National Service started but I just missed the first call-up as I was above the age. My brother joined the Royal Artillery. I believe he was persuaded to volunteer by the father of a girl he was friendly with. This man was badly injured whilst in an Infantry regiment. The war started in September 1939.
It meant blackout – no lights to be shown at night. The news told of our troops going to France and the thinking then was that it would not last long and that they would be back home for Christmas.
In December I received an order to go for a medical at Ipswich. There were a lot there for the same purpose. The next order was to report to the barracks of the Suffolk Regiment in Bury St Edmunds on 10th December.
We did very little except that we got our numbers – mine was 587763. The next morning we were given leave passes for seven days. We reported back on 17th December and did not do very much till after Christmas as most instructors were on Christmas leave. There was six weeks training and so many of us from each platoon were picked out for specialist training. I went to the signals group to learn semaphore with flags and what was known as a line.
Pay day was Friday and we were paid two shillings a day, so we received ten shillings, sometimes 15 shillings. The stoppages, we were told, were for barrack room damage. We then left the barracks, only going there for meals, and slept in various places – an empty shop, under canvas on the football ground and also private accommodation.
In June 1940 we all moved and I with some others went by train to Holt in Norfolk. Transport then took us to Salthouse, a small village on the coast.
There we joined the 2nd Cambridgeshire Regiment which was a territorial regiment. At the same time, some regulars from the 1st Suffolks joined us. They had been involved with the Dunkirk evacuation. It was understandable that discipline was slack, as the Territorials knew each other, had even been to school together. With the introduction of the regulars, discipline improved and Christian names were used a lot less. They were a grand lot of lads and when called to do something they did all and more than was expected of them. As Salthouse was on the coast we were on dawn to dusk stand-to with a compulsory rest time in the afternoon. This was because an invasion was expected after Dunkirk. In the autumn we moved to Sheringham and the signal platoon were in a very nice house. The Grand Hotel was used for our meals and offices. In the army I found that as soon as we were settled somewhere we were moved again.
The next place we moved to was Holt and then to Melton Constable.
Our next move was to Dumfries, Scotland. A friend I had at that time asked me to swap leave passes with him and while I was on leave they moved to Scotland so I had to find my own way there. I arrived late and had been put down as a deserter. As soon as I got there I was taken before the CO and I explained what had happened. I had been given wrong instructions so had missed the connection, luckily the charge was dismissed. The reason for going to Scotland was to train in cold conditions and it was a very cold winter that year. Just before Easter we moved again to Crewe in Cheshire. Our headquarters were in Crewe Hall, the other companies were out in the countryside, in farm buildings and anything which was available. The Hall was a mile from the town.
One Sunday we had just passed the railway station when we saw a man giving out tracts and an invitation to the Railway Mission nearby. I was with the chap who was the CO’s batman and as we saw some very nice-looking young ladies going into this Mission Hall we decided to follow them as we had nothing else to do. After the service we went for a walk with two of the young ladies and this was most enjoyable. Soon I was welcomed into their home in Hope Street and I really felt something for Edith. Soon after that, embarkation leave passes were issued and when I went home I told Mother about Edith and she just smiled.
This leave was serious and we were issued with kit that meant that we were going somewhere hot. Shortly after this all leave was stopped with no reason being given. The platoon which made up HQ was told to parade one morning. The RSM and a Sergeant walked between the ranks and tapped on the shoulder of some of the soldiers. We were told to dismiss except for those who had been tapped. I was one of them.
The next morning, we were told to parade at 10am and were drilled and inspected. Our web equipment had to be cleaned we were told and we were excused any other duties. This happened every day. No way was the RSM happy. We had new uniforms, what was all this about, no one seemed to know.
All leave was stopped from midnight so that evening I went out to meet Edith and told her that I would not be able to see her the next day. She told me that the King and Queen were coming to the Rolls Royce factory where she worked and it was then we realised why we had been doing all this drilling and cleaning.
We fell in at the transport lines and were told what it was about. We were counted and some were told to dismiss. We marched off to a point in front of the Hall and were told that the King was coming to inspect the regiment. Some lads came along with dusters and cleaned the spots off our boots as it had been raining in the night. A lieutenant took the parade, the RSM stood almost out of sight. As we gave the royal salute I could see he was pleased.
The King inspected us and spoke to a few. He asked how long I had been in the army and then he wished me good luck. The next few days we were kept busy, then the day came to get into lorries and set off for the station, there were some wives and friends to see us off.
On the station there were Redcaps everywhere and off we went to Gourock in Scotland. There to board a ship, we got sorted out and stowed our kit. We were to sleep in hammocks and it was very crowded. I was on fire duty when we set sail that moonlit night and as I saw the land that we were leaving I prayed that we might see it again. When daylight came the next morning we could see other ships as a whole division was afloat.
There was no sign of our destination until we saw land and were told it was Halifax, Nova Scotia. As we docked and disembarked the ‘Sobieski’ the quayside was lined with Redcaps.
We then boarded a very large liner, the ‘Mount Vernon’ which was equipped to take a brigade, three regiments plus medics and gunners. Besides our regiment there were two from the Royal Norfolks and there were two other liners to take the other two brigades. It was not long before we set off again with the other ships.
We dropped anchor off Trinidad to get fresh supplies then off again to arrive at Cape Town where we had a few days when we could go ashore. It was good to get our boots on again (plimsolls were the only footwear when on board). We did go up the Table Mountain but because of a mist we were not allowed to walk around.
It was getting near Christmas when we arrived in Cape Town and we were allowed to send letters home, these all had to be censored. Out next port of call was Mombasa while the other two liners and a smaller ship steamed away. We did not do much in Mombasa except to stretch our legs, it was very hot there. Then we set sail again, we still had no idea where we were going.
The Maldives were our next sighting of land and there we joined up with a convoy of ships. There was a heavy rain, the alarms sounded and we went to our lifeboat stations. We could hear planes, they were Japanese but because of the rain and cloud they missed us. This was the nearest we had been to the war for many of us. And this included the American sailors.
We continued on our way and rumours were rife about our destination.
On January 15th we landed at Singapore and disembarked quickly, although I and a few others did not get ashore until the next day. The others in the regiment were under canvas under the trees. It was not long before we were boarding lorries to go up- country to Malaya.
We had not chance to get acclimatised; we were going to support those who had already met the Japanese army. Unfortunately on February 15th we became Far East Prisoners-of-War and the next four years are best forgotten, if that is possible.