91Čȱ¬

Francis Williams was a driver for the RAF for 10 years:

In 1942 20 of us were told

You’re posted,

Where are we going chief?

To Honily in Warwickshire.

It was a night fighter squadron we were joining. We were joining the American First Army to invaded North Africa

We arrived at Liverpool and we got aboard the ship. I didn’t fancy a hammock so I slept on the table.

After 2 days we moved out. It was a huge flotilla. We didn’t know where we were going.

I left Stella a list of names — I said if I say were sent to America I'll say I’ve met Harry, If I say I’ve met Fred it means we were going somewhere else.

I saw flying fish. I thought they were sparrows coming out of the sea!

We were still about 10 miles off shore and we saw lights coming towards us. They were the sardine fishers.

We pulled into Gibraltar for a bit. Then we went off

It amused us because we pulled the chain in the toilet and it sparkled. It was phosphorous.

We carried on. We passed Algiers and got off at Bone.

As we passed the entrance of the tobacco factory we saw an orchard and the oranges were huge. We said we’d go scrumping that night. They were Seville oranges! Be sure your sins will find you out!

Jerry knew we were there and he tried to bomb us at night. So when it got dusk we went up the road to sleep in the church.

2 days later out transport arrived and we had to learn to drive on the right side of the road. We had to go up into Tunis and try to find all these places.

There were big signs on the side of the road.
Famous last words are “it’s one of ours”

We had night fighters ands one day I said why are you taking all those empty bottles with no corks. He said when we get over the Italian aerodromes and when new see an Italian aircraft coming in to land we drop the bottles out. They sound like bombs and no matter what’s coming in to land they switch the lights off and the aircraft piles up!

We moved to a place called Satif. We used to have latrines outside and they had a green canvas roof. One day the roof went missing. The officers looked round the village and said there they are! All the lads were wearing green canvas trousers. The Gendarmes rounded them all up and took them to prison and took them to prison.

We were bombed one night — we could hear this one coming and we dived on the floor

“That was close Harry”

“It’d got our name on it.”

“Yes — but it wasn’t spelt right!”

We did see one of our aircraft shot down overhead. It was a very skilful German pilot who did it. He went into a little cloud and instead of going through it he did a complete loop and when the English pilot went through he was looking round and the German came in behind him. Poor soul he was finished.

We used to swap bully beef and margarine for meals. Sometimes they’d cook a pig. One day they said —“it’s special for you tonight. Sheep’s brains in egg yolk.” How can you refuse when they’ve gone to that trouble? It took some eating — but we got through it!

Have you tried Absinthe? Looks like milk. Harry said — “I’ll have 2 or 3 of them” It’s very potent. I woke up in the night and I heard someone coughing in the barnyard. We thought it was a German. Although we were miles behind the lines.
Turned out to be a sheep!

Each morning the pilots would say — “what’s it like?” we’d say “we’ve done the engine sir. Take it up for a test” “You going up?” “Yes” “Can I come?”
“Get yourself a parachute and come.”

We bought some chickens. Harry said “let’s start an egg place - we can sell 'em for 5 Francs each — we’ll make a bomb!”
We found a store and some boxes and started selling them off till one day the armament officer came in and said “For god sake get them out of there.” “why Chiefy?” “They’re sitting on boxes of detonators”
“The chickens don’t mind!”
“Well I do — and so do the rest of the camp!”
We had a thriving business - we were getting about a 100 (about 10 shilling)francs a week.

The African campaign came to an end. The squadron moved to Sicily,
I had to take a motorbike 400 miles. It was a matchless. I go 300 odd miles and I got to a bridge that had been partially repaired and there was a concrete step on it. And I hit it. I put my hand out to stop myself and I broke my arm. I thought it was sprained but it was broken.

To cut a story short I was taken for an X-ray. Broken.

I was kept 12 months with it broken. They wouldn’t operate because the skin wasn’t broken and there was a high risk of infection if they operated. So they kept it broken for 12 months. I was then invalided home.

When I was taken home I saw a Canadian surgeon and he said there’s bad news — it’s been broken for so long all I can do now is take slivers of bone from your left knee and graft them on. It will be very painful. I can’t bend it. I went before a disablement board and they put me down as 40% disabled after a lot of bickering.

Terry Murphy — he was my armed escort — he could sing play the piano…so if we went anywhere at night he’s say come to the pub — I’d say: “But I don’t drink” and he’d say: “But I do!” and he’d play the piano. He was an Adonis and all the women used to flock round him.

He was a good lad but he hadn’t got a trade so he was Terry Murphy ACHGD (Aircraft hand, general duties) so he was like a spare bod He was my armed escort. Of course when you get in a cab which isn’t very big with a rifle you couldn’t get it out anyway!

We did thousands of miles together. He was a good lad

I lost track of him when I was posted aboard and he got into touch with me again and he said he was now in Germany and could I send some tins of coffee? And he explained in his letter that coffee there was worth more than a gold ring and if you had a tin coffee you could barter for anything you wanted. So I sent him 3 or 4 tins in a parcel and I never heard from him again. I wonder if he’s still on this earth? Anyway — that was Terry — with a Ronald Coleman moustache and film star appearance.

This story was submitted to the people's War site by Genevieve Tudor of the 91Čȱ¬ Radio Shropshire CSV Desk on behalf of Francis Williams and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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