大象传媒

[Part of an account by Jeffrey Jackson, slightly edited by L Jackson.]

"Although war did not break out until three years later, I will start in October 1936, when I went to UCL with the intention of studying zoology. This was, of course, not taught in my school, but I had been interested in biology for years. However, it was all a terrible mistake. I had to do a year of intermediate-level zoology first, and it turned out to be 90% anatomy plus some genetics and embryology. The practical work was dissection, which I didn't like and couldn't do. My real interest was in animal behaviour, but ethology didn't yet exist. As a result, I switched to chemistry, thus wasting my first year [1936-37]. I then graduated in two years [1937-39], as was normal at that time, but if I had started with chemistry, I would have graduated in 1938 and would presumably have been part way through a PhD in 1939, and therefore exempted from call-up for what was called the Militia. This was theoretically for 6 months only, but of course with the declaration of war in September, that went by the board, to the great delight of the regulars training us, who did not attempt to conceal their sadistic glee at our predicament. I hated the army and felt that I had been trapped into serving for the duration, which turned out to be 6 and 1/2 years.

So, in July 1939, I had to go to Blandford, Dorset, where I found myself in an enormous tented camp supposedly learning to operate searchlights. In fact, there was time only for very basic training, not even including firing a rifle, before war was declared (I never heard Chamberlain's famous broadcast or the first false air raid warning) and I was transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps and to Third Division Supply Column at Bulford. This was rapidly moved to the Crewkerne area to await the arrival of its transport. I was in the village of Merriatt, where I slept on the floor of the church hall. Merriatt, incidentally, was pronounced locally as 'Mrrt', 'r' being treated as a vowel, as in Serbo-Croat. I don't think the locals were very enthusiastic about the war; as one put it, 'I was born in bloody Mrrt and I'll die in bloody Mrrt!' However, the local apples were superb, and the locals kept us well supplied. The night before we left, I was asleep in the church hall and, thinking that it was time to go, I got up and started to dress, only to realise that what I had heard was the arrival of latecomers who were getting ready for bed. As I discovered later, the unit was very mixed. Apart from Militia, there were several different kinds of reservists, including men who had served in India and peppered their speech with Indian army slang (as in 'bondook' for rifle). There were also regulars, and even one volunteer who had joined up so as to stay with his lorry, which had been commandeered. I was also exposed for the first time to the rich variety of English and Scottish dialects and accents."

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