The company office which was responsible for all things military in the battalion had drawn up a roster for our first week’s leave. My leave was scheduled for the seventeenth of February 1941. My first visit home apart from the quick visit on the Sunday previously mentioned. I caught the train from Weedon and changed at Rugby, where I caught the train to Preston and then by bus to Whittle-le-Woods, dropping at the shop which is now the chemist’s. In those days the bus driver would drop you off anywhere, so I went down factory lane to home. I saw mum through the window sitting in her chair so it was a nice homecoming during the next few minutes. I had some lunch and then made my way up to Prospect House to meet my lady love. We then had tea and then spent a quiet evening together. That was Monday. On the Tuesday morning I ventured to put on my civilian suit but it was so cold that I hastily put my uniform back on. During that week Alice had the week off. The days went very quickly and it was time for me to return. Mother was not really well at that time but we had to return.
Our time at Weedon consisted mostly of handling the small arms parts and fire watching in the depot. Nineteen forty-one was a very black year in Britain’s history as we were all alone. The Russians and the Americans had not been involved till later in the year. During the spring of that year, a call came for volunteers to go to a place in Leicestershire called Old Dalby where a new Ordnance Depot was being opened. It was to house small arms parts and wireless signal parts along with radar equipment, radar being then top secret. I along with quite a few others volunteered as we wanted to be doing something more active. We arrived at Old Dalby after having different changes on the railway. The distance from Weedon to Old Dalby was not all that great but it was across-country and therefore took us longer. I soon learnt that this village was not far from Melton Mowbray, the town where my mother had been born and dad also informed me that he used to go hunting in that area, presumably with his employer, Melton Mowbray being in the heart of hunting country. On arrival at the depot, we were billeted in sheds. The sheds were used to accommodate stores, but the one we were allocated to was to be used as a billet and approximately six hundred troops were installed there. It was very congested and there were double deck bunks so we had very little room to move or anywhere to place our kit. The dining accommodation was in part of the shed and was very primitive, washing in cold water and sliming (?) bowls (taps). Anyhow it was a change from Weedon and I was placed in the small arms section which consisted of light machine guns, rifles, pistols, and some anti-tank weapons which in themselves would have been of little use against modern weaponry at that time. As it was springtime and light weather and also a double summertime had been introduced, we settled in. I had received from my mother an address of her cousin at Melton Mowbray, so at the earliest opportunity, I made a visit to the lady named Mrs Osborne but whom Mother knew as Luce Hack. They were related on my mother’s side; presumably, my Grandmother and Luce Hack’s mother were sisters. I went to number six Stanley Street along with another friend who had come with me to Old Dalby. I introduced myself, saying I was Lizzie Cadwallader’s son. She made me very welcome and I was introduced to her two sons, Albert and Walter and also their daughter, May. During my time at Old Dalby, I made several visits and became quite friendly. The two lads paid a visit to see my mother at Whittle. During the first June, I went down with tonsillitis and was taken to a house which had been converted into a convalescent home in Leicester. I had a temperature of one hundred and two. I was prone to tonsillitis in those days. Whilst I was in convalescence the nurse came in on June first and told me that the Germans had invaded Russia, light at the end of the tunnel at last; but for a long time the German advance into Russia went unchecked. Towns and cities were overrun until the great battle of Stalingrad, when a whole German army surrendered and the German CinC surrendered, his name being General von Paulus. That was the turning point of the German advance in 1942.
During 1941 and early 1942, I was detailed to be in charge of two convoys. We had to take special radar equipment which consisted of three mobile units. One convoy was to Port Glasgow and we arrived very late on a Saturday night at Hamilton, a few miles outside Glasgow. It was very dark and hardly anyone about; we eventually found what was the headquarters of the local Home Guard so we put down for the night. The drivers of the vehicles were civilian but I was in charge of the convoy. On the Sunday morning, we made our way to Port Glasgow where a convoy of ships was being assembled. We were told that they were not due to sail for a while, but we had been given to understand they were extremely urgent, hence our rush to Glasgow. As the speed limit of the vehicles was around 30mph we could only do a certain distance, we put up twice on our way back, once south of Glasgow and the next at Hadrian’s camp at Carlisle. We continued our journey and I began to have a bout of tonsillitis. When we got to Manchester the civilian drivers said they couldn’t go any further because of the blackout, so, being unwell, I made my way back to Whittle-le-Woods. The other soldiers with me did likewise, going to their respective homes. During the next few days, I was rather poorly and our G.P. came to see me. He said he would write to our regimental M.O. that I should consider having my tonsils out. In the meantime, I had written to my company HQ and informed them of my illness. They were very understanding and sent me a pass and a railway warrant. On arriving back, after a few days, I saw the transport officer who had been responsible for despatching the convoy and he congratulated me on the success of our mission. The other convoy was much the same as the Glasgow one, but this time after much being shunted from one area to another, we finally arrived at Finningley Aerodrome at Doncaster. Each civilian driver then made their own way back. When we arrived at Manchester I persuaded the driver to take us to Whittle-le-Woods for the night, which he eventually agreed and met my parents. He had a bath and a good walk round whilst I went to see Alice, who was surprised to see me. So, the following morning we made our way back to our unit in Leicestershire. These convoys took place before we were married.
Continue to 23. Promotion & Marriage