REMEMBERANCES

It is now well over fifty years since the end of the war, but the nostalgia of the last year has bought back so many memories, some bad and some good. We do not remember every thing as over the years we have so many other things on our minds, but when you get to meet a colleage, whether from the services or from civilian life, you remember and reminisce.

I was eighteen when I volunteered for the Air Force. When you volunteered you got to choose what you would like to do. Later on the girls were "called up" and they had to go and do what the powers that be told them. I wanted to drive so, after doing square bashing and a three month driving course. I was ready to keep the war effort going. I was posted to the 418 Canadian Squadron as a driver where the duties varied from driving fire trucks, picking up coal and mail, to one of the saddest duties, which was taking the Air crews to their planes as they took off for their "Ops". Many did not return.

As D-Day approached, I was posted to a station way out in the wilds only to find twenty
ambulances lined up on the parade square. Altogether there were 24 drivers. We went on a training program driving in convoy and driving at night where you only had two slits for headlights. There were only canvas doors in the ambulance with no heater, no signals, no radios,
no windshield washer ect.

The hospital that we worked from was 15 miles away and when we were required, they whould send radio messages through. We were on call 24 hours a day and many times we had to drive 19 hours a day. There were no road signs and no motor ways. We had to navigate our way using maps. The scenery was very picturesque, so we saw a lot of England. We would pick up the wounded from trains, boats and planes and take them to the hospitals where there were several operating rooms working 24 hours a day. After the wounded were patched up we took them on to various hospitals and rehabilitation centres. Some of the burn patients could not be recognized as the were bandaged from head to toe and looked like mummies. Lots of men had lost arms and legs. It was just awful the first 2 weeks after D-Day. The sights really upset us, but as time went on we got hardened as we knew we had a job to do and we all tried to do a good job. Italian POW's were stretcher bearers. When our boys were released from POW camps they were all nerves. When we took them to the various hospitals, we used to stop on the way for tea and cakes. Even though there was very little selection in war time, our soldiers did not know what to choose. They just kept looking over there shoulders to see who was watching them. People were good to the wounded that had to remain out on the stretchers. They showered them with choclates and cigarettes. Most could not believe the generosity of the British public as some of the places we stopped at were quite ritzy places.

Now at each 11th hour on the 11th day in November, We do not forget.

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