"Ever since the regiment was formed at Hastings twelve months ago, Sir", replied the C.O. The inspection took place on 16th December, 1942 and immediately following the event, we were all commanded to race over to the opposite side of the park to give His Majesty an enthusiastic send-off. He was then travelling to Guildford in order to inspect other units.
Word went around that having been inspected, it was now likely that we would be posted abroad within 3 weeks. Embarkation leave was granted, which covered Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I spent that period with my grandparents at their hotel (Rozel) in Weston-super-Mare. We spent the final evening at the Winter Gardens Pavilion on Boxing Day, 1942.
After returning to Blackwater, I was able to go up to London for the New Year celebrations, where I was able to meet my grandparents, who had so kindly travelled up from Weston-super-Mare to see me off. As my grandmother was suffering from a bad cold, my grandfather and I took a taxi to Victoria Station. This happened to be the very last time I ever saw him.
On the 3rd of January,1943, the Regiment entrained at Farnborough railway station for what marked the actual start of 'Journey into the unknown'. Throughout the night we appeared to be going in a northerly direction, passing an extensive built-up area which we thought must have been London or Reading.
In the early hours of the 4th January, 1943 we knew that we were certainly heading north, when we stopped for some very welcome refreshment at Carlisle station. Were we destined for Iceland maybe?
Some time later on, possibly in the afternoon, we arrived in Gourock, Scotland. There we witnessed a very large assembly of ships of all shapes and sizes, in the Firth of Clyde. We were ferried across to our respective ships in small tenders. Many of us boarded the HT "Orbita" which, we heard, used to be on the South American run, and was said to have been about 33 years old.
Precisely on the stroke of midnight 4th/5th January, the ships engines burst into life. Even though within sight of his home, a crew member and his relatives nearby had no idea where we were about to go, no, not even the Captain of the ship! It was said that those who woke up along that coastline next morning, must have had quite a shock to see the sea so devoid of shipping.
Our convoy was also said to have been known to the enemy, although they had no idea as to its destination! We sailed westwards along the Northern Ireland coast then southwards down the west coast, at which point sealed orders were opened by the captain which revealed that we were in fact destined for North Africa!
The leader of the convoy was the liner "Empress of Bermuda" Upon a blast signal from her at regular intervals, the convoy would change course in a somewhat zig-zag fashion, in order to confuse any U-boats in the area. As it was, we sailed quite far out to the west to avoid the areas of most concentrated U-boat activity. There were rumours that we could not be very far from the American coast, but this must have been quite ridiculous! However, there was a moment of concern, when a crew member came hurrying down the ship's ladder announcing the fact that U-boats had in fact been sighted.
Many of our Regiment upon hearing that the "Monarch of Bermuda" was carrying some 2,000 A.T.S. girls to be disembarked in Casablanca, must have had eyes like telescopes, judging by the way they were straining to see them!
At some point in darkness, the convoy quickly changed course, to sail eastwards into the Mediterranean, passing Gibraltar, which surprisingly, was fully illuminated. I believe that there was some reason for this, however.
Mostlikely because Spain itself was neutral.
It was thought that the enemy had believed that our convoy was going to sail south, hence that sudden switch of direction into the Mediterranean. The deviation in course had apparently added an extra 1,000 miles to the journey from Scotland.
Onwards we sailed, eventually arriving at Algiers
on the 17th of January,1943, 12 days after departing from Gourock. Algiers aroused great feelings of nostalgia within me, because it was only on about the 9th September, 1932 that my grandfather, my brother and self disembarked there, whilst on a 12-day cruise from Southhanpton to Lisbon, Gibraltar and Algiers, having taken just six days on board the White Star Line's SS."Doric" (16,484 tons). Just to mention - that was cruising at only 拢1 per day then!
How dull and drab was the quayside of Algiers now - nothing but khaki and oil drums instead of the colourful Fez and Arab traders. Here we were detained several hours whilst two of our Batteries 153th and 154th were detailed to march inland, whilst we of 155th Battery were eventually to board the destroyer HMS "Zetland", for an overnight journey some 250 miles further east, along the North African coast to Bone (now Annaba), still in Algeria.
Prior to landing, our C.O. had us all assembled on board, to say that the mission upon which we were about to be engaged would, if successful, be one of the turning points of the war. He said that he, like we, likes wine, women and song, and that the sooner we get on with the task in hand the sooner we would return.
The French franc was devalued whilst still on board, which in effect meant that a bottle of wine which previously cost 6p. would now cost 4p.
We disembarked at Bone on 18th January, to the relief of many of our company, who had suffered much sea-sickness en route. Our tented camp was in a narrow wooded valley with sandy floor, only a short march inland.
Here we were to spend the following three weeks or so. It was not known to most of us at that time why exactly we were being detained there.
Our C.O., having been asked how long we were likely to be away from the homeland, replied to a very astonished gathering 'at least two years!'
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