My Life by Lionel Graves. (Page 17)
Friday 21st Dec. Was on prowler picket all day. (usually 2hrs on and 4hrs off) had a shower in the afternoon and went to NAAFI in evening. Was paid £1 in the afternoon. (A weeks pay)
Saturday 22nd Dec. Usual morning, went to bed in afternoon for a couple of hours. Went to see Benny Goodman in “Sweet and Lowdown”
Sunday 23rd Dec. Went to photographers to collect photos. Bought a bottle of rum for 50 piastres. (100p = £E 1) Missed parades in morning. Had five letters a great occasion. Had a party with Jack, Johnny and Slokey (Slocumbe – can't remember him) and about four others.
Non-diary – We had bought about six bottles of plonk, liqueurs and spirits and started drinking from only three glasses between the lot of us. These were old bottles with the necks sawn off with a hot saw. So we couldn't linger over drinks and had to drink down about half a glass of whatever it was and then pass it round. I remember my chair falling over backwards and gazing at the stars while trying to hold a philosophical conversation with someone or other, it could have been the moon. Meanwhile some of the others were climbing the veranda posts. I think I was helped back by two mates, I seem to remember my feet floating over the ground, hardly touching it. I was dumped on my bed, managing later to stagger to the lavatory, rather like the Aussie dunnies, wooden seats with a row of holes in them and there I fell asleep. Not a particularly wise move as scorpions, centipedes and other creepy crawlies tended to congregate there. Somewhere along the line I had cut my finger rather badly and bled like a stuck pig but sticking plasters mended that, on a good day if the light is right I think I can still see the scar, but as I’m not too sure which hand it was on, may be wishful thinking. Next morning, hangover, Christmas Day missed breakfast but made dinner, refused free bottle of beer. Diary was a bit edited there!
Tuesday 25th December 1945 – Christmas Day. Had a hangover in the morning. Had a grand Christmas dinner with turkey, pork, etc, Christmas pud and nuts which I could just about enjoy but gave my free bottle of beer away. Rested in afternoon. After tea went to Scots Corner and had a free supper and then a sing song. Oh what it is to be young and resilient.
Wednesday 26th December. Boxing Day. Wrote home, stopped in bed all morning. Intended to go to pyramids but was too late in putting in for a pass. Went to pictures saw Jack Benny in 'The Fifth Chair'. Collected my battledress suit from cleaners.
(Don't worry I managed the Sphinx and pyramids on a later date. Tried to climb it outside but didn’t get far, but went in the long darkish uphill tunnel inside to an empty chamber. My big regret is not making the effort and going to the Museum to see Tutankhamen's stuff)
Thursday 27th Dec. Went back to normal duties this morning, managed to miss P.T. In the afternoon 10 of us paraded at the driving/mechanical wing and had a lecture on the Humber Armoured Car, in conjunction with the long distance driving. We may get a driving test tomorrow. A draft was called out today for the Royal Artillery and for the 3rd Hussars.
Friday 28th Dec. Took films to be enlarged. Went to the Services Club in Heliopolis in the morning while some of the ten had driving tests. Was paid in the afternoon. Saw Jim Cheetham.
(Jim Cheetham was an old friend from the Farnbourough Days who lived at Cleobury Mortimer. He had come in on a University Course from Oxford and went to Sandhurst to get his commission in the 17/21st Lancers, the Death or Glory Boys, whose hat badge was a skull and crossbones with crossed lances. They had charged with the Light Brigade at Balaclava in the Crimean War. A couple of other 2nd Lts were with him when we met and chatted for about five minutes. They looked disgusted at an officer seen talking socially to a mere lowly trooper, but it did my morale the world of good. On another occasion he was the paying officer and I was so shattered I walked off without my paybook).
Troopers Collcutt, Graves, Stephens, Drew & Jock Millar on a Grant tank.
Email: Lionel Graves (lionel@graf-tek.com).
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