大象传媒

My father served in the army during the First World War and was wounded towards the end of the war. He was released from hospital early in 1919 and married in December of that year.

Their first child, George, was born January 1921
Their second child, Charles, was born June 1922
And me, Fred, was born May 1924

Our parents had a very difficult time bringing up three sons but we had a very happy childhood.

Dad, like so many of his contemporaries, was unemployed for long periods and the three of us left school at 14 to start work. Dad, in the meantime, got a job as a milkman and the family finances eased quite a bit. George and Charles became civil servants and I worked at Dunlop Clothing & Weather Proofs.

However, come 3rd September 1939, the Second World War was declared. Apart from a few small air raids, the first few months were fairly quiet. Some bombs were dropped in Edmonton, North London, including one which destroyed the Alcazar Cinema in Fore Street. This was sad because we had happy recollections of the "tuppenny" rush each Saturday morning.

What you could call the "real war" started in May 1940 when Germany invaded Holland, Belgium and France. They quickly showed their superiority in arms causing the evacuation at Dunkirk. From this time onwards the war came home to us and affected the civilian population very much more.

Winston Churchill became Prime Minister on 10th May and I still recall his rallying broadcast after Dunkirk when everyone was determined to do all necessary for victory, which was a certainty. Several houses had stirrup pumps and buckets to use against incendiary bombs. All males were required to spend a two hour night watch to look for and cover with sand any fires in their road.

I took my turn at this and I also spent one night a week fire watching at Dunlops. Luckily, during 1940 no bombs dropped on Bulwer Road or Dunlops. Later in the war a bomb dropped about 50 yards from our house fracturing a gas main and throwing a piece of kerbstone through the roof.

On the 29th December 1940 a very heavy incendiary raid hit Central London causing tremendous fires in the city. Brother Charles, who worked at the Central Telegraph Office, was on night duty and got involved in helping to fight the fires. They were fighting a losing battle - there were so many fires and there were not enough fire fighters to tackle them. When Charles eventually arrived home the next day, he was black from all the smoke.

All fit males from the age of 20 were conscripted for the armed forces. This meant that brother George was "called up" early in 1941 and had to report to an anti-aircraft battery of the Royal Artillery. After their training period the regiment moved to the outskirts of London and were involved in the defence of London.

After Dunkirk there was a very serious threat of invasion from across the English Channel. The army were short of equipment and troops due to the tremendous losses caused by the evacuation. To boost the numbers, the government asked for volunteers to join the "Local Defence Volunteers". Later the name changed to the Home Guard. Any person over 17 could join and very many men who fought in the First World War joined to lend their expertise. To be practical, although they were an enthusiastic lot, they probably would not have been a very serious threat to the German tanks. However, they were not put to the test because of the fantastic fight put up by the Royal Air Force in what was to be called "the Battle of Britain".

I joined the Home Guard early in 1942 aged 17陆. Before I received my uniform our Company went on an exercise which included advancing along a river and under a bridge. I got my shoes wet and was told off by my mother when I got home. I always think of that episode when I see Private Pike in the TV programme Dad's Army.

We carried on with these duties until October 1942 when brother Charles, who was now 20, received his calling up papers. He left home early in the morning of 23rd October to report to HMS Collingwood in Hampshire to train as a Telegraphist in the Royal Navy. He served on a motor gunboat (MGB) until the end of the war.

During 1942 the conscription age was reduced to 18, and much to my mother's alarm, within two hours of my brother leaving home I received my calling up papers. I had to report on 5th November (very appropriate) to the Triangle, Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax. This was for six weeks basic training at the end of which all recruits were interviewed and posted to their units.

I became a Gunner in the Royal Artillery and reported to Whitby for three months training as Driver / Wireless Operator. On passing all tests, I was transferred to a light anti-aircraft unit stationed in Sandwich in Kent. This was part of the 43rd Wessex Division which was part of the army training for the invasion of Europe. The next 15 months were spent on exercises and practice shoots so that we would be ready for whatever was required of us. Early in 1944 we moved to our assembly area in Battle near Hastings. The invasion started on the 6th June. The 43rd division was due to embark some 4/5 days later but the weather was so atrocious this was delayed by a few days causing problems for the troops already in Normandy. We got under way eventually and the journey to the embarkation area took our convoy through the East End of London. I think this was arranged to boost the morale of the Londoners who had suffered so much for some four years. They were well organised providing us with mugs of tea and shouting, "give them one for us". The empty mugs were collected a few hundred yards further on and returned to the beginning to await the next lot.

Eventually we got underway, our vessel was a small "banana" boat. The sea was still extremely rough and we had a very uncomfortable journey to Normandy. We were accompanied by a number of MGB's and I wondered if Charles was aboard one. We arrived off Normandy, the weather was too rough for us to land and we rode at anchor for a few days. We at last landed at Arromanches and spent a few days checking equipment to ensure all was ready for the battles to come. The division was involved in many of the Normandy battles and, of course, casualties mounted. As a result, I was transferred to 179 Field Regiment R.A. during July and became more involved in these battles. With more troops arriving in Normandy, it was only a matter of time before the German line was broken. The 43rd crossed the river Seine on a bailey bridge constructed at Vernonette and quickly advanced to the Belgium / Dutch border. There we awaited the start of Operation Market Garden which, it was hoped, would capture bridges across all rivers including Arnhem. This story has been told elsewhere but the 43rd were heavily involved.

Autumn / Winter was fast approaching and pressure on the enemy was maintained and the German border was soon reached. The division crossed into Germany near Brunsom (Holland) and Geilenkirchen (Germany). The most severe winter for many years started in December which restricted major battles, but the Germans launched their last major offensive on the American sector and this became known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 43rd were called upon to draw up a defensive line along the river Meuse but were not used because the Americans halted the German advance and pushed them back to their start line.

Pressure was maintained along the front line during the rest of the winter until the weather improved to enable a large scale offensive to start. As a result the allies reached the river Rhine and preparations started to launch a crossing of the formidable barrier. It was now early March 1945 and it was obvious that the Germans could not last much longer.

There was another enemy to be beaten and a number of specialist troops were taken from the British Liberation Army and returned to the UK to build up new regiments to go to Burma to finish off the Japanese. I was one of the Wireless Operators and I was glad to arrive home unannounced on the day that the Rhine was crossed - 24th March.

After 14 days' leave I reported to the Royal Artillery HQ at Woolwich and after a few days was posted to the 55th Heavy Regiment (7.2 inch guns) at Brandon, Suffolk. We were still there on V.E Day, 8th May, and most of us enjoyed a few hours celebrating in Cambridge which was packed with troops who drank the pubs dry.

The regiment moved to Ipswich shortly after and it was there I celebrated my 21st birthday. A few days later we entrained to Liverpool from where we sailed to India on the MV Otranto. We arrived at Bombay before the end of June during the monsoon season, which is not the best of times to arrive. The reception camp was at Kalyan, just a few miles outside Bombay. Some few days later we entrained to Akanapet some 50 miles from Secunderabad in the state of Hyderabad. We were due to be there for several weeks to get acclimatised and to await the guns and vehicles which had been shipped by cargo boat.

Whilst there the Wireless Operators took turns in tuning into the 大象传媒 News Service so the regiment could be kept up to date with daily movements. I was on duty on the 6th August when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. When details of the damage caused was posted on the notice board in the mess, everyone thought I had made it up. When the second one was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, it caused great excitement throughout the camp. Japan capitulated on 15th August which brought the war to an end.

Demobilisation soon got underway and the older longer serving men started leaving for home. I was age / service group 50 so I had some time still to serve. A number of senior NCO's were leaving and I was sent on an instructor's course. This was in Poona and lasted three months. I passed the exams and became a Sergeant Assistant Instructor. When I returned to the regiment they had moved into permanent barracks in Secunderabad.

As there was no war it was decided by the "powers that be" that heavy artillery would not be needed in India so our guns were sold to India and the regiment disbanded. The 6th Medium Regiment with 5.5 inch guns had also moved nearby. They had arrived from Burma where they had spent a long time fighting the Japanese. Many members of this regiment were older longer serving members and these were soon on their way home. Therefore a number of men from the 55th Heavy Regiment were transferred to the 6th Medium. They were shortly to move to the North West Frontier province and we left on the 23rd August for the three day train journey. It was the hottest time of the year and crossing the Sind Desert the temperature reached 125掳 fahrenheit. The barracks were at Nowshera and from there we were able to visit such places as the Khyber Pass (up to the Afghanistan border), Rawalpindi etc.

Christmas 1946 was spent at Nowshera. However, on New Year's Day 1947 we had orders to take one battery of guns some 150 miles to a village called Oghi. Apparently some men had crossed the border from tribal India, burnt Oghi, and took the younger women hostage. The Indian Government insisted the tribes pay compensation, return all hostages and surrender those responsible. Some Indian troops and our battery were sent to ensure they paid up. It was a couple of weeks or so before we were able to return to Nowshera.

At this time India was shortly to become independent from Britain and the Indians decided to have separate states for Hindus and Muslims (India and Pakistan). This caused major problems and riots as both sides moved to their new homes. To add to confusion the British Army was leaving India so we again had the job of packing all stores etc. for shipment back to the UK. I was Guard Commander for the two day journey to Bombay and, as it was possible the rioters might attack the train, we were issued live ammunition and machine guns. It turned out to be a peaceful journey and we embarked on the MV Caledonian and set sail on the 25th March. We docked at Glasgow on Budget Day, 15th April 1947, and heard on the radio that cigarettes were going up to 3/4d (approx. 17p) for a packet of 20.

In typical army fashion we docked in Glasgow and entrained to Folkestone in Kent, about as far away as you can get. This train journey was much better than the one in India.

Shortly after I arrived in India in 1945, a friend wrote to ask if I would like a pen friend. I agreed and started writing to Violet in October. We wrote over 70 letters each and I was looking forward to meeting her. Both my brothers had been de-mobbed and they and all my family had met her. I arrived home on 21st April for four weeks disembarkation leave. I shortly met Violet and we got on very well. We have now been married for over 55 years.

When the four weeks' leave was over, I returned to the unit on the 17th May - just in time to be de-mobbed on the 19th May.

Looking back over the 4陆 years I had been in the army I would not have missed it for anything. I met a great many good people - quite a number of who were killed or wounded, and I saw many parts of the world that otherwise I would not have seen.

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