Harry Tapley's Memories - Part 5

Going Home at Last

The Americans said they hadn’t got anything laid on and nobody had contacted them to let them know what to do with us blokes. Anyway, after two days, he said that we had to go to Hanover, so we could go home from there. So we went by truck for that bit from Bitterfeld to Hanover and there we waited for the aircraft that was returning from Russia. Dakotas that were going to Russia. Some were coming from England and stopping in Germany and then going on to Russia. Some were flying straight to Russia. Some were coming back via there and refuelling and then some from there were coming straight to Blighty and some were going to the channel ports. Whatever luck you had as to which one you got on when you go in groups of 25 and you waited until the aircraft was coming in and walked down to the take-off point and got on the plane. I was fortunate in my group of 25 that was coming straight to Wing in Buckinghamshire. I didn’t want to go to any French Channel Port, I wanted to get home. So, we lined up in our 25 and this plane came in, touched down, went into this part of the airport had a cup of tea and snack, then came and said “right ho lads” and we piled on board.

There were no concrete runways there, all grass. As we were taxi-ing down, the tail skid of the Dakota slipped and went into a rut, well almost a ditch, on the side of the runway there and we had to get out and lift the tail of the Dakota back on to the runway. Eventually we took off and we’d been in the air 10 minutes and suddenly it dropped, just like a stone and I know my thoughts were “oh no, not after all this time, we’re not going to crash” and the crew on the plane by that time could see the consternation and they said “it’s all right mates, it’s just an air pocket”, we just levelled off again and carried on. Then the pilot came through and said “I’ll fly you over the white cliffs of Dover so you really know you’re on the way home” and that’s what they did. The white cliffs of Dover, my god what a sight.

We landed at Wing in Buckinghamshire and there were a couple of WRAFS waiting as you came off the aircraft and they went each side of you and took an arm and escorted you off the plane and across the airfield and any little tiny rut or ditch they moved you round and, oh yes, they looked after you. You went into this big hanger and as you went inside the door, there was an X-ray machine, a medical officer, a dentist and stretchers. And when you went in, they puffed delousing power all over up, up your arms, down your trousers, and then the medical officer said “how do you feel” and if you hesitated he said “there’s a stretcher, get on that” and you didn’t get any further.

Most of us were waiting to get home so most said “Fine, thanks”, you were half dead but said you were fine. They gave you a quick medical, the dentist looked at your teeth, you stood by the X-ray machine, and if they thought you passed then you went out the door where the same two, well not same ones, but two WRAFS waiting to take you from there and then in this next hanger was all small tables with white table cloths on and in centre of each table was a tin of 50 gold flakes opened and a tin of 50 gold flakes on the chairs of each table for each person. Then they came and said “What would you like?” I jokingly said “Strawberries and cream” and the WRAFS said to me, not yet you can’t have strawberries and cream, you need to have a normal meal of bangers and mash or something like that and I said I’d have bangers and mash then. I had bangers and mash and when you’d had that you had a little bit of an interrogation.

At the end of the hanger were three tables, each with a number on, 90, 91 and 92 right. Outside of there was a truck with the same number on it. Whichever number table you had to go to, your Regimental number, your PoW number, what springs you’ve had stolen, during the interrogation you then went out to that truck that was outside and soon as that was full, off you went to that number camp. I went to 91 Reception Camp. I really wasn’t believing I was home until we were going between where we landed at Wing to Amersham Station, to this Reception Camp, I didn’t think I was home until we past a subdued lighting public house, with subdued lighting in the doorway, and there was a village copper with his helmet standing there and I thought “God, I’m home”.

We went into the camp at Amersham and as you went in there was a bloke standing there with a pile of telegrams, already written out “Arrived in England, see you soon” on it, and you gave them the name and address of who it should be sent to and your name was put on the bottom of the telegram and it was sent off then. My Beryl got that sometime around 4 o’clock in the morning.

We went to this hut and they said to go in there and wait until they call you for what else you have to do and so we went to this hut still with your old clothes on that you arrived home in and they were lousy and you were lousy and dirty, needed a bath and anyway, next thing is a shower. Back from the shower but you still had the dirty clothes and they came and asked what you wanted to eat. We’d already had bangers and mash but they said you can’t refuse this now we have got it ready for you, come on, you have to eat, so you had to make an effort. There was so much food wasted there and to waste food was criminal because we’d been without it for so long. Anyway, when we finished that meal, they said right, off we’d go then and we walked from there off to the top of the camp and then into a couple of bell tents and then there were these huts, clothing store, goodness knows what but anyway, you went in to where these bell tents were and you stripped off and slung all your clothes in these bell tents. Then you went and got underclothes, shirt, vest, pants, then you moved on and got tunic, socks, boots, moved on again until you were completely kitted out, even to the extent of rucksack and pack and even to the extent that the last thing was your armaments. I was excused rifles and showed him my finger with the top off and he said you’d better have this then and tossed me a fender. So I was no better off with that. Then we went back to the hut and had been in there a few minutes and then taken to the company office and given £10 and a pay book and a six week leave pass. If you wanted any more money whilst you were on leave you had to go the priority paymaster. Anyway, we are now ready to go to Amersham Station. We went by truck and there we got on the train to London Marylebone. You get there and there are trucks waiting to take you to your respective stations or your home town. If you prefer, you could get the underground, if there was any underground running. Anyway, it was all laid on, wonderful organisation, to get you to your respective stations and the final journey homewards.I went by truck from Marylebone to Waterloo station and caught one of the last trains down to Woking, my home town. Nearly got out of the train at West Byfleet station as it’s still semi-blackout.

Arrived at Woking station, full pack, hat I was wearing as I was in the Gordon Highlanders, Scots Regiment and I got out of the train to walk out of the front of the station at Woking to see how I was going to get from there to Horsell, to home, and I took my hat off because I was sweating. I was sweating mainly because I was almost home. Wonderful excitement. Anyway, as I walked out the front of the station there were two people there; one was a taxi driver who I had known before I went away who immediately greeted me and said “Oh god Harry, glad to see you back, I’ve got my cab, I’ll go and fetch my cab and take you home.” Actually his name was Green so of course he was called Dodger, he was a 1914-18 War man. He went to get his taxi cab and brought it to the front of the station and as he was about to move away, and the RP says to me, “put your hat on John”. I looked at him and thought “No”. I’ve had five years where I’ve had to do what I was told to do at the end of the point of a bayonet and in my own country and am not going to do what I am bloody well told like that, especially under the circumstances. I just looked at him and thought no more. He just said “if you don’t put your hat on, we have a little truck round the corner there, just right to take you people away” whereupon I got even a bit more stroppy. I said “well, where I have just come from, we had thousands of bloody trucks but they weren’t any use to us” and he looked at me and by that time Dodger Green had come there and intervened and said “if you have a go at this man, you’ll have me to deal with as well. I don’t think you want to upset the civilians who have been so damn good to you do you?” and he just looked and Dodger said “there’s my cab anyway Harry” and we got into his cab and drove off and left the RP standing there. That was my home coming to Woking town.

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