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Coincidence.
I saw my first German plane on the 7th May 1940, it was on
reconnaisance along the Mersey and I am fairly certain of the date
because when the cease fire came at the end of the war my unit was
with the Polish Armoured Brigade heading for Wilhelmshaven, the
Poles had recently freed a work camp containing some of their wives
and daughters so they did their best to fire every round they had
before and a little after the deadline.
We went through the German lines and occupied Wilhelmshaven
aerodrome, behind the HQ building they had dug a large pit and it was
full of documents relating to British targets, I found several of
merseyside, our ordinance survey maps with targets on both sides of
the river marked in red plus an aerial photograph of the river frontages
dated Mai 7 1940!
Going to school.
When the Blitz started I was attending evening classes in Liverpool,it
wasn’t long before the building was bombed and the classes were
transferred and only held on saturdays.
The new venue was near the pierhead and I found it best to get a bus
to Birkenhead Ferry and cross by boat. The bus travelled along the
main road parallel to the river so the journey was a tour of the previous
night’s damage, on one occasion there was a mine hanging by it’s
parachute on a hoarding near Cammell Lairds’ Shipyards and a large
bite taken out of the nearby block of flats.
The boat crossing was always interesting , the bows were roped off
because of the danger of mines and I was able to count 17 wrecks in
the river.
An untraditional unit
After failing to get into the RAF I was trained as an artillery wireless
operator, my thoughts of OCTU were lost when I found myself posted
to A flight 652 AOP Squadron RAF, one of the first two such units,
after the training regiment it was a tremendous change .
Flights operated separately from each other and squadron HQ and I
was amazed to find that of about thiry men half were RAF and half
Army, with the senior NCO an RAF corporal fitter and above him five
Army Captains !
Within the flight the sections could also operate separately and
consisted of a wireless operator section leader , an army driver an
RAF fitter, an RAF rigger and one Captain pilot
It was a culture shock for the airmen ,some came from bomber
squadrons to work on tiny planes ,change one of their uniforms for
khakiand if a rigger, given a sten gun while the fitter had a Bren gun.
The training could be the subject for a book but the following ditty
composed by an airman in squadron HQ gives a flavour.
Continued :-
It’s great to be in the Artillery
Or else in the Royal Air Force
But 652 is a motley crew
It’s a neither here nor there force.

We wear khaki mixed with blue
The officers pips with wings
We’ve an army boss
And a state of Choss
In the Royal Air Marines

The kites we fly are Austercraft
And though they don’t fly very fast
The fan in front makes a nice cool draught
For the Royal Air Marines

We are Woke each morn at 6.15
You think you’r called by the virgin queen
But it’s only Jimmy Crow you’ve seen
In the Royal Air Marines.

We are on parade at nine o’clock
And have to be there on the dot
But it seems the officers have not
In the Royal Air Marines

The flight sergeant is Chiefy May
You’d recognise him any day
He’s more at home on a brewers dray
Than in the Royal Air Marines

If it should ever come to pass
That we should go to war
T’will make old Hitler laugh with glee
And make our allies sore

But give three loud and hearty cheers
And landlord bring us three more beers
What if the war lasts ten more years
It’s foolish but it’s fun.

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