A BRIEF HISTORY
OF LIFE IN REME
A Craftsman’s Story 1948 to I953
Contributed by: Phil KEMPSTER
Chapter Seven
The Reme Drafting Company,
Poperinghe Barracks, Arborfield. December 1949
To
catch a train to London Euston, then on the Underground line to Waterloo
Station to catch a train to Wokingham.
I telephoned Jean to let her know I had arrived in London safely and promised to write to her
regularly. She was quite upset and
said 18 months was a long time for us to be parted, it’s a good job I did not
tell her the truth that I was going away for three years. I was afraid she would not wait for me that
long.
I
arrived at Wokingham safely and was transported by truck to Drafting Coy,
Depot REME, Poperinghe Barracks, Arborfield, Berks, that was quite close to
where I did my driver training. These
barracks were the old wood built spider type accommodation and used now for
men being sent abroad from camps in the U.K. I met one or two chaps that I knew, one was
my old mate Fred Moles and that was great. We swapped a few tales over a
drink in the N.A.A.F.I. he was being drafted to Mombassa. We were only at this depot for a couple of
weeks and were not allowed weekend passes, I think they were afraid some
would go A.W.O.L if they went home.
Jean wrote to me as promised and I sent her letters regularly, we
missed each other a lot. We were all
kitted out with our gear to suit the climate and country you were going to,
in my case The Far East, so it was Olive green shorts and jackets, hosetops,
these were like khaki socks without feet to wear with your boots and gaiters,
some light weight under clothing and a small sea kit bag to put it all in. So
you now had two kit bags plus all your packs and guess what else. Your bloody Greatcoat. I very rarely ever wore that in the English
climate and now I was going to a hot clammy place full of jungles and swamps.
On 15th December 1949 all of us men on draft index D.L.O.P.O FAR.E.L.F were
transported by rail to Southampton Docks to embark aboard the Troop Ship
Dunera.
Published: 1st August 2007
  Chapter Eight..
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