Ron Levett's memories of his time in the British Liberation Army during World War II. Ron Levett, born in Alfriston, East Sussex, enlisted in 1943 and joined the Royal Armoured Corps. After completing his training as a Driver Operator he was sent to Belgium to join the British Liberation Army, where he was posted to the Royal Scots Grays and then to the Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) signals troop. After the liberation of Germany he was based in Münster, where he met and married Ruth after which he was posted back to Durham. Every day I checked with the Orderly Room to find out what new posting were available in the UK. One day the Orderly Room Corporal, a new friend of mine (I always found it useful to have a mate in the Orderly Room,) showed me a message about a job going at the Army Apprentice School in Harrogate. They were asking for a Corporal in the RAC to take on the job of NCO I.C Sanitary Orderlies. This sounded like a very easy job, so I told my friend that I would take it. Once again I packed my kit and collected my travel warrant and off I went. This was a dream posting. Uniacke Barracks was the usual army camp, consisting of centrally heated 'spider' blocks, with one block for the staff and the others for the lads of the Apprentices School. There was also one block, which was used as a store for bedding. One of the young apprentices decided that he didn't like an army career after all and we had a succession of fires in the camp. Serving in the Fire Piquet was a genuine duty until one night when he managed to burn down the entire 'spider' where the bedding was stored. He was caught and placed in the Guard Room but managed to escape. Because he was such an innocent looking lad, no one had expected so much trouble from him. The police caught him in his hometown and he was sent to Borstal. We also had a spate of thefts from the barrack rooms, I lost a pair of boots and there were thefts of clothing, radios etc. When the culprit was caught he turned out to be one of my cleaning squad. I managed to find a room to rent, with use of kitchen, at the home of a friendly middle-aged lady in Harrogate. Ruth travelled up to Yorkshire, and we settled in to married life. I could now live out of barracks, draw living out allowance and travel up to work every morning by bus. I could eat lunch in the mess hall and every morning at eleven I would meet the Messing Officer, who was a Grenadier Guards W.O.2, for a cup of sergeant-majors tea (made with condensed milk). We inspected the cookhouse, the dining room and the grease trap, where the entire kitchen waste accumulated. Meals under the influence of this Warrant Officer were very good indeed. I reported every morning to the Quartermaster's Stores (QM), where I drew stores such as soap, Vim and cleaning clothes for my squad. The QM's clerk was a middle-aged Yorkshireman who called everyone 'luv', regardless of gender and he was quite a character. If ever I took a broom into him for exchange he would stick it in the top of the stove to burn the remaining bristles off. He always said it was easier to get things exchanged if they were completely worn out. Ron Levett, 2001
| 
