Page 79 - RADC 2016

MEMORIES
In which we served.
Jim Donaldson aged 82
In 1952, at the age of 17 I enlisted into the RADC and reported to Connaught Barracks in Aldershot. The Garrison strength was 90000 and the RADC HQ Unit was ‘300 Of cers and Men’. My daily rate of pay was 35p before stoppages.
The HQ occupied a large Victorian building that began life as a hospital. A dental training unit provided laboratories, classrooms, an X-ray department and admin of ces. Adjacent to this were a number of barracks rooms each housing 30 men.
With six weeks basic training completed the recruits were transferred to Tournai Barracks which was adjacent to a Guard Room, NAAFI, Of cers’ and Sergeants’ Messes, the church and a parade square.
A dental hygienist wing was designed
by Major (later Major General) Bowen. As
a newly promoted Corporal I assisted in obtaining the equipment he required for a 12-chair unit. Today that complex no-longer exists.
In 1953 I was posted to Korea. I reported to Liverpool Docks and embarked on the troopship ‘Lancashire’, 13000 tonnes with a tall, single smokestack. As a boy from
a shipyard town I knew I was looking at a 1920’s vessel. Accommodated on F-deck which was triple decked canvas bunked and with 115 men in a very con ned space. Below was G-deck which housed the prison cells and ammunition. A 6-week voyage lay ahead calling at Gibraltar, Port Said, Aden, Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong and nally Kure, Japan.
On that rst day on parade in Japan I,
and a few others, were told we could not enter a theatre of was until we turned 19. For the next few weeks I was employed in the Hospital Dental Department which was part of the Commonwealth General Hospital. The consultant dental surgeon was Colonel E.C. Browne; it is now
the National Cancer
Hospital of Japan.
Pte J Donaldson aged 17 in 1952
that sleeping on the oor of a windowless building would be far from comfortable.
I hitched a lift with an RAOC Cpl in his 1-tonne vehicle. A condition of the ride being
I carried his Sten gun and protected him. Little did he know I had no idea how to use it!
We nally arrived
at 224 Mobile Dental Team where I reported to Capt A.J. Parkhill, later to become a
Colonel.
An MDU consisted of a three-tonne
truck with a caravan built on the chassis
to house the surgery. It towed a trailer to accommodate the laboratory; we lived under canvas in 160lb tents. Every week the ORs queued up to receive their ration of 140 cigarettes and a pair of socks. In winter we also received a tot of rum.
The difference between American and British pay was substantial. The American Government offered to fund the difference but Winston Churchill refused. The good news was that we ate American rations
and owing to the severity of the climate we only served one winter. My coldest night I experienced whilst on guard duty was -42°F with frost.
My next move was to the Army Dental Centre in Hiro, Japan where I spent several months before bidding sayonara to Japan and embarking on the Asturias, a modern 40000 tonne vessel that completed the return leg in just 4 weeks.
In 1955 I was posted to the RADC Depot as an Instructor in the training wing. I served here under the Chief Instructor, Lt Col Galloway. From here I was moved to Malta again under his command. I enjoyed 4 years in Malta with its warm sunny climate. The working hours were 0700-1300 so I sailed 3 afternoons each week at the Army Sail Club with its eet of Sword sh dinghies provided by Lord Nuf eld. Each Wednesday I played rugby at Ta ‘Kali, a former air eld from which the RAF fought the Battle of Malta in WW2.
My return to the UK came with
promotion to SSgt and an assignment to Chelsea Barracks. From there I moved to Rheindahlen then Bielefeld with the Army Medical Equipment Depot. Promotion to WO2 in 1970 saw a move to Tidworth, a modest 3 chair centre under the command of Colonel G.A. Elliott. He was a major in uence on both my military and civilian life, I owe much of my success to him.
In 1972 I was posted to Aldershot as Depot RSM as a WO1. The Corps title did not exist in those days. One of the highlights was when I trained 300 RADC personnel for the Freedom of Aldershot parade.
Six months later I was granted a Regular commission in the RAMC and posted to
the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital in Aldershot as Administrator. This experience in hospital management eventually led me to resign from the Army and follow my true vocation by taking up an appointment in the Royal Marsden Hospital, London.
23 years alongside some memorable people in memorable places. My Army skills proved most useful for a successful civilian career – THANK YOU RADC!
Shortly after my
19th birthday I nally
made it to Korea
via a short sea
journey to Pusan on
the southern tip of
Korea; it had been
almost completely destroyed. We joined an American military troop train, travelling in box cars, destination Seoul. A few hundred miles north, the journey took 9 days. The capital had also suffered extensive damage as it had been won and lost on ve occasions. Even once here, there would be a week
long delay awaiting transport to join up
with my Division. However, I soon realised
...in 1952 the RADC HQ in Aldershot was 300 Of cers and Men
My daily rate of pay was 35p before stoppages
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