大象传媒

In 1936,at fourteen years of age having read my fathers daily paper the HERALD every day for some years past, I was not surprised when my Music teacher,Mr.Goodchild,a frequent traveller to Europe regaled his class with stories of the most recent events in Germany. And though he was a very gentle man,he was no fool and understood what many were refusing to believe.
During the next few months the country seemed to wake up to the peril facing us and I was determened not to be sent untrained to war as so many of my mother and fathers friends had in 1914. While at the same time I wanted to stay and
prtect my family, so I,late in 1936 I ned my local Heavy Anti-aircraft unit of the Territorial Army. Well, thats not strictly true, as they could not accept me then as they had their full establishment of 'Boys' so I would have to wait till a vacancy became available. Nothing loth, I still attended at the Drill Hall till that happened in January 1938. When I was accepted. An amusing incident occured about this time. I was positioned on the Bearing seat of one of the guns when the Commanding Officer came in. "What's that kid doing playing on that gun' he enquired some what angrily. "Get him off". " Oh!" said the sergeant"I can't do that,sir, he's my No.Two!". The CO was about to say something, but then collapsed into an "Good lord, Oh! well carry on"
Gun drill carried on apace,for even though we only had First World War guns, these were all we had got.
Came the September Crisis, Chamberlain,with his little bit of paper, and assurances of 'Peace in our time". We packed up our kit and went back to our civilain jobs. Mine, at Short Bros Rochester to help build flying boats.
But in spite of our un-preparedness 1938 in 39 we had new guns 3'7s and 4'5s. And I a mere youth of 17 years old was in charge of one of the biggest most modern anti-aircraft guns in the world at that time the 4'5!

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