大象传媒

One night coming back from Maidenhead Percy and his three friends stopped for a break to pass some water.Percy got in the back seat of the car and told one of his friends to drive as he was too tired,just as he settled down in the back seat a Canadian vechile ran into the back of the car doing it much damage and injuring Percy.The next day he couldnt walk something to do with his injured back,he had to go to the hospital for about a week for treatment,and he was soon back on his feet,but he would suffer with back pains if he didnt sit right,and this would continue for the rest of his life.Eventually this company broke up now all the work had been done,and he was posted to Ascot another working Company Getting posted to Ascot suited him right down to the ground because it wasnt far from Slough where his girl friend lived,the only draw back was this new company worked very long hours and by the time he had his meal and washed it was very close to bedtime.Now how was he going to get out of working with his lorry,and get a job with more respectable hours.Eventually it came to him,the nights were drawing in and getting quite dark at six oclock,and as the lorries worked until eight oclock it was very dark,so he went to his sargeant and said he had night blindness.The sargeant was quite taken aback at this statement,and told him he would have to report to the doctor the next morning.Morning came and off he went to the doctor,and he said he would have to go to the hospital for a test.Next day he was taken to the hospital,when he got there he was taken in a room with lots of different gadjets and told to put on a blindfold,this he did,and the doctor said stay there,and I will ba back in about twenty minutes.After the doctor left Percy took of the blindfold to make sure whatever the doctor was going to do wouldnt work.After twenty minutes the doctor came back,and Percy had just put the blindfold back just as the doctor was coming in the room.Percy was taken to a lighted screen,and told to take off the blindfold,he was told to cover one eye,and then ask what could he see on the screen,it was a zigzag but he said it was a stright line,then other images were shown but Percy always said something different to what it was.Eventually the test was over,and the doctor said he would send his report to the Company.Next day the sargeant sent for Percy and said it had been confirmed that he did have night blindness,and he was now excused driving intil the light nights came back,and in the meantime I will have to find you another job.Next day he was sent for and told he would be a billet orderly,this suited him just fine,all he had to do was sweep the floors Tidy up clean windows and the such like,and wait for the Orderly Officer to make his inspection.Four oclock and he was free for the rest of the day,and after his meal he would be on his way to Slough to see his girl friend on a bycyce he bought from a driver who was being posted away,and couldnt take it with him.After a few months the sargeant sent for Percy and told him he was posting him away to Bishop Aukland to do a course.This didnt suit him at all but there wasnt anything he could do about itWhile he had been at Ascot he had got himself married,and having to leave his wife was very hard for him.
The course he went on was to learn all about an engine,maybe it was a good thing to learn,just in case he broke down.After several weeks he and all the other pupils were given some bad news and told that at the end of the course we would be posted abroad,it wouldnt be France because of Dunkirk,more likely North Africa,and he didnt fancy this one bit,not that he was a coward,he just didnt like leaving the country and his wife.
Now he was racking his brains to see what he could come up with to stop him going,but he shouldnt have bothered because his luck was in,he was told he wouldnt be going because he was going to be an instructor because he had done so well in the exams of the course.He definately was a very lucky person,one day he was standing on a steet corner with nothing to do,and one of the other soldiers that was waiting for the posting,came up to Percy and ask him if he wanted to buy an army knife,but he told the soldier he already had one,and didnt need another.The soldier said he was gasping for a smoke and neede a shilling to buy some cigs.Percy decided to give him a shilling to help him out.He continued standing on the corner with the knife in his hand,and another soldier came up to him and saw the knife Percy was holding,and said he had lost his knife and would he be willing to sell it to him.Of course Percy didnt want it and said he would sell it for half a crown.The army would have charge seven and a half shilling for a replacement,so the soldier was happy to pay what he was ask.Percy had made a profit of one shilling and sixpence all in a few minutes,maybe the first soldier stole the knife from the second one.Thigs seemed to go his way all the time.After a few weeks he was told the course was shutting down and that he would be posted to Southampton to another Company.When he got there he was given a very big lorry,a ten tonner,he was more used to three tonners,but he was a very good driver and had no problem with this big one.There werent any barracks at Southampton so all the drivers were put in civilian houses,and the lorries were parked all along the road.Now that the invasion of France was iminent,Percy went to the sargeant and ask when would we be given leave to say goodbye to our folks and wife,but he was told there wouldnt be any leave before the invasion.This went against with Percy and he wasnt going anywhere without say goodbye to his wife,later that day he started off up the road to hitchhike home.Very soon an army car came along the road and and he hailed it.It stopped and he ask the driver for a lift as far as he was going.The driver said he was going to Windsor at a barracks there to pick up an officer.Percy couldnt believe his luck,Windsor was just two miles from Slough and his wife.When he told the driver where he wanted the driver said he would take him all the way to Slough,as he was a bit early where he had to go,how lucky can this Percy be.Of course his wife and family were very pleased to see him,but were concerned about all the trouble he would be in if he missed the invasion.He said he didnt care how much trouble he would get in,he wasnt it was worth it to be able to say goodbye,after all he might get killed in France.After three days he decide to go back and face the music.When he did finally get back the sargeant was in a real rage and ask where have you been,and Percy told him exactly where.The sargeant said he would be on a charge,but he would be dealt with when they get to France,and until then was on open arrest.
All the lorries had to be waterproofed,because when they get to France would have to drive from the ship into the water,and it might flood the engines.After a few days we had to drive the lorries on to the landing crafts.It wasnt long before we were on our way,after many hours we came close to land,and had to drive in to the sea,luckier it only just came up to the top of the wheels,we were expecting it to come into the driving cab.We drove inland for about a mile or so and we all drove into this field and parked all along the hedges.We were told never to walk across the field because it could be seen from the air.After a few days when we settled in,putting up tents for the officers to sleep in and another one for office work Percy was called to face the charges of being absent without leave,he thought they might have forgotten now we were close to the fighting.He was marched in the the tent being used as the orderly room,and the charge read out and what had he to say for himself.He told the officer exactly why he was AWOL,if there was a chance that he might get killed he wanted to say goodbye.The officer said he quite understood,and gave Percy 14 days field punishment