Chapter 2 Guarding England in winter - summary, Twitter extracts, etc

Chotie Darling

Part 1 The Blue Cockade

 

Chapter 2 Guarding England - winter

 

end of PT Instruction and on guard in awful conditions;Chippenham, Corsham, Lee-on-Solent and Southbourne; Corporal to Lance Corporal to Corporal again.

 

70^th Bath & Dorset Regiment, November to December 1940

Chippenham, Wiltshire – ‘K’ company (Corporal)

 

70^th Dorset, December 1940 to February 1941

(Corsham, Wiltshire – ‘A’ Company (Corporal), then ‘C’ Company (demoted to Lance Corporal 1^st January 1941)

Lee–on-Solent, Hampshire – ‘C’ Company (Lance Corporal)

Southbourne, Dorset (then in Hampshire) – ‘C’ Company (Lance Corporal), then ‘D’ Company (appointed full Corporal again 20^th February 1941)

  

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1^st November 1940 - Dick was posted to the 70^th or Young Soldiers’ Battalion of the Bath & Dorsets Regiment in Chippenham.

 

early November 1940 - Bombs in Birmingham

Bombs were falling all over the place. I ended up sleeping in a cellar under some barracks.

12^th November 1940 - Taken off PT, Chippenham

I hope to go on an NCO’s Course in a fortnight or so. You get a chance to do Bren, Lewis and Anti-tank, etc.

16th November 1940 - 'pretty merry' in Chippenham

I'm afraid I've been called for Batt. Ord. Sergeant* for tonight as we had four deserters yesterday.

17th November 1940 - Church Parade

everyone who can gets completely tight. They come in looking for trouble and we have to get them to bed even if it means knocking them out

20th November 1940 - Raid on Chippenham

We had a raid here last night. I should think that half the Jerry Air Force were up. Plenty of bombs came down, but not too near.

24th November 1940 - Sunday fights

There's a couple of fights going on. Johnny Hill and I join in when we feel like it as one has to let them know who's boss.

1^st December 1940 - 'Rebecca' in Chippenham

If only the C.O. knew how much I adore & miss you Darling, I know he'd give me 21 days leave. No one has ever loved as I love you.

5^th December 1940 - We're moving

I went to the office to revert but the new CSM wouldn't hear of it and went all fatherly towards me. One of us is crazy and I’m all right.

7^th December 1940 - To Corsham Aerodrome

We shall be there for a month, doing guards at an aerodrome. The name of the place is Corsham. It's a few miles from Bath.

11^th December 1940 - In the mud

We are now in wretched little huts, which are stone cold. The mud is feet thick. There is no water! I haven't washed for three days.

20^th December 1940 - Long nights on guard

There's a raid on and Jerry’s dropping hot iron around. It's rather a job as all the Guards have to be doubled and extra ammo dished out, etc.

25^th December 1940 - A light in the darkness

Out of the whole battalion, which is approx 850 men, there have been over 250 deserters in the last fortnight!

2^nd January 1941 - Demotion

I’ve been chopped from full rank to Lance Corporal. I was hauled up in front of the Colonel and calmly told that I hadn’t any control over the men!

12^th January 1941 - Lorry collision

nearly managed to lose my left eye. I was running pretty fast in the Black-Out when I collided with a lorry.

14^th January 1941 – Lonely Nights

Good to hear you had a good time at the ‘Haven’. The only snag is that they can always chuck you in the sea to sober you up.

20^th January 1941 - Blitz in Southampton

I don't know what you must be thinking about me after coming home and being so terribly cold…I can't adapt myself to home life in a few hours.

29^th January 1941 - Something to be fought for

peace .. something that has to be fought for - and won, after much bloodshed and toil - not something that is just written down on paper.

1st February 1941 - On guard again

on Guard with only a candle for light and heat. It's now 8 o'clock Saturday evening, and I'm faced with staying awake ‘til 10 tomorrow morning.

 

 

People in Chapter 2 Guarding England – winter :

Brinner, Clarke, J. (Johnny?) P., Diller, Eric, Clive Gammage, Gurd (Sgt/ CSM), Hesseltine (Col.), Johnny Hill, Lawrence (Lt), McCracken (Cpl), Monica (Dick's former girlfriend), Pa, Pete, Toni, White (Lt).

 

 

Books mentioned in Chapter 2:'Magnus Merriman’ by Eric Linklater – “You must certainly read it if you get the chance! I was just reminded of it because I remembered where ‘The girls who had been sitting on the sailor's knees, and had now returned to those warm seats began to sing: -
‘Morning never comes too soon,
I can face the afternoon,
But Oh! Those lonely nights!'
I had to admit the truth of those lines. It deals with that part in the life of a poet, (the hero is of course a poet as in Poets’ Pub) from when he joins the army during the last war to when he finally ends up in a marriage of convenience. It is brilliantly written in the usual Linklater style.”

‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier – “which you must also find time to read, as in my opinion it is the best novel of the last five years or so.”

‘The Impatient Virgin’ – “whenever Ruth (the heroine) walks out of a room she always left behind ‘the blue tobacco smoke mingled with the scent of dried roseleaves’!”

 

Films mentioned in Chapter 2:

‘Convoy’

‘Rebecca’ – “I saw ‘ Rebecca’ twice this week as I liked it so much.You must see it, if you haven't already done so. It was wonderful.If only I could write like du Maurier!”

“You should also see the film if you get the chance as I know you'd love it” (after writing about the book)