Driving

As mentioned in my last blog, I now tell all how I got my driving licence.
All who live in the U.K. and are over 70 will know that everyone had to do National Service as soon as they reached 18 years of age. I say everyone, not quite correct as firstly a deferment could be arranged for apprentices until they had qualified so they went into the forces at 20. 5 years was the norm for plumbers, electricians joiners etc. So they were aged 20 when they did their N.S. There was also what is called a reserved occupation. This was in general Miners, who worked on the coal pits and Railwaymen which I was one. Unfortunately for me there was a special dispensation that meant all railway lads who attained 18 had to go into the forces for 2 years. Just my luck, about 8 months later, war was declared on Egypt over the Suez Canal and all recruitment from the Railway was halted, never to be reintroduced again. However about 4 years later conscription was abolished.
Now to me and the forces. I had to go for an induction, was asked what service I wished to serve. I wished the RAF. I was given the Army, asked for a home or overseas posting, I requested a home posting. Finished up in Hong Kong. Asked also what profession I would like to persue, I replied the railway in the Armed Services. I was sent to do Field Engineering. What that was I had no idea.
Well I was sent a rail warrant to appear at Worcester on I think 13th October. I duly arrived, it was nice there but it was just a holding depot, after 14 days I was sent with lots of other lads to Aldershot. A proper garrison town. We would be there for 13 weeks basic training and we would be taught how to drive a lorry. A so called 3 ton lorry. I think it was commonly known as a Bedford bull nose. We were allotted an NCO each and had to be taught from scratch. I had never sat in front of a car let alone a lorry. It was strange to me and to be honest hated almost every minute of it.
First I spent a lesson being taught where everything was and how it worked. I must tell you drvers now that the old lorries had to be what was called double de-clutched. That was after you put it in gear and started moving, when you wanted to change gear, up or down you first had to dip the clutch put the gear lever in neutral again dip the clutch and select the gear you needed then engaged gear and lift the clutch. You must not attempt to change down from 2nd to first gear as it was not possible to do so. It may sound hard but it isn't really and one soon got used to it.
There were 4 routes and we had to pass each route before we could progress to the next route.
Route 1 consisted of getting in the lorry, starting it getting it in gear and then get it moving changing up to second gear but no higher. This was done on an oval shaped piece of ground about the size of a football pitch, there were several oil drums making sure that you kept to a reasonably straight line.
When your tutor was satisfied, you moved on to route 2. This was in general going through sort of scrub land with several tracks, you did however go on a piece of public road for about 50 metres. This route was to teach us how to use the gears, how to steer and how to miss pot holes. I make it sound easy but we only had about a 2 hour session at most.
Eventually I progressed to route 3, this was through the local villages, yes there were country roads but the traffic was very sparse. Unfortunately my tutor was taken ill and so for a few days just did nothing at all. I eventually was seconded to another NCO. this was not a lot better as his vehicle kept breaking down. I never progressed from route 3.
Route 4 was going along the main A road into Reading driving through the main thoroughfare.
Once you had passed that you was given a proper driving test by civillian Driving Examiner who passed you if he thought you was a competent driver.
Well I did not know this, but those who did not pass route 3 was deemed to have failed the course. I do not know what should have happened to me but somebody must have noticed that I had lost so much time being taught by no fault of mine that they decided to leave me where I was.
I was duly sent home on Embarkation leave, went to Barton Stacy and then to Southampton, where I went on thr troopship Empire Fowey, which was incidentally a German luxury liner, confiscated duting the war and converted to a troopship. We were on our way to Hong Kong. I guess we were fortunate that our new C.O. was also travellig on the same ship, he arranged for us R.Es (Royal Engineers) to go upon the bridge where the Captain informed us that this was indeed a most modern ship and it did not have a wheel but just buttons. He pressed on and we went to port, then another and to starboard.
Enough of this though. We eventually arrived in Hong Kong, finised up on the mainland and off to the New Territories. We were about 40km from Kowloon the mainland capital.
Well after getting settled in I was given a driver to go with. He was a great lad from Manchester, he taught me lots. We now had a Bedford QL. These had a gear lever to the left and rear of you, so you could not look to see where the gear stick was you had to feel for it. After a while all was O K. I was with him for about 3 months and his time came for him to go home to England as his 2 years N.S. was about up. I was then given a tipper lorry. I was not allowed to drive but given a supervisor he drove I think you would call it a catterpillar He admitted that he was useless at driving lorries. He would be at home on a grader and things like that.
I was just lucky, one night in late autumn after heavy rains a road had been partially washed away, well to be more precise, much of the infestructure. I was immediately summoned and told that I had to go with my tipper to help out and that my supervisor would accompany me.
Off we went to somewhere I would never find again but we were there for about 5 days. All I did was drive to a quarry, have my tipper filled up with rubble drive down to where the rubble needed tipping, reverse, tip and go back and repeat the operation. I must have done the trip, at least 30 times when this officer said to my supervisor. "I will go with him this time." I just though he wanted to see what we were doing. Anyway I went down as usual and did my normal thing, when I got back, my supervisor was waiting and the officer just said to him "You can go back now I am giving him a licence." He just turned to me and said "Keep well into the side" He then left and that believe it or not was how I got my driving licence.
All I had to do was get a clerk who worked in the admin offices to give me a form stating that I was a qualified driver, I then could send to the Ministry of Transport and apply for a full British Driving Licence. This I did a couple of years later. To be honest I was not really capable of driving for quite some time. Driving a large lorry to a small car was totally different.
Well so now you know how I managed to get my driving licence. It is the truth. More soon.