Gunner Flann

Welcome to Gunner Flann – A National Service Memoir

By

Creating the National Service Memoir Long ago

When John Flann began his National Service in 1949, was assigned to the Royal Artillery and posted to Hong Kong, the furthest thing from his mind was writing a book, a National Service memoir. Back then writing a book meant producing a manuscript for a publishing house to convert to a paper product offered in bookstores. Nor could he dream of the day that self-publishing at little or no cost would become possible through the advent of the Internet and simple content management systems like WordPress. But he could be be a faithful son, keeping his father – for his mother had died in 1946 when he was sixteen – informed of his life by dutifully writing letters home. And he did so, on average one a week for the two years of National Service.

Rediscovering the National Service Letters

His father, Sionna died in 1966, and when  he along with his sisters, settled his father’s estate  the letters sent so long ago returned to him, neatly kept in order, obviously treasured. Retirement in the United States, afforded some time to review and reacquaint John Flann with a significant part of his life, National Service. Convinced that the story of personal development within the history of service in the British Commonwealth’s furthest outpost Hong Kong would have interest to others, He set about converting these personal letters full of news into an orderly account for his family, his two sons, and posterity.

Genesis of Gunner Flann

After some early resistance, framed in the classical English refrain that time spent on a computer indoors was wasted when you could be outside breathing good, clean air and enjoying the sunshine, John Flann started to use a computer and the Internet at the ripe old age of 72. By 82, he had mastered publishing through WordPress, and worked on a site devoted to his life long love, model railways, Hintock Branch. Stretching out from modeling, he made the intellectual and emotional transition to being comfortable writing and publishing something more personal about his life, his time of National Service, and Gunner Flann was born. Here is hoping you enjoy reading it half as much as he enjoyed creating it.

How to Write a Memoir: Creative Devices

By

In thinking about the personal account of my National Service , and how to tell that story in way that might interest readers, I wanted to find a way to present it beyond retelling a linear path over time. All stories have a beginning, middle and end, but a story can bore the reader or compel them to move on to the next section in eager anticipation. While I am not suggesting, my contribution reads like the latest novel that is a top seller, I wanted to specifically share a device that I think helps my tale. Before telling you about it, I would like to show it to you.

Gunner Flann in the beginning and at the end of his National Service in the Royal Artillery.

Before and After National Service in the Royal Artillery.

These two pictures helped me think about how I wanted to tell my story. Simply looking at them drove home to me how I had changed in the two years of my National Service, in the Royal Artillery. In this image where the before photograph and the after photograph are part of the same image next to each other, I cannot escape the sense of youth and expectancy in the beginning, nor can I fail to see the confident young man I had become two years later.

It struck me that these pictures could serve literal bookends to my story. These pictures feature in my Foreword and my End. My job became not to relate in some hum drum fashion everything that happened between over a period of time as if I was cataloging stationery, but to come to grips with how I changed and why and try to explain that within the context of my National Service. I would like to think that I have been successful, but of course others will be the judge of that, just like reviewers provide an opinion on a book or film.

But regardless of whether you think I have been successful or not, I would counsel developing your own device to tell your story if you are considering a personal memoir, particularly one about National Service.

The Royal Artillery Band Woolwich – Moving

By

In chapter 4 that covered my time in transition out of the UK to Hong Kong through the Depot at Woolwich, I described the dual nature of the place as being home to ceremonial troops and a permanent staff whose job it was to dispatch troops all over the world. A big part of that ceremony was the Royal Artillery Band Woolwich. After 250 years, the band is moving to a new home.

This article from the Royal Borough of Greenwich states:

The Royal Artillery Band are leaving Woolwich after 250 years of links with the borough.

The Royal Artillery Band will be marching out of their barracks in Woolwich for the last time on Sunday 9 February, ending an association with the town of more than 250 years.

As part of the Ministry of Defence restructuring, the band is moving to Tidworth in Wiltshire in April.

I must admit, it makes me wonder about  how ceremony at the Woolwich depot will go now.

Interactive Memoirs – The Railway Station at Fanling

By

When I started this National Service memoir, my model was a book, something static that is written then read. One of my joys in discovering web publishing is the interactive nature of it all.

Chapter 7 – Lo Wu, New Territories started by describing our arrival at Hong Kong and transfer to Whitfield Barracks, followed next day by a train journey from Kowloon to Fanling, the end of the line in Hong Kong.  A commentator was able to correct the record as he traveled on the same voyage as me, and has a distinct memory of marshaling there at the docks and proceeding to Lo Wu directly from the ship. This in turn prompted me to review my historical records, photographs and journal entries again. To my delight I found the photograph below of us on our second day in Hong Kong having arrived from Kowloon at Fanling:

Blog - 15th Battery at Fan Ling PSE & Chapter 7 CorrectionAwaiting transportation to Lo Wu after disembarking in Fanling are likely members of 98th Squad. Sitting to the left of the “Fanling” sign are probably Jim Dallaway and Frank Beames. On the right of the sign, standing and smoking is likely Bombardier S.

My hope is that I will have  a chance to repeat this type of post. While no one likes to make a mistake, getting the record of our time in the National Service correct is important, and the process allows one to better link other events together, and revisit the records to identify additional pictures. All part of the fun of a memoir on the web.

Entry and Training

By

67 Training Regiment, RA, Oswestrey

And so it was I reported to 67th Regiment RA at Park Hall Camp, Oswestry, Salop, on 4th October 1951 where I was allotted to Group No. 51.19 and given my army number 22597046. The next fortnight was spent doing basic drills on the parade square, “spit and polish” and generally being shouted at. I found that by keeping a low profile, I did not attract the NCO’s attention. It was here that the group commenced receiving a series of injections, some of which made you feel quite groggy. The army, thoughtful as ever, gave these on a Friday so that we could recover lying on our beds in our own time!

Korea and the Korean War

By

It will probably be useful to the uninformed reader, as I was when first told of my destination to provide an overview of, and to write a little about Korea where I was to fight and the Korean War in which I was destined to serve. It was a war that few people in the UK knew about at the time and even less today are aware that it was fought. Sad but true. [Read more…]

Korea: To War

By

HMT Empire Fowey to Kure and War

After reporting back to Woolwich I boarded HMT Empire Fowey at Southampton Docks and embarked for Korea under Draft DBDFA on 8th July 1952 for the most momentous period of my service. Our on-board accommodation was below decks and very basic, although fixed bunks were preferable to the hammocks on some troopships. One was very aware of a “them and us” situation, with restrictions as to where other ranks could go. Things improved when we passed Gibraltar and into warmer climes, when sleeping on deck was possible.

A fellow surveyor RA and I were allocated to the ship’s quartermaster (P&O) with responsibility to hand out stores in the morning and book them back in during the afternoon. As the majority were infantry, this mostly consisted of .303 Enfield rifles, with ammunition, and Bren guns. The former were used to fire at targets from the stern of the ship, while the Bren’s seemed to be continually stripped and reassembled!

15 Divisional Locating Battery, Royal Artillery

By

15th Divisional Locating Battery to which I was posted had come to Korea from Hong Kong in December 1950 and having no parent Survey Regiment in the British Korean Command was attached (for “pay and rations”) to 61st Light Regiment, RA, and that comprised three Batteries of 4.2” mortars. These mortars were ideal for lobbing shells over steep hills.

From Kure I went to Pusan (now Busan) by a local coaster, complete with barbed wire to protect the bridge area from pirates! Pusan was crowded with temporary shelters constructed with wooden crates and plastic sheeting and the like together with the few belongings the multitude of Korean refugees had fleeing from the Chinese. They were in a sorry state.

Next I was dispatched to Seoul and that by the time of my arrival South Korea’s capital had changed hands several times, with total demolition of much apart from the damaged and more substantial buildings. Our overnight accommodation was on camp beds in a part of the damaged university building. Little did I know that this would be my last comfortable night for quite some time.

Sound Ranging: Theory and Practice in Korea

By

Sound Ranging in short, is a method employed to locate enemy guns by means of calculating the distance sound (the firing of a gun or mortar) travels from four microphones located in known positions and then plotting cross bearings on a map to establish from where the enemy fire came. And so enable counter bombardment fire at it. There was a Command Centre and an Advance Post.

The command centres function was to use the information derived from microphones and surveyors situated forward to determine and plot enemy artillery positions. Close in targets would be attended to with 61st Light Regiment 4.2” mortars. More distant targets would be passed to the 25 pounders or US 155mm “Persuaders” howitzers. Very occasionally, the duty officer would be contacted to see whether we   had a target suitable for aerial attack!

Random Jottings on Life at the Front

By

Living Conditions

Winter was atrocious with temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees. I can recall observing a convoy of laden US trucks driving across the frozen Imjin River right next to the US engineers constructed temporary bridge.

We lived in bunkers (sometimes called hoochies) which were dug into the slope facing away from where enemy shells or mortar bombs would do most damage.

To provide heat in our hoochies we had REME (Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers) constructed heaters. These were made up from an old ammunition shell steel box with angle iron legs and gravity fed from a petrol jerry can located on the roof which made life just bearable. Each bunker had two pairs of double deck beds constructed with angle iron and combat telephone wire to form a mesh on which to place your sleeping bag. Our living bunker walls were of earth with the ceiling (!) constructed of 25 pounder shell metal cases filled with earth. Above that the roof (!!) consisted of tree trunks, earth, rocks and our ponchos pinned down.

During winter the 15cwt truck we had located at base had to be started at regular intervals even with its antifreeze, as did the Centurion tanks in the line. A chorehorse (petrol driven battery charger) operated on an almost continuous basis back at camp.

My Troop Commanders

By

Two troop commanders I served under warrant special comment. Captain Peter Childs and was awarded the Military Cross, and Captain John Stevenson of the Royal Australian Artillery who was highly respected being a qualified army surveyor as well as being a good leader.

One evening Captain Stevenson wanted to visit our AP on Little Gibraltar and asked me if I would accompany him. The joke was that at that time I did not have a driving licence, so ended up with him driving me! I believe that his vehicle was an Austin Champ, (the British equivalent to the US Willys Jeep.)

The track between our base camp and the rear of Hill 355 was in direct view from the Chinese lines, so a series of tall posts had been installed either side of the track to enable large camouflage nets to be suspended at regular intervals. This allowed essential daytime use, although a low speed was necessary to prevent dust rising, which would lead to a mortar round or two incoming. Because of the high regard I had for this leader, I managed to track down quite a history using Google.

[Major General John Dennis Stevenson AO, CBE (Retd) died on 30th July 2008, at the age of 83 years. Early in his career he had studied at the School of Artillery at Larkhill, Wiltshire].

Rest and Relaxation

By

I can remember my 5 days R & R leave to Tokyo over Christmas 1952. Flights to Japan were controlled by the US at Kimpo Air Base, near Seoul. We flew by US Globemaster strapped with our backs to the fuselage. You could look down to see the lower deck which was enormous and used for transporting tanks and other heavy equipment. A similar aircraft had crashed in the United States when we were in Japan, so all Globemasters were grounded, except those on active service!

During my outward flight I had an excellent view of Mount Fuji, which pleased me a lot. (Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest mountain at 3,776 metres and is worshipped as sacred. It is an active volcano which most recently erupted in 1708). Whilst in Tokyo, I attended a traditional Kabuki theatre performance, and had an obligatory photograph taken outside the Imperial Palace! The return flight was uneventful I am pleased to say!

HMT Asturias homeward bound

By

Thankfully the time arrived to depart Korea and those leaving were transferred from Pusan to Kure, where HMT Asturias was docked and ready for our return voyage to the UK.

However, this coincided with the signing of a truce document at Panmunjom which commenced a protracted exchange of prisoners of war. Many had been held for over two years in primitive camps close to the Yalu River and Chinese border. Our sailing date was put back and the ship held for them so they could return home after that captivity as speedily as possible

So we spent more time In Kure and were billeted in a transit camp and to keep us occupied a bus took us to the local beach with a packed lunch. The WVS also organised a coach trip for us to visit Hiroshima.

Discharge of a National Service from Whole-Time Military Service

By

DISCHARGED-my Discharge Book and the ARMY EMERGENCY RESERVE

Discharge of a National Service from Whole-Time Military Service

Army Book 111

Military Conduct –“ Very Good”

Testimonial –“ He has done very well in Korea as a surveyor (sound ranging). An intelligent competent hard working man with plenty of initiative and self- confidence. Pleasant personality. Capable of taking charge of other men”

Royal Artillery Register Discharged on 25.10.53 on termination of whole time National Service. / Substantive Bombardier

HQ / AER     Deemed to be enlisted on 26.10.53 / Gunner [Read more…]

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Gunner Flann Admin