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Tex Provided this brief account of his Army Service .
"Joined Army 1/2/45.
Drafted to Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow to do
Infantry training
with the H.L.I. Highland Light Infantry.
Then to Catterick, Yorkshire for training in the Royal Signals as a Driver Mechanic from about March 1945 to approx October 1945.
Next stop Italy, around Trieste, Pola, Padua region, from Oct. 45 to Aug. 46 when I volunteered for the Airborne .
I returned to Thirsk, Yorkshire U.K. from there I went to Aldershot for ground training ( PT ) mostly and then to Middleton Stony from where we were transported to Upper Heyford each day by RAF buses to do more training on the swings, chutes etc. and finally our jumps, which I've explained before in Balloons and Things. This took from Aug.46 to about Jan. 47.
There would have been about 40 or so of us new " Red Devils " making up a draft to be shipped out to join the 6th. Airborne Div in Palestine, leaving U.K. approx Jan 47 for Haifa and I was then posted to " R " Troop at Afula, Attached to The Third The Kings Own Hussars, ( Recce mob ). Later we moved to Ramat David, then Athlit and the 17/21 Lancers took over from the Hussars. I was later posted to " L " Troop attached to 3 Bde at Nazareth then early 1948 I was posted to Div. Signals HQ in Haifa until shipping out in Apr.48 to the U.K.. I was promoted to Cpl. during my stay in Palestine.
On our return to U.K. we went to Ludgershall near Andover then the 6th. Airborne Division disbanded, then forming the 16th. Independent Parachute Brigade Group and I was then a member of the Signals Squadron of that Bde.
Around Aug. 48 we went to Germany and was stationed at Schleswig, Hamburg and Hanover. In Nov.49 we returned to U.K. and were stationed at Farnborough near Aldershot and in Nov. 50 I got married and shortly after that I was posted out of the Airborne ( a ruddy sad day I might add ).
I went to Barnard
Castle, County Durham and was immediately placed on a draft for Cyprus
but when I returned from embarkation leave I was posted to the Transit
Camp at Harwich, Essex, which incidentally was my home town so I was as
happy as Larry but not for long as they formed a Divisional Signals Regt.
To join the 1st. Commonwealth Division bound for Korea and in early 1951
we were shipped over there, landing at Pusan and driving up to the River
Imjin over a few days. I spent the next 16 months there and returned to
U.K. to get demobbed in Nov. 52. After doing some of my reserve time, (
Over my 7 years with the colours. )
That's it in
a nut shell, hope to hear from some old mates shortly. "
"Tex"
