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.

When WW2 broke out, I was rising 17, living at home, and working as a laboratory assistance to the chemistry and physics department at Selhurst grammar School in Croydon.

On the morning of September 3rd 1939, Dad and I went to the works (his engineers patter -making business, in Saddler鈥檚 yard, 196, Morland road, Croydon.) He was moving into a new workshop, just vacated by a joiner. As we started for home the air raid sirens went, and a policeman stopped us and made us go into Morland road school. It was a false alarm.

Selhurst school Boys and girls were evacuated to Hove, and the boys used Brighton Grammar School building in the afternoons. Their lab assistant had disappeared, so I worked for both schools from 8.00AM to 6.00PM.

I found my sister billeted in a home with two girls of about her age, so they and I had plenty of fun. I went everywhere by bike in those days, and I remember lying in a stoke of 2 oz blocks of Rowntrees plain York chocolate.

I was unable to continue my evening class studies for inter B.Sc, so in February 1940 I got a job as lab assistant at Croydon main sewerage works, and started evening classes at Chelsea polytechnic. After some months training at Beddinton Sewerage Works, I was transferred to South Norwood Works, where I worked on my own. The works manager was also chief chemist for both works, but Mr H, was so busy that I saw little of him.

In May 1940, Mr Anthony Eden, appealed for volunteers to join the local defence volunteers, so the next morning Dad and I reported, with a crowed of others of all ages, to Croydon Police station.

Between parades, two evenings per week which I could not attend, three hours on Sunday mornings, which I could attend, two guards night per week, evening classes four night per week, homework, helping Dad dig for Victory on Sunday afternoons and accompanying Mum to church on Sunday evenings, I had as little time as money for getting into mischief.

I remained in the Home Guard until it was stood down, so I collected 5 reversed red chevrons well down on my left sleeve. I also collected two white chevrons (stripes) on each sleeve.

In the late autumn of 1940, when the blitz started, evening classes were changed to all day Saturday classes. By working extra time on other days, I was allowed Saturday mornings off in order to attend.

I sat and passed London University Inter B.Sc in the summer of 1941.

In the early autumn, I responded to a government advertisement for junior chemists with Inter B.Sc and found myself on the staff of the Chemical Inspection Department (C.I.D.) of the Ministry of Supply (M.O.S).Once I had signed the Official Secrets Act, I was as much at the disposal of Her Majesties government as any service man. I had no say in where I went or what I did. Only, I had to find and pay for my own food and accommodation.

They parked me off, complete with a bike and Home Guard kit, to Randle Works in Runcorn, Cheshire. Here I was issued with a naval pattern gas mask. It had a long tube and the haversack was worn over the hip, secured at the waist with a belt. Then I was trained in sampling and testing mustard gas. Samples were put into wide mouthed glass jars, closed with a red rubber bung. We stripped at the beginning of every shift, placed our own clothes in a locker and put on underclothes, socks, jacket and trousers secured with tape for quick removal and gum boots marked with a yellow band.

Before working in the lab, one donned a large, long, oilskin apron and a pair of light plastic goggles. These were kept on one鈥檚 personal peg in the lab. One did not normally need one鈥檚 gas mask in the lab.

At the end of a shift we put all these garments in another locker, showered, and dressed in our own clothes.One never went outside the factory in one鈥檚 鈥渢oxic鈥� clothes. All the testing was done in fume cupboards.

Each junior chemist spent a week in an out house making chloropicrin which was used to test gas masks. This involved putting the ingredients into an open topped 50 gallon drum and moving an electric stirrer around in the mass. Naturally, one wore one鈥檚 gas mask.
My turn came, and one day I managed to get some of the sludge on the tube on the tube of my gas mask, and catch it on my mouth. I spent fours hours under oxygen.

The most important thing I learnt at the lad was to play contract bridge

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