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This story was submitted by Helen Hughes of the People's War team in Wales on behalf of Stanley Hayward and is added to the site with his permission.

When I went in the army I expected either to go in the REME because I had four years as a mechanic — which they didn’t do they put me in the Ordnance Corps — and being as how I was on the anti-aircraft gun stationed underneath the barrel — I used to traverse the whole thing round - I was a number two…and I thought, I’ll go in the Royal Artillery…because I was already trained But they didn’t select me for that — they selected me for troop ships…I went on the infantry training, I came out. They knew I could drive because I was a mechanic and we were on amphibious craft, tank transporters, lorries, anything down to a jeep. All the vehicles that were in use we supplied, so we had to learn how to drive them. I was taking them down to the docks…down to Purfleet or anywhere — I even came to Cardiff docks ….we used to go up to Treforest to pick up Ford motors up there and we’d take them back to Aldershot which was Rushmore really where they used to have the Tattoo pre-war….and there was thousands and thousands of vehicles there all lined up herringbone fashion we’d call it. And the girls, the ATS girls they’re not hardly mentioned at all. They were wonderful…these girls absolutely they were marvellous. They did the same thing as us they drove the vehicles the same as us, they prepared them, put antifreeze in them, topped up the water, changed the batteries around on them…they did everything and there’s hardly a word mentioned about them, and there was hundreds of them stationed with us in Aldershot…doing convoy work, despatch riders as well. Give them their credit like, there’s not been enough said about them. It was the men and the women who did their best like…and they were very good. I know one incident when they had a despatch rider…he was a cockney bloke from London and he said “I’m not going out today because of the ice on the road….” So the girl, she was an ex-model and she was a corporal and she was in charge of depot transport and she said “Alright then if you’re too afraid to go out I’ll do it”, she said. And she jumped on the motorbike and off she went. And there was all ice on the road….he wouldn’t do it “too dangerous” he said.

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