The pier P.O. told me that the Mobile Unit Commander wanted to see me. So I caught the trott boat over to Poole went up to his office and was told to enter. I saluted him and he told me to sit down and got his Wren to make me a cup of tea. Hookey he said, I think its time you had a rest (a rest, all I had been doing was cruising up and down the channel for the past six months). Some time ago you put in for a wiremans job and I propose sending you on a six weeks course to learn everything you can. (I was always keen on electric's and was an electricians mate when I was younger, but as keen as I was, it was asking a bit much to learn everything about electric's in six weeks, anyway I had forgotten that I had ever put in for the job).

Anyway, back to my home on the oggin, packed my kitbag, rolled up my hammock said goodbye to all my crazy mates. Then with my tickets and draft chitty in hand was off to Letchworth.

Was shown where I would be staying for the next few weeks; it was a Government Training Center, housing about thirty matelots and two hundred ladies who were learning about maintenance of Areo Engines. Had to write to me mum and let her know I was O.K. but didn't like my new address in print. Now during the war they had created a Girls Training Corps so that young ladies could get experience to join the Air Force as WAAF's. Also I was now a wireman candidate, so a bit embarrassed when writing my address as GTC Letchworth W/C. Studied very hard during the day, then for a bit of relaxation at nights we would adjourn to the recreation ground opposite the center. Then whilst sitting on the children's swings we would swap yarns, cos the new recruits were very anxious to learn about their future.

Bermuda would also tell us about his latest conquest, cos everywhere he went he got engaged to some girl or another, and he always bought them an engagement ring. He must have been loaded cos with us earning about thirty bob a week (and new recruits earning ten shillings a week) we would have had to save forever and a day to buy one. With the number he bought, if they were linked together they would have stretched from these islands to the West Indies.

Used to tell the new lads how to get the blue out of their collars and crumple their hats and blues so that it was not so obvious that they had just joined up.

Whilst sitting on the children's swing late one night, the usherette from the local cinema came through the recreation ground on her way home. Seeing us she came over to me and told me she wanted a swing. She then sat on my lap and proceeded to swing us backwards and forwards till we were flying quite high so then she held onto me like grim death, didn't like to tell her that she had made it quite hard for herself. She jumped off, gave me a smacker on the lips and was off before I could recover - why do they keep on doing that?

One morning I overslept and was very late reporting in. The regulating officer put me on a charge and I had to appear in front of the officer of the day as a defaulter. I had to run at the double then 'caps off' in front of the officer. To my surprise it was a one legged captain that I saw and he had been decorated in the field. He asked me what was my excuse so I told him that normally I was first up and I woke all the other lads, but this morning my alarm clock failed to function and all the other lads thinking I was already up didn't bother to look for me. He looked down at the papers in front of him (probably had my service record there) choked, hid his face, cos he had a big grin on it, and sentenced me to seven days loss of shore leave.

Seven days loss, it didn't matter cos there were a load of beautiful birds billeted on the site anyway and it was a pleasure to be there after the fishing vessel. Anyway we all knew in Kate Carnies army (combined opps) that one was never punished for what one did, only for what one was found out to have done. Motto, don't get caught. At weekends we were free, so George and I used to walk as far as the A1 and hitch a lift back to the smoke. The car and lorry drivers were so kiFwd Girls Training Corp's.ems nd to servicemen and would stop readily. It was embarrassing sometimes, cos not only would they give one a lift but when they stopped for breakfast at a café they would not allow us to pay, and they bought us a full breakfast even though we protested. Then when they dropped us in the East End they would take us to their local and they and their mates would fill us up with beer and even offer us the fare for the underground. (Seems they could never do enough for the boys in blue or in blue and khaki as far as we were concerned).

Often on a bus or train one would hear a child say to its mother 'is that man a soldier or a sailor mum'. Had got a weekend ration card issued so queued up outside the bakers for bread then whilst in the queue there was an almighty bang, and a pall of smoke appeared somewhere over Battersea or Wimbledon. 'What was that' I asked an adjacent person, oh nothing to worry about was the reply it's only a German V2. So one minute you could be there and the next. One could go up in a cloud of smoke, but it was nothing to worry about. (The devastation that those rockets caused was unbelievable, whole areas demolished in the flick of an eyelid). All a matter of luck I suppose cos unlike the Blitz one could not shelter from these.

After the bakers went to a little shop in North End Road called Sainsbury's, to get my one-ounce of butter, two ounces of cheese and two ounces of sugar. Whilst queuing it was announced that wonder of wonders the shop had had a delivery of eggs, one per person. When I got to the counter, all the housewives gave me their rations; I was most embarrassed and told them that in the forces we were much better fed than they. They insisted on hoisting there precious ration's onto me 'Go on Jack they said you deserve them more than us'. So I went home loaded with eggs cheese butter etc. courtesy of London housewives, I was amazed cos I knew that they and their kinfolk were almost starving.

Went back to Letchworth, finished the course then back to guzz (Devonport) and another draft chitty to H.M.S. Raleigh to take a 'Power of Command' course to enhance my hooky status. We had to sit for ages in a trott boat to go over from Guz to Raleigh and all the while the shite hawks kept bombing us until our blues and titfers were white. Arrived at Raleigh and the instructors soon let's us know who were the governors. In fact when they bellowed, one, you jumped up in the air, and on the command, two, you came down again. Were shown where our billets were and straight away we were on parade (just to smarten us up a bit). We did lots of marching and P.T. and we were allowed two minutes to change from P.T. kit to our uniforms. All the orders were reversed so if the instructor said right turn you turned left, if he said run, you marched, if he said march, then one ran. Run up the wall meant sit on the floor, etc. Kept one thinking all the time and if you got it wrong then you were on a charge.

Daily just for exercise we would do a 30-mile yomp in full kit and carrying a rifle. On the return one-day we were just entering the barrack gate and we were then told to smarten ourselves up and march into the place as if we were sailors (what were we then if not?). We were by this time just descending the hill approaching the barrack gate and I heard a voice say 'Christ my feet are covered in blisters'. The instructor shouted 'Prove who spoke' no one answered. Right then he said, arms at the port. Then we had to raise our rifles over our heads & double up and down the hill after just running 30 miles. The bloke next to me whispered 'Christ, if I had a bullet for this rifle, id shoot that bastard' but that didn't help cos he just kept us running up and down the hill, till late at night, several men dropped from exhaustion.

For our training we had to take command of large parties of men and shout out instructions to them whilst drilling them on the parade ground. More than one poor soul shouted out 'forward march' then when the men were halfway across the parade ground 'Halt' but unfortunately for them the front half never heard so they just kept marching and they would have to run after them and bring them to a halt. They never passed the course. We had to get them to form square and do many other maneuvers on the parade ground and it was strange to see what a mess they could finish up in if one was not careful. Anyway passed this course successfully, so now I was a fully established Leading Wireman and I could now wear badges of crossed torpedoes on my right arm my hook on my left, and my combined ops badge on my left wrist. The combined ops badge we were all very proud of cos it was a hook (or anchor) an aeroplane prop and crossed tommy guns.

Another draft chitty and off to Scotland where we learnt about camouflage, the Japanese were nap hands at this cos we were given examples, i. e. one would enter an empty field (or so one thought) and one couldn't see a soul. Then wonder of wonders all the trees and bushes started to move and men came out of hollows in the ground with branches on their hats etc. and there were about 100 facing you. Now off to Fort William to carry out survival exercises on Ben Nevis. Last of all to an assault course where live ammunition was used it certainly made one keep ones head down whilst crawling under barbed wire when machine gunners were firing live ammo just above ones head (seemed as if they didn't mind having a few casualties). One lad was a bit fed up with the whole affair so made a bunk for it, he was finally cornered at the railway station, so he threw himself under a train and he came out of the episode without any legs. We had to guard him in hospital 24 hours a day in case he did himself any further damage.

At the end of the course we were given a rare night off ashore so we all got thoroughly Brahms & List. Coming back along a country road in the dark, I was given a dare to jump over a ten-foot wall. Naturally I did it, but I hadn't been told that there was a 20' drop on the other side onto rocks, but as I was relaxed I didn't hurt myself, all the lads thought it was a good joke. One of our party though he was the bee's knees for bravery so he said 'Ill show you how to tackle this assault course, he grabbed hold of one of the ropes tied to a tree, swung out over the valley, then to our amazement he let go. We rushed down to him but weren't no good cos he had broken several bones in his body so we had to wait with him till the doctor and tiffies arrived. The following morning I was given another draft chitty to Lowestoft to pick up a Landing Craft Tank.

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