大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Jabulani Chwaula from WM CSV Action Desk on behalf of Eric B Fuller and has been added to the site with his permission. Eric B Fuller fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

Beside the production plant, there were three filling plants on site; one for 25-pounder shells, one for aircraft bombs, and the other for Flying cows. These last were bomb shaped at one end, then tapering slowly to about 3 inch diameter. This end was closed with a plug. Their purpose was to be attached under the wings of an aircraft and taken to the target area. Here the plug would be removed, and a rain of mustard gas would descend. There were other horrible ideas I will not mention.

I never went very far outside the factory without my gas mask and a tin of tubes of anti-gas ointment. I was horrified at the pain and panic that a gas attack would have had on a civilian population. I was, and still am, certain that it was only because we had overwhelming supplies that the Germans did not use it.

The staff in our lab was all pleasant and friendly. Naturally there was one exception, but as he was slightly senior and on a permanent day work, we shift workers were able to avoid him.

There was a charming young secretary, Miss G, aged 17.Shw was known in her absence as 鈥渢he G鈥�. One day Charlie P, not to be confused with Charlie M, aged 30 and a hardened womaniser, came blushing into our mess room. He said, 鈥淚鈥檝e just said *** and the G heard me, what will happen if she repeats it in front of her mother?鈥�
There was consternation all round, as she was well liked. Finally, I undertook to tell her that, what Charlie had said was not suitable for a lady to repeat.

The G went down with tuberculosis and was occasionally visited by pairs of young men, ill at ease in her bedroom, but made very welcome by her mother. She was replaced by another 17 year old, who stank of cheap scent and used language to make one blush. How different girls could be.

When I had been there about a year, and was almost part of the Dean family, their daughter and son became too old continue to share the same bedroom. They cleared out a junk room at the far downstairs end of their bungalow, fitted it up with a bed, small table, chair, and oil lamp, and gave me a delightful study-bedroom. In winter Mrs. Dean would even light a fire for me if I were studying. All this for 32/6 (拢1.62 陆) per week.

I was the only non Welsh member of the Northop Home Guard Platoon, and so very proud when I got first one, then another stripe. Two officers died, one on duty, and I was part of the firing party at his military funeral, quite an experience.

My personal aim was to get a London Special degree in Chemistry and physics Subsidiary, i.e. at general degree level. For a general degree student, I sat three subjects at that level. The theory part was no problem. I took a correspondence course with the International Correspondence College of Cambridge. For practical work, I found help at Wrexham Technical College. On my days off, I would arrive half an hour before lectures started, and the physics lecturer would kindly meet me. We pulled dusty apparatus from a cupboard, and I worked whilst Mr. J lectured. He even lent me his own practical notebook, so I could copy his in the event of failure on the part of the apparatus or the experimenter.

I failed the exam in 1943, rejected the offer from I.C.C for a half price repeat course, and went over it again by private study. I passed in 1944. Before I got the results of the 1943 exam, news came through that a kid, who had been in the school first form when I was in the fifth, had been killed. My girl had recently turned me down for a yank, and I was fed up with testing mustard gas whilst other fellows were active in the forces. I went to Chester and volunteered for the army, only to be told, 鈥淚f you haven鈥檛 been called up, you must be doing something important. Go back until you are sent for.鈥� I already knew, of course, that I would only be released for a pilot or observer, but it was worth a try.

Then I toddled off to the naval recruitment place, and soon had taken the medical exam and the intelligence test. This started easily enough, but ended up with several squares of coloured blotches into each of which one had to fit the correct missing piece. I must have done alright, because a fellow named Wilkinson and I were the first to be called in for viva voce. That over, I was about to 鈥渟ign on鈥�, when the Warrant Officer pulled the form away saying, 鈥淵our eyesight isn鈥檛 good enough鈥�. 鈥淣ow what do I do?鈥� 鈥淜now anything about wireless?鈥� 鈥淚 have just sat a degree level Physics鈥� 鈥淰olunteer for a wireless operator then鈥�

I did just that, and soon got my calling papers. I was just having my last meal before reporting, when the said only unpleasant member of staff arrived to say 鈥淵our calling-up papers are cancelled. Report for afternoon shift鈥�. One of my colleagues volunteered thirteen times, but they had got us, and there, we were stopped.

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