A BRIEF HISTORY
OF LIFE IN REME
A Craftsman’s Story 1948 to I953
Contributed by: Phil KEMPSTER
Chapter
Sixteen.
Dunera Revisited Nov 1952
I was transported by road to the docks in Singapore
with all my gear packed in two kit bags and my large pack on my back. It’s quite a sight to see hundreds of
servicemen struggling up a gangplank with all their kit to board a
troopship. Anyway we all got aboard
safely and were soon allocated to our boat decks, I could not believe how
much the Dunera had changed from the last time I was on her three years ago,
she had been completely rebuilt. There
were proper beds to sleep on, they were called stand easy bunks, during the
daytime they were folded up. There
were also dining rooms with self-service counters and lots more improvements
like showers and washrooms and really nice toilets. The ship’s weight had increased from 11,162
tons to 12,615 tons, more like a cruise ship than a troop ship. We were soon
on our way [no bands playing this time though] we were all given various jobs
to do during our journey. I
volunteered for latrine duties, that wasn’t as bad as it sounds, we just had
to swill down the toilets and shower areas daily with brushes and hosepipes
and with every thing being new it was quite a cushy job plus we were excused
most of the boat drills. It was quite
an uneventful journey homeward bound, we called at Aden for water and stores, no trips ashore
this time, it was too hostile with a conflict going on. Our next port of call was Colombo, again no trip ashore. We sailed across the Red Sea into the Suez
Canal, stopped at Port Said
for supplies, there was trouble brewing here so no trip ashore. We entered the Med and sailed towards Malta where we were to pick up service
personnel that were going home to the U.K. We anchored off shore and they came out to
us in small boats so we did not see much of the island of Malta,
just the coastline in the distance. We
sailed on through the Med towards Gibraltar,
the sea started to get a bit rough with quite a swell and this started to
make people feel unwell. I knew this
latrine job was too good to be true, not the place to be with a sea sickness
epidemic breaking out. Believe me.
Myself and another chap started to feel ill so we went
up on deck and just laid down, the crew were washing down the decks with hoses
and they told us to move, we told them to bugger off and let us die. So they turned the hoses on us but we
didn’t care. I had never felt so ill
in my life. When we sailed nearer to Spain
the sea calmed and we all started to feel well again. I remember thinking I hope the Bay of Biscay isn’t as rough as it was three years ago
on my way out. It was now time to get
back into K.D uniforms again we were sailing into cooler waters and after
three years in the Far East it took some getting used to I can tell you. Our next port of call was Gibraltar to pick
up more people retuning to the UK, we anchored just out of the
harbour and Royal Navy launches brought the people to board the ship. We had some nice views of the Rock of
Gibraltar but unfortunately we were not allowed ashore, time did not allow
it. We were soon on our way again,
along the coast of Spain and Portugal to head out into the Bay of Biscay on
our way to Southampton, sea was quite calm during this crossing and we were
all busy getting our kit together and filling in documents etc. It was early morning when we arrived in Southampton and were soon assembled ready for
disembarkation, no bands playing and crowds cheering this time. Watching servicemen disembarking down
gangplanks with all their kit pilled high on their backs must have been quite
a sight, we had two kit bags, a large pack as well as hand luggage. We all filed through Customs and collected
our rail passes and with a few farewells were soon on our way home, looking
forward to being with our families and friends.
I was heading for Manchester
to be with my girlfriend and her family, with a leave pass for 28 days I was
a very happy soldier. After a long
rail journey I arrived at Piccadilly Station quite late at night. I then had to change stations to get a
train to Eccles, that is a short journey approx 12 miles west of Manchester. I then got a taxi to Barton Moss, that was
very close to the camp I was stationed at 3 years previously, 4A/A Workshops,
this had closed down and moved to Liverpool.
I had quite a trek down a path that followed the railway to reach my
girlfriend’s house, this was situated along side the railway, my girlfriend’s
father worked for the railways as a platelayer. I was made very welcome and spent the whole
of my leave including Christmas with Jean’s family.
I was notified to report to 21 Command Workshops,
Burscough, Lancs, this was a large camp and not too far to travel on weekend
passes to my girlfriend’s house. The
R.E.M.E. had a scheme for men leaving the corps, if you wanted to learn a
trade other than your trade in the Army you could apply for a 6 weeks course
with pay providing you got a company to take you on. I thought that’s a great idea, Jeans
brother in-law had his own business as a Plumber and Property repairer so I
got in touch with him and he agreed to take me on, so I applied with the
necessary paperwork and was successful [no it wasn’t a fiddle]. I really did it and learnt a lot in a short
time. Whilst I was on this course Jean
and I married and Jean became a soldier’s wife for a short time. I was the R.S.M’s driver at Burscough and
quite enjoyed my time there. I left
the Army in June 1953 after 5 years and 2 months, I was then put on reserve
for a further 7 years.
I enjoyed my time with the R.E.M.E. and made some very
good friends. Unfortunately I have lost touch with them, and as we get older
that’s when you start to remember the old days. I suppose that’s why I have decided to
write this brief story about my time in the R.E.M.E. hoping some one I served
with would read it and get in touch. I am keeping my fingers my crossed.
THE END
Published: 1st November 2007
  Singapore and Malaya Revisited.
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