Memories of the War - George Gutteridge

The contributor (aged 13) interviewed her Great-Grandfather who served during the war.

Me (Contributor): "How old were you when the war started?"
Great Grandad George: "13."

Me: "What do you remember in the early part of the war?"
Great Grandad George: "Not a lot, only until I got into the army. When I joined the army, I remember going to Yorkshire, Fulford Barracks and then went to Colchester in 1943-1944."

Me: "Did you have a shelter, if you did, what kind was it?"
Great Grandad George: "There was one outside in the street, but we never went in it. It was made from brick and concrete."

Me: "How did you join the army?"
Great Grandad George: "You didn't get the choice they just sent you a letter and said come on. I was 17 ¾ when I joined up."

Me: "How much did you get paid?"
Great Grandad George: "4 shillings a week (20p, a lot in those days)."
Me: "Did you get a uniform and how did they know what size to give you?"
Great Grandad George: "Yes, you had to go and be measured and then they made it and gave it to you. You had to carry this book (below) with you all the time in your top pocket. It shows what I was issued with. You didn't have shoes, you had boots."

Me: "What was the army training like and what did you learn?"
Great Grandad George: "You didn't learn a lot they just taught you how to shoot and march. For the first six weeks, we were in Yorkshire and then moved to Colchester."

Me: "What did you do in the army?"
Great Grandad George: "We just practised for the first six weeks and then I was moved to a post in Colchester. You didn't have a choice of what you went in, I was in the infantry."

Me: "How did you get to Colchester?"
Great Grandad George: "We went to Colchester in big army trucks."

Me: "What did you do in France?"
Great Grandad George: "There was nothing there really, we landed in France then went to Belgium, Holland and through to Germany. The troops had all gone back into Germany and a little later on the war finished, in 1945. The Germans just gave up and packed in. I also went to Denmark, as that was where they moved the German soldiers."

Me: "Did you see any German soldiers?"
Great Grandad George: "Yes, but once they saw the British soldiers, they just legged it. They didn't hang about, I suppose they thought they were going to get shot."

Me: "What did the food taste like?"
Great Grandad George: "It was alright. It was okay, but you had to have it."

Me: "Where did you sleep?"
Great Grandad George: "I dug a sleep trench in the ground a couple of times. No blankets/covers, but they didn't make you do it when it was wet! (not when we were training anyway)"

Me: "Did you learn to shoot a gun?"
Great Grandad George: "Yes, a big rifle. Everyone had one, but I didn't use mine."

Me: "What are you doing in these photos, Grandad?"
Great Grandad George: "I was in the cooking corp. The cook sergeant was a Northampton man and he said "if you wanna get home, go for a cook's course" and I went to Aldershot and did a cookery course. You then used to get home at the weekends, free travel - didn't cost you anything! (laughs!). I cooked for one company, about 120 people."

Me: "How often did you get to go home?"
Great Grandad George: "I used to come home (Northampton) every weekend when I was training in England. We used to get a free train. I didn't come home once I had been posted abroad.

Me: "What didn't you like about being in the army?"
Great Grandad George: "The army was ok really, by the time I got in, the war was soon over. It was a nice life when the war was finished."

Me: "Did you meet Great Grandma before you went to war?"
Great Grandad George: "Yes, I met her when she was 14. I used to write home to her when I was in the army."