Reproduced by kind permission of his grandson Murray Bealby (February 2009).
I was posted to 33 Ammunition Sub Depot with headquarters at Highthorne House near Easingwold in Yorkshire and I reported there at the end of my leave. This was a new unit and had not yet received its first train load of ammunition. The commanding officer was Lieutenant Ball and the second in command was Major Johnstone.
I was given an area and spent days scouring the countryside along with the Major looking for likely places to store ammunition ~ in woods or alongside country roads which had wide verges. I found an office for myself in Easingwold itself. It was a disused shop. We requisitioned it and carried out some minor alterations. More men were posted to the unit and soon I was in business with gangs of men leveling sites and erecting shelters for the ammunition. No chemical weapons were expected and we would only be dealing with High Explosives shells of all kinds ~ 25 pounders, mortar bombs, anti-aircraft shells etc. etc.
There was a lot of paper work to be done as a record had to be kept of every item in the ‘dump’. Training had to be carried out as many of the men had not long been in the army. I now had three or four clerks in the office and these had to be trained in the various procedures. Once again time seemed to be against us. A few experienced NCOs were transferred from other units. I tended to view these with some suspicion. Other units were not likely to transfer their best NCOs and I always preferred to promote my own men when possible. I was also sent a Warrant Officer who was a regular soldier. His name was Howard and a brother of a Lieutenant Howard who for a short time was my officer at Ascot. They were both somewhat morose. I outlined my plans to my W.O. but left details of supervision to him. I wasn’t very impressed with him. He was too casual for me. One day I discovered that he had not carried out my plans but had done the job in his own way. The result was not satisfactory and I was livid. My mind went back to Ascot when I was a Warrant Officer and a raw Second Lieutenant over me. But I was not raw and made this very clear by telling him that I had once been a Warrant Officer myself and expected to have things done my way. He didn’t do it again but our relationship was never very satisfactory. I complained to the Major and the W.O. was sent to another section and I promoted one of my Sergeants to Staff Sergeant to take his place. He was excellent with plenty of fire in his belly.
Our first train load of ammunition arrived at Easingwold. The railway line from Easingwold to York was a private railway with its own staff.
We dealt with this train load of ammunition very successfully although conditions were bad as it snowed all day. As this was our first train into the depot the Colonel and the Major came out to see what was happening. I was busy dashing about to make sure that everything went well and was glad they did not try to interfere. Work went on apace and three other Lieutenants were posted to us. There must have been about twelve of us in the officers mess at this time. This was a small number but would increase as the depot grew bigger.
Plans for our wedding went ahead and the date was fixed ~ 5th December 1942. In October we were faced with a crisis at home. Small pox had broken out in my village of Methilhill and the area was out of bounds to all those in the forces. We weren’t too worried at first but we began to worry when fresh cases broke out. The area would be out of bounds for a few weeks after the last reported case. We always hoped the latest one would be the last. A few people died mostly in the same family or connected with the family. However the crisis did pass and my fellow officers gave me a cheque as a wedding present.
Ella and I were married in St. Margaret’s Church in Leven, Fife. We only had a short leave and on our honeymoon we stayed at the Golden Lion Hotel in Stirling. It was a good start when Ella signed the hotel register in her maiden name ~ a reasonable mistake! ‘Boots’ a young boy in uniform took our luggage up to our room. It was late in the evening and the boy asked me if I would like a drink. I told him to bring up two large gins. “Yes sir,” he said, “I think you’ll need them.” The young devil! We had a wonderful time but it passed so quickly and soon I was back to reality with my unit.
I received a letter one day to say that I had to attend a court martial to defend a soldier who had been accused of knifing another soldier during a barrack room brawl. This came as a shock as I knew nothing of the procedures and I had to make a quick study of Kings’ Regulations and the Manual of Military law. Major Harris, who was a regular gave me advice and insisted that I took his brief case so that I would at least look the part! The man was in detention a few units from our camp and belonged to the Pioneer Corps. I went to see him. He was Maltese and his English was not too good. I saw him once or twice and tried to reassure him that I was there to help him. All this was new to me. He didn’t deny the charge but I told him to plead “Not Guilty” and I would make the most of the fact that he was Maltese, didn’t understand English very well and was provoked. I went over the questions that I would put to him. I told him I would repeat some questions as if he didn’t understand and that when he replied he should hesitate as if he couldn’t find the correct English words. 1 don’t know if this was legal or ethical!
The court martial took place and the evidence against the man was damning. At the end of the proceedings the presiding officer, a Major and a qualified solicitor, congratulated me on my defence and then sentenced the man to three years in jail. So much for my defence!
We ourselves didn’t always abide by the law. Major Harris had been invited to a party in Leeds and asked two of us to go with him. We jumped at the chance. For a limited mileage we were allowed to use military transport for recreational visits provided we paid. We were usually charged so much a mile. The arrangements were made and then about a week before the party we received instructions that all leisure travel was cancelled and that only officer travel was permitted. I don’t know what the reason was for this. It applied to the whole district and was relaxed later. We thought the party would be cancelled but the Major was not going to be done out of his night out. He prepared fictitious papers authorising us to go to Leeds as we were taking part in an important exercise. We set off for the party wearing steel helmets and armed to the teeth!
As expected we were stopped by the military police. The Major who was a regular officer and sported a handle bar moustache sat in the front seat. He wound down the window and boomed at the police, “Major Harris and party on special operations from Command HQ. We are in a hurry you know!”. He flashed a sheet of important looking papers at them. The police flashed torches in our faces at the back of the car and saw two serious faced lieutenants wearing steel helmets, map cases hanging from their necks and armed with revolvers. “Very good, sir.” he said to the Major and we were on our way. The Major roared with laughter. God! The man was cool.
We had a great time at the party but we had to drive home in thick fog. We often left the road and bumped over the verge. The driver was good. We reached camp as reveille sounded and after a quick wash and a shave we were on parade. We were a bit worried when we learned the next day that a man had been killed on the road we had taken about a mile from our camp. We were relieved to learn later that a Canadian had been arrested and had been admitted to causing the man’s death. We were pretty sure we hadn’t struck anybody but the fog had been bad and we had bumped the verge once or twice.
After the day’s work was finished we returned to the Mess for a bath and changed from battle dress to service dress prior to going in for our evening meal. An hour before the meal began we had to meet in the office of Major Johnstone who was second in command of the unit. We discussed the day’s events and plans for the future. Sometimes the colonel attended these meetings. When the discussion began several young lieutenants used to rush in with their ideas. I used to think they were a bit impetuous and rather pushing. I developed my own technique. I used to wait until the debate was well under way, pick out the best ideas I had heard and then put forward my own solutions. The colonel must have noticed this. In the middle of one discussion he interrupted the proceedings and looked at me and asked, “What does my dour Scotsman think?” It didn’t seem very flattering but when I looked up I saw that he was smiling.
At this time no dance was held in the Mess as the number of officers was relatively few. There were one or two rather formal dinners. The Colonel’s wife lived in a rental cottage nearby and other ladies attended these functions. I can’t remember where they came from. After the meal the Colonel’s wife led the other ladies from the dining room while the officers remained behind to pass the port round and smoke. We then joined the ladies for talk and occasionally joined in some parlour game. I don’t know who had owned Highthorne House but it must have been a lovely place before the war. I remember that there was a beautiful fire place in the mess surrounded by wood. Carved in the wood above the fire place were the words, “Far from court ~ Far from care.”
Sometime in February 1943 the Colonel told us he was leaving the unit to take over a unit preparing for the second front. This attack on the mainland was often discussed but nobody knew when and where it would take place. We expressed our regret that he was leaving and he suddenly turned to me and said, “By the way, Fairfield, I am taking you with me!” This came as a great surprise and a few eyebrows were raised. I mumbled my thanks but had no idea what my role would be. He said he would discuss the matter with me the following morning. He did this and told me that I was going as his personal assistant. There was no such post with our present unit and I had no idea what my duties would be. I was to be A.C.O.O.
The new unit to be formed was made up as follows:- C.O.O. (Chief Ordnance Officer) ~ Lieutenant Colonel, D.C.O.O. (Deputy Chief Ordnance Officer) ~ Major + junior officers, Officer i.c. [in command] Section (All Regimental Matters) ~ Major + junior officers, Officer i.c. Traffic and Transport ~ Major + junior officers, A.C.O.O. (Assistant Chief Ordnance Officer) ~ Captain.
NOTE see Gallery/people for a photo taken in March 1946 at Highthorne House of those at the HQ of 33 Ammunition Sub Depot
Back row, l to r: ”Doc.” Lt Pickles, Lt Harris, Lt Farrel, Lt Blackah RA., Lt Lander, Lt Dowler R.T.R., Capt Smith, Capt Spencer, Capt Wheattard, Capt Gibb (Markinch)
Sitting, l to r: Capt Fairfield, Capt Clark, Major Greagan, Lt/Col Ellis, Major Richardson, Major Montague.