Now at - 91st.Battery - 63rd. HAA Regiment / Royal Regiment of Artillery

"SPIKED!"

We were now moved out of Horseshoe Barracks and down to Campfield lines. It was more relaxed now...the discipline was the same, but we all felt that the pressure was off. We were assigned our different jobs. Some went to Radar, Predictors, Gun Numbers. Others went as clerks, generator attendants. I went on the guns.  Bdr. Howarth was our Gun instructor. Did he put us through it, we didn’t have a minute to ourselves!  It was one round after another of Gun Drills, lectures, and in between, parade ground drill.

Time goes by. Summer arrives, and it's time for dancing, time to meet the girls who were in Southend on holiday. I must relate this incident. Not very nice when it happened, but we certainly laughed about it afterwards! We were all out on the town, calling at all the usual drinking places. I saw a couple of the lads had got themselves fixed up with the girls. I didn’t bother myself, as I was still courting Pam at the time.

SPIKED!

We had a good night and were getting ready for bed, discussing how the evening had gone, when one of the lads came in and said to me, “Jack,will you come and look at this.”  He led the way to the Wash place, then undid his trousers. I got ready to run! ”Hold on”  he said, and took his 'willie' out... the end looked really red and angry, and looked as if it had been bleeding!

I asked him what happened. He said he had met this girl, and they were stood against a wall, petting heavily. She took it out, then raised her hands above her head. The next minute he was howling in pain! He says he hopped about, gave a dance, and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!

She had stuck a hat pin in his thingy!  I said to him, “When she raised her hands above her head, didn’t you think anything?”  “Yes”  he replied. “I thought it was my lucky day ...and that she was surrendering.”  I howled with laughter, doubled over. “What  are you laughing at?”  he said indignantly. "Don’t tell anybody.”  He bathed it, and the next day, Sunday, he went to Southend General Hospital to get it seen to. I remember his name but I won’t reveal it. But I bet he remembers!