Percy Smith's War Diary - Part 4

Home leave

Early in the New Year, there was great excitement when Home Leave lists were being prepared. We were given fourteen days ,which included travelling time. As the forces seemed to be getting more sure of themselves, we went by train to Calais for the ship to Dover and from there to Waterloo. When we arrived at Waterloo there were crowds at the station watching us get off the train, we seemed to be heroes already. I think some of us felt rather guilty as that time there hadn’t actually been a war at all.

It was wonderful to be home.

I remember at night I was almost frightened with the blackout, it really was complete blackout, which was nothing like in France. Mother was rather keen to get my ration coupons as rationing was beginning to bite. Out in the town, friends were so interested to know what was going on in France as there was no fighting at that time. One old soldier of the First World War remarked, “I suppose you haven’t had your first baptism of fire yet”, as if it was some kind of exam we had to pass. And of course there was ‘Home on leave, when are you going back?’

War had been declared about six months before and there had been no real battles yet, so there was a bit of a feeling that the whole thing was becoming a bit of a damp squib, so until Germany attacked in the following May it was sometimes referred to as ‘The Phoney War’. There was to be plenty of time to live that one down.

At home in Richmond Road, Staines, and at the rear of the property, there was a row of cottages. A family, whose younger son I had known all my life, and who had worked for us for a while before the war, lived in the end cottage. He was a little younger than me and therefore had been called up a little later. It was while I was on leave from France that he was also on leave but expecting to go to France. He was in the Royal west Kent’s (the Buffs), he was therefore asking all sorts of questions about my experiences and what sort of a life it was there. I was left in no doubt that he was quite unhappy and scared at the prospect of going. Sadly, as I read in one of the many books that have been written about the campaign, his Company had a rough time fighting the rearguard in the retreat to Dunkirk and he was killed on 20th May. I have always remembered that he was one who lost so much, so that some of us might return.

On leave, every day was so precious but the awful day came and leaning over the side of the boat, the white cliffs faded into the distance. It was dark and late when I got back to the billet and the horrible conditions we lived in brought me back to reality. The billet was so cramped you had to be careful that you didn’t walk on chaps who were sleeping on the floor. With it being so cold, there was no ventilation and everyone smoked so that the air was choking. Coupled with only just leaving home and not knowing what the future was going to be, it was the most miserable feeling one could imagine, but you soon got over it in the morning.

The weeks went by and the weather was less cold. It would be about the middle of March, when I was called to the office and detailed to go on ‘detachment’ to a Mobile Bath unit not far from Arras. I hated leaving the lads and being on my own with a strange crowd, but on arrival at a small, quite pretty village called Bavincourt, with little cottages, a church, a café and a shop around a large duckpond, it turned out to be the best job I was going to have in the B.E.F. The unit was small, one officer and 15 men, no guard duty, a warm shower whenever you liked, and blankets cleaned when you wanted. By B.E.F. standards this was a dream job and lasted for about a month until the lorry had to go into the workshop for an overhaul and someone else got the job.

Life was actually beginning to improve, the weather was becoming springlike, although this made the dung in the farmyard stink to high heaven. My lot were moved to a Nissen hut at the end of the village so that we were much better organised. Also with the warmer weather the anti-freeze arrived!!

With the improved conditions, and the fact that there was still no real activity, some even thought it would stay that way, and we would just be an Army of Occupation. ‘Oh no, there won’t be any war’. It stands to reason, no country can afford it, money talks’ that was the conversation of one of our ‘barrack room lawyers’ and for a short time life suggested he could be right until about 4.30 am on May 10th 1940!

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