed areas and produced his special ointment. In the few days he treated me before he had to leave and I never saw him again, but I鈥檒l never forget him.

Not long after he left all my wounds healed up and no blood poisoning was present. Well that was Don鈥檚 luck!

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