Ken Bush's War Part 5 - Recalled

Things were going quite well at work, bit of promotion here, bit of promotion there, I had a bit of difficulty with accommodation sometimes but we managed 1948 I got married to Hilda. She left Rugeley and came to live in the Caterham / Croydon area with me. As I say things were going smoothly, fairly smoothly, until, and again this St David’s Day came up again 28th of February 1951 I received a letter from the war office saying I would be recalled on a training scheme on the 30th June 1951 until the 14th July 1951 and so at that period of time from 28th February until June, it puts you in a complete void. You know your only going for a fortnight, that’s if they let you come out again, but the thing is it’s not like waiting for your holiday dates, you know this is complete disruption and that was it. I mean I had to have a medical before we went and so I had to report to OC Reception Centre, Marion Camp near Castle Martin in Pembrokeshire on the 30th June. By the time we got to the station you could practically tell the only people on the train were people who were going to be called up. Some of them did know each other renewing old comradeships and conversations, as usual I didn’t know anybody but we got onto the platform and stood there and handed a leaflet saying you are now under the military law. You know nice sort of greeting, not happy lads to see you back, you are now under military law and we stood around for a moment. RSM came forward and it was the same one that I left at Worcester. that I’d had a Newtown and Wrexham and they said fall in you see and all the lads fell in line of three including myself and a voice came out, Corporal Bush, fall to the back. Oh my god, they got me already and left right, left right, down the town to our tented camp and he then dismissed us and said where we’d got to go, various places, and Corporal Bush report to the company office which I duly did and he said oh here you are then part 1 and part 2 orders, so i'd got my old job back, job i'd had before I left to go to camp. I just could not believe it that nothing was said, where the hell did you get to or anything like that, I just got my old job back. So these lads were next day out on parade, quick march, left right, and all that, and I was sitting in the office sorting it all out and getting it all ready as if i'd never been away. I did notice lot of the paperwork for those that had come back from Burma and India and that instead of using pins they’d used thorns, I was a bit worried about getting poisoned or stuff like that so I was careful when you undid papers.

So for a fortnight I lived in a camp while all these others were out doing maneuvers. I don’t know if they ever taught how to use a piat gun, they didn’t come and teach me.

This was in the 50’s, there was still rationing for the civilians, The lads had ration books, been told to bring their ration books with them most of them their wives cut out the tea coupons. A few had left their sweet sugar rations and I duly cut all these out for them, got hold of a van to take me down to the town to the food office and I presented them with all these coupons. We don’t want them they said, you can keep them. I said what can I do with them all and they said, they went home and Hilda spread them around all her friends. That was a perk that I got out of the army.

What I didn’t mention to you I was surprised at the quickness and the alertness of the tailoring department. On our arrival to camp we were quickly kitted out and all the badges, the black flash, were stitched on like grease lightening so within an hour we were all kitted out as if we were old veterans they didn’t put the medal ribbons on.

I'm drawing to a conclusion now but just as I sit here, I’ve bits and pieces, I didn’t mention that, I didn’t tell them that, such as about the time when at Wrexham our billet was above the goats stables and the famous Billy underneath. That was a character, always will be one. Then I think if you ever get a chance to see Lipstick on your Collar by Dennis Potter That covers the Suez time, the time I was caught up for Z training, an interesting, brings you back to the, how it was in the early fifties.

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