大象传媒

I joined the army on 28/11/1938, with the Royal Army Service Corps at Buller Barracks, Aldershot, where I completed by six weeks training. This was followed by four weeks technical training at the Feltham Driving School.

Served with the 1st Light Field Ambulance Unit in France with the B.E.F. from 19/05/1940 to 17/06/1940 in the area Amiens, Abbeville, Arras. At the fall of Dunkirk I was ordered to drive our C.O. Colonel Dan McVicker to the nearest airport, where he boarded a plane for the U.K. leaving us men to our own devices.

We made our way along the coast of France, calling at each harbour on the way westwards. The fall of Dunkirk took place on 24 May 1940 and one month later our party of eight men arrived outside Brest where we destroyed our ambulances and walked into the harbour where we saw an old rustbucket of a ship tied up alongside. It was already full of soldiers of several nationalities and at night we sailed for England. Two days later we arrived in Plymouth and were met by the N.A.A.F.I. ladies who fed us sandwiches, tea and a smoke. We boarded a train and arrived at Salisbury, then on to Bulford Fields where we slept in bell tents for a week with the cookhouse open 24 hours a day.

Re-trained and joined the 8th Army with 918 General Transport Company. Left Gourock in convoy of ships, R.N. ships as escort, destroyers and cruisers, on 24/09/1941 bound for Egypt via the Suez Canal and South Africa. A journey of six weeks. Conditions and food were awful, with 1,000 men on an old refrigeration boat the City of Paris of the Ellerman line. Arrived at Port Tewfik, Egypt and were transported to Tel el Kabir where our Chevrolet lorries were waiting to deliver supplies to the forward troops and tank units.

The route took us to Zigazag, Mersa Matruh, Sidi Barrani, Sollum, Bardia, Tobruk, Benghazi, Derna, El Alagheila, Agedabia, Tripoli and throughout the Western Desert. Bir Hachim (The Free French Box) when I did a solo run with seven tons of supplies (food, water, ammunition, medical equipment etc) to assist the trapped French unit, who were being bombed, shelled and machine-gunned by the German Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht. I was with them for fourteen days and was called upon to man a BOFOR Gun against Stuka attacks.

On a dark night, when the clouds obscured the moon, General Koenig and C.S.M. Gott decided to make an escape through the minefield, due East. We took our German prisoners with us, in the back of my lorry and after the heat of the day, made our way successfully back to Tobruk.

Field Marshall Edwin Rommel pushed the 8th Army out of Tobruk and with his Afrika Corps Army all to the way to El Alamein, where the German forces were halted by the 8th Army, under the command of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery.

Another solo trip, across the desert, in a Ford V8 Shooting Brake with my interpreter George Aziz (an Egyptian from Cairo) to various Arab villages, to gain information about the German forces in the area, lasted a week. Payment to the various Sheikhs was made with Italian Lire. We slept in Arab tents during each visit.

Served with the 8th Army until 26/06/1945 in the Western Desert and Italy.

Being a fluent German speaker and writer, I transferred to the Intelligence Corps on 24/04/1943 and joined the Cipher and Code Breaking Section in Cairo. Remained with Ciphers in North Africa and Italy until recalled to the U.K. on 24/06/1945 having served in the Middle East 3 years 11 months and 12 days without home leave.

After two weeks leave, recalled to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery's Headquarters at Bad Oeyenhausen, West Germany. Passed German language tests, assigned independent duties with 72 F.S.S. Field Security Section Brunswick on De-Nazification and Interrogation of S.S. Officers, Senior Wehrmacht and Marine Officers until my return to the U.K. on 04/06/1946 on demobilisation.

With the outbreak of the Korean War, I was recalled to the Intelligence Corps Depot at Maresfield on 02/10/1950. Taught Korean at the School of Oriental Studies, London University and departed for Pusan Korea from Liverpool. Saw active service with 904 F.S.S. in Seoul, Pyongyang, Yalu River, Imjin River, North and South Korea.

Returned to the U.K. on 26/10/1951 after 1 year 25 days in Korea.

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