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After several years service in the Royal Corps of Signals,I was posted to Troon, in Scotland, to join Combined Operations Command, where Army and Navy joint exercises were held to practise the art of storming beaches by means of various Landing Craft.
It seemed that the promised invasion of Europe was imminent,and this was emphasised in the early months of 1944 when I was sent to Southampton to join the crew of a small Landing Craft which housed both army and Navy Wireless Operators. Not much doubt as to where we were heading before long.
On the 21st of May I celebrated my twenty first birthday on board the LCH (Landing Craft Headquarters). Just two weeks later we left our mooring, along with several hundred other craft, and headed across the Channel.Soon, however, we were on the way back, as the bad weather meant that a decision was taken to postpone the assault for 24 hours.Then, on Monday, June 5th, we set off again in the afternoon, suffering from the effects of a small vessel trying to overcome the still rough seas. Mal de Mer affected most of the ship's Company, but at least it kept our thoughts away from what we would likely face when we reached our objective, which was Gold Beach at Arromanche.
For the next few weeks we assisted with the landings, primarily passing messages from our colleagues ashore to the Capital ships which were several miles out at sea - messages which enabled many German strong points to be wiped out by heavy shelling.
Being housed as we were below decks, concentrating on radio sending and receiving, was in itself something of a bonus, as we were not aware of the near misses our craft suffered from the dropping of mines from enemy aircraft, and the 88mm shells which were fired at us.
Whereas, up until then, our future was uncertain, it transpired towards the end of June, when the beaches had been cleared, that we were surplus to requirements, and, to our great relief, someone decreed that we signallers should be returned to our base in Scotland. We were lucky; we made it home and survived.
A period of further training took place, in addition to which we were taught to touch-type to a standard of about forty words per minute. It appeared that we would be travelling abroad, and that operating high speed wireless stations communicating with the War Office would be our next task.
So it was that, on V.E.Day, after a short spell on embarkation leave, we sailed via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal to Bombay.
With us travelled 80 tons of aerial equipment, which initially was housed in a great warehouse, where we had to keep it company as it was extremely valuable. One week of sleeping in that warehouse was not pleasant, but, after our Normandy experiences, it was as nothing to us.
Eventually, some indication of where we were bound filtered through, and the intention was to take ourselves and the equipment down the length of India, and across to Ceylon, where we were to join the SEAC Group at Lord Louis Mountbatten's Headquarters in the hills of Kandy......
to be continued.....

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