70th Bn - CYRIL WILKINSON B&C 91 Dec 98
Cyril Wilkinson wrote from Notts a moving account of his memories of the 70th Bn.
'I recall meeting the late Dot Tunaley a few years ago at a reunion of the 70th Bn. He said, looking me in the eye, 'I remember people by their eyes.' He remembered he had chosen me time and time again as prisoner’s escort to fetch deserters back from civilian police custody. Most were held by 'Blue Caps' at Old Scotland Yard.
The 70th Bn were a fine bunch of men, the likes of which will never be seen again. A lot of the lads were from London and from broken homes and Dr Barnardo’s. They missed London and at any one time 30 or 40 would go absent. But the passage of time saw them moulded into one of the finest battalions, the pride of the War Office. Out of the ranks came glider pilots, parachutists, the Cockleshell Heroes, Tail Gunners who transferred to the RAF and jungle fighters. It was a great mistake when 1943 saw the breaking up of that fine battalion, its men sent to the 4 corners of the world.
Quite often I drive to Wansford, just off the Great North Road. The village has its lovely old hotel nestling close to the ancient bridge which has echoed to the crunch of army boot studs. Beyond the fork in the road is the start of Kingscliffe Road and a view across the meadow to the dense wood. I reflect that more than 50 years ago that meadow was full of men, Nissen huts and the bugle calls of the day. Speaking to a couple in their garden I asked if they remembered the boys of the Royal Norfolk Regt. They did, having lived there all their lives, and said they had fond memories and missed them when they were gone.
It is nice to go back to the past and reflect on Sgt Major Goodwin, Sgt Tunaley, Cpls Gibbs and Jenkins, and Pte Jimmy Sword. I remember the ceremonial guard mounting, the winning of Stick man on that tiny concrete square and Church Parade on a Sunday. The pathway in the wood which housed NCOs and officers is silent and there are only one’s thoughts. It is a shame there is no brass plaque in the beautiful village church in memory of the gallant men of 70th Royal Norfolk Regt who passed by there, were stationed or camped in that meadow at Wansford more than 50 years ago.'

70TH Bn - CYRIL WILKINSON B&C 96 Jun 01 - Part 1
Cyril Wilkinson, ex-Private 4809815, F Coy 70th Bn and 17 Pl D Coy 2 SUFFOLK, Arakan, Imphal, 1943-5, wrote from Notts.
In B&C 91 Dec 98 we had a moving account of his memories of the 70th Bn. Here, below, is Pt 1 of his open letter to former 70th Bn member Bill G Brown of Gargle Hill, Norfolk, recalling more of his experiences.
At Wansford Camp, when wellington boots were issued we were known as ‘The Bn in Wellington Boots’! We all wore sleeveless leather jerkins and I believe the Daily Mirror published a centre-page special on the Bn. The country lanes were sprayed with bitumen and lorries of men threw pebbles on to the surface. I recall many long route marches with the 70th and the crunch of marching boots is a sound that has stuck in my memory. The summer seemed to be exceedingly hot, wild flowers dominated the hedgerows and the singing was recalled in B&C 95 Dec 00. I can also remember the songs sung on the march in and around Costessey.
I was conscripted into the Lincolns, wrongly as I’m a Derbyshire man and should have gone to the Sherwood Foresters. Anyway, after basic training I was posted to the 70th Bn Royal Norfolks at Taverham Hall, Costessey in Jun 1942. (See B&C 93 Dec 99 about Taverham Hall in a piece by Cyril W Crain.  Ed.) I remember doing foot drill on the pebbled forecourt and outside to a drum with RSM Swingler, sleeping in a bell tent then inside the Hall behind the piano, the concrete huts used a Mess Rooms along the roadway at the side of the Hall and the long tree-lined drive. There was CSM Goodwin, mad as a hatter putting himself on charges. I met him years later in India at Comilla, the staging camp for Burma.|
The barber, Jock, `Ben The Ripper’, took away all my curls and I went on 7 days leave, feeling as proud as a peacock in my black and yellow forage cap with the Britannia badge, carrying full kit and a rifle. We went by coal lorry into a Norwich cinema to see the Marx Brothers. Norwich Railway station left a lasting impression on me - a delightful building.
I was sent to a large Stately Home near Wymondham then to several aerodromes, one of which had night fighters and one bombers. Watton I clearly remember. I really enjoyed my time at the dromes - the RAF huts, the remote corners of airfields were delightful and the sun shone brilliantly. The RAF ration trucks were very welcome and how I loved that massive slice of cherry cake with a slab of butter. We even had RAF cycles. There followed a 3-week spell in the East End of London at a Street Fighting School with billets in West Ham. I have a scar on my right hand to remind me! When you think of the rows and rows of terraced houses that Jerry bombed you realised how the Londoners suffered. I have a photograph of Sgt `Dot’ Tunaley firing the Boyes Anti-Tank rifle. One of the lads was killed during training. We had charged with fixed bayonets amid charges of exploding gun-cotton. One of these killed him.

70TH Bn - CYRIL WILKINSON B&C 97 Dec 01 - Part 2
Cyril Wilkinson, ex-Private 4809815, F Coy 70th Bn and 17 Pl D Coy 2 SUFFOLK, Arakan, Imphal, 1943-5, wrote from Notts.
In B&C 91 Dec 98 we had a moving account of his memories of the 70th Bn. B&C 96 Jun 01 related Pt 1 of his open letter to former 70th Bn member Bill G Brown of Norwich (see B&C 95 Dec 00), recalling more of his experiences. Here, below, is Pt 2.

Can you recall when we went to Thrapston, Northants, and were billeted in a Workhouse? It was a terrible place, The whole Bn was housed inside and every mortal space was taken. The lads even slept on the stairs. (In Kiseljak, Bosnia, Dec 95 the same thing occurred! Ed.) I took my wife to see it and learned the Thrapston Council now own it, using it for garages, workshops and offices. We moved to a field near Nassington and slept in 2-man ridge tents. Kit was displayed outside on a groundsheet. The flap was so arranged the Camp Orderly could cover our kit should it rain! The latrines were in a nearby wood. We spent the days on farms either spud picking or sugar-beet knocking and topping. It was hard work with no pay and only a massive slice of apple pie from the farmer’s wife. The Americans were due to arrive so we were engaged on building the Nissen Hut Camp in the next field. Then we heard the Americans refused to occupy the camp, saying it was unfit! At that stage the 1942/3 winter had set in. Our ridge tents were removed and we moved in to a large marquee on the field. Ordered to work shifts at the local sugar beet factory for 6d an hour. At first, we sat in the gutter outside to eat our bread and cheese but ye civvy workers complained and we were allowed use of the canteen.
For more on 70th Bn, see B&C 87 Dec 96, 88 Jun 97, 89 Dec 97, 91 Dec 98, 93 Dec 99, 94 Jun 00, 95 Dec 00 and Britannia Feb 46.

70TH Bn - CYRIL WILKINSON B&C 101 Dec 03 - Part 3
The late Cyril Wilkinson, whose obituary was in B&C 98 Jul 2002, had his memories of F Coy, 70th Bn, published in B&C 91 Dec 98, 96 Jun 01 and 97 Dec 01, above. Ths is the conclusion. 'In March 1943 he was aboard the Arakan, one of a fleet of 82 ships which sailed from Liverpool. The Athlone Castle carried 5000 men. He joined 17 Pl, D Coy, 2 Suffolk and fought with them at the Siege of Imphal in 1944. Here is the final part of Cyril’s memories, about the winter of 1943, the year the 70th Bn was disbanded. ‘The Bn was in a tented camp at Nassington. We used to go to Stanford laundry on Sunday mornings and on one visit heard singing and the sound of marching feet. It was US troops, fresh from Ireland and the USA. What a shower - it was like Fred Karno’s Army! Rifles carried anyhow, cigars and cigarettes alight and some were reading newspapers. It was these who had refused to occupy Wansford Camp. They were at Kingscliffe Airfield with Buffalo aircraft. Other newcomers working on the land were Italian POWs - cheeky so and so’s they were and the women liked them! In a nearby tented camp were Poles and I enjoyed many an evening of their music and singing. With 31 others I volunteered for training at RAF Cardington as a Glider pilot but only one passed. An application to become a Commando came to nothing. The telegram recalling me to Wansford went to my home where my father destroyed it, not wanting me to go. We moved on to Chatteris, a sleepy Cambridgeshire fens town, billeted in civvy houses. I was in the Chapel Room. The cinema became a mess hall and cookhouse. Over 50 years later I returned to Chatteris and it came back. I was outside the double iron gates and playground of the chapel. There was the brass water tap by the door, from which we drank plenty after route marches. I left a note and received a reply, with their newsletter. Many local girls had married 70th Bn soldiers so the contact was still alive. On many occasions I’ve returned to Wansford, just off the Great North Road. The village has its lovely old hotel nestling close to the ancient bridge which has echoed to the crunch of army boot studs. Over that wonderful old solid stone bridge, beyond the fork in the road is the start of Kingscliffe Road and a view across the meadow to the dense wood. I reflect that more than 50 years ago in that meadow were billeted over 1000 men. One could almost hear the bugle calls of the day. All that remains of the camp are pieces of broken paving slab, broken pieces of wire meshed glass from the Nissen Huts and a pole which once carried the first electricity into the Guard Room. The pathway in the wood which housed NCOs and officers is silent and there are only one’s thoughts. Not far from the wartime US and Commonwealth Kingscliffe Airfield, in a corner of a field, is a wonderful and unusual War Memorial to the gallant flyers. Though isolated, it was spotless and bore a poppy wreath. There are 2 separate memorials, sculptured tailplanes from 2 different bombers, and a marble cross bearing the names of those who gave their lives. It is a shame there is no brass plaque in the beautiful village church in memory of the gallant men of 70th Royal Norfolk Regt who passed by there, were stationed or camped in that meadow at Wansford more than 50 years ago.’

For more on the 70th Bn, click here and see B&C 87 Dec 96, 88 Jun 97, 89 Dec 97, 91 Dec 98, 93 Dec 99, 94 Jun 00, 95 Dec 00 and Britannia Feb 46.

Editorial Rule
To qualify for inclusion there is only one rule - something described must have been said to have happened.
The authority is the Editor, British Army Review No 114 Dec 96, `If the facts don`t fit the legend, print the legend’.