大象传媒

At the beginning of June 1944 I was one of a number of teengage schoolboys travelling daily from Felixstowe to Ipswich. We caught the 8.05 am Blue Coach service from Felixstowe, into which we were very tightly compressed, reaching Barrack Corner in Ipswich with just enough time to straggle up the hill and reach Ipswich School with a few minutes to spare before the compulsory morning Chapel Service. Occasionally, the bus was late or we took a slower route up the hill and arrived too late for the service, but gained ten minutes in which to finish the previous night's homework. Those in authority over us instigated enguiries and, not infrequently, punishments.
This was to change in the days leading up to D-Day. The main road (A45) from Ipswich to Felixstowe was closed to all through traffic when it was taken over as a linear vehicle park from Nacton to Trimley. Lines of camoflaged military trucks, cars and armour were parked on both sides of the road and our bus was amonst the civilian vehicles diverted from the main road. We travelled up the Kirton Road and turned left through Buklesham eventually coming into Ipswich at St Augustine's church. This added a good twenty minutes on to our journey to school. On one occasion our bus had to reverse into a field whilst a convoy of DUKWs (or a flock of ducks!) made their way past us and we had to miss the whole of the first lesson.
The adults who journeyed to work in Ipswich all managed to get there on time by taking earlier services, but we failed to grasp that solution and continued on the 8.05 which was curiously able to provide more space and comfort and even gave us the ability to finish homework on the bus. The main road cleared when the military vehicles drove off down Cordy's Lane to embark for France, but it was several days before the school authorities realised that we could be arriving in time for Chapel.

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