Page 7 - ABA Salvoes 1999-2024

We started on mastering the morse code very slowly, but gradually the speed increased, and over a 6 month training period we worked up to 22 words a minute. A few of the lads could not stand the pace and had nervous breakdowns. They were sent away for treatment, never to be seen by us again. When the wireless course was nearing its end, our instructor asked for volunteers for special service, but would give no further details of what it would entail. My pal Donald was the only one to volunteer so the instructor put our names into a hat and told Donald to pull some names out, amongst which was mine. The reluctant volunteers were then sent down by train to Devonport, a Naval barracks on the south coast of England. We stayed there for a week, and then learned that we were going into Combined Operations, a group made up of units from the Royal Navy, the Army and the RAF, and headed by Lord Mountbatten. The unit’s badge was made up of insignia from each of the Services, a stockless anchor, a tommy gun across the center of the anchor, and a pair of wings on the anchor top. We were then supplied with winter clothing and put on a train which took us back up to Scotland. Our destination was Dundonald Camp, which was about 20 miles north of HMS SCOTIA, and near Dundonald village between Irvine and Troon. Physical training became much more intense, and we had to run round training courses loaded down with equipment. One location meant racing along a plank placed over a deep hole, which to my surprise was stuffed with barbed wire at the bottom. Fortunately, my momentum gave sufficient impetus to get to the other side. We were also fired upon but were assured that they were all blanks. When we were thought to be sufficiently trained, we were sent to Inveraray to practice beach landings from landing craft on Loch Fyne, the local large sea loch. Once landed on the beach we then had to climb up some of the local mountains with a Type 18 wireless set on our backs, and a morse key strapped to our legs. On reaching the top of the mountain, we then had to try and make contact with the other groups. The radio transmissions were usually successful, and we could get through when there were no obstructions to the signals. We were billeted in Nissan huts near Inveraray Castle, and nearby were hundreds of Canadian troops who were also under training in assault landing procedures. We also went on route marches around the district. The Canadians had an entertainments hut that showed films, and occasionally an ENSA (Entertainments National Services Act - better known as Every Night Something Awful) concert, to which we had a standing invitation, but were usually so tired that we were quite happy to flop down on our bunks when we got back to the huts. On completing the training at Inveraray, we returned to Dundonald camp and were told to be ready for a move overseas, destination unknown.
After a few days we were put on a train to Greenock and directed onto a troopship called the MV TEGELBERG, which was a Dutch ship that had been taken over by our government. We travelled in a large convoy with warships
on the fringes, and a zig-zag course was steered to avoid any submarines. We wouldn’t have stood a chance if a torpedo had struck us, as there were three decks above us, but when we had travelled far enough south it became warm enough to sleep on the deck. Salt water was supplied for washing and it was difficult to raise a lather. Special soap was on sale at the ship’s stores, but it didn’t perform much better. To reduce my water requirements, I requested permission to grow a beard, and this was granted. Our first port of call was Capetown, South Africa, and it looked a lovely place, after having been a month at sea. The journey up the east coast of Africa lasted for another month, and then we disembarked at Port Tewfik, a Red Sea port near the bottom end of the Suez Canal. We were then transported to a Royal Artillery camp that had been set up in the desert, miles from anywhere. The table tops in the mess tents were covered with flies, and a quick brush over only caused them to rise and wait before they could settle again. After a few days most of us had dysentery, and some of the chaps got it so bad that they could not control themselves, and the place soon had an unpleasant smell. The toilets were holes in the ground, with big boxes over the top with holes in them, over which you squatted, gritting your teeth, hoping that the frame would not collapse. We went into the Sinai Desert and practised shoots on an abandoned RAF camp, with a destroyer out at sea providing shellfire. Someone had left a sign in the urinal which said, “The future of Britain is in your hands”.
About 3 weeks later, we were put on a boat and sailed up the Suez Canal to join up with the troops with whom we were to be attached. This was the Long-Range Desert Group (now the SAS), which had been operating behind German lines in the desert, and they claimed to have blown up more planes on the ground than the RAF had managed to destroy. We joined them at a camp near Alexandria, and were issued with their uniform and weapons, comprising a Smith and Wesson revolver with ammunition, 2 hand grenades and a dagger. I still had the Type 18 wireless set to carry around, and with a gas cape, blanket, toilet articles, emergency rations and bandages (field dressings), I felt like a pack horse when fully kitted up. Our unit was part of the Combined Operations Bombardment Unit, and comprised a Royal Artillery captain, a bombardier (corporal), and two Naval telegraphists. On 8 Jul 43 we set sail at night and slipped out of port in darkness, and the buzz soon got round that our destination was Sicily – Operation HUSKY. When the officers had been briefed on the master plan, they got their own men together and told them what their part of the operation would be. We were ordered to land at Cape Muro di Porco, which is a little cape that is on the bottom right-hand side of the island, near Syracuse. We were also given wireless frequencies and call signs and told that three gunboats would provide navel bombardment if required. Our allocated gunboat was called the SCARAB. Gliders containing troops had been sent in before the
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