My service in Royal Signals, 1939 to 1946.

Discussion in 'Veteran Accounts' started by Nevil, Feb 21, 2011.

  1. Nevil

    Nevil WW2 Veteran/Royal Signals WW2 Veteran

    Details to follow.
    Nevil.
     
    WhiskeyGolf and nicks like this.
  2. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Nevil,
    Now you are just teasing!
     
  3. Nevil

    Nevil WW2 Veteran/Royal Signals WW2 Veteran

    Nevil,
    Now you are just teasing!
    Ha Ha! No......I was to upload some pictures in which Rich Payne has an interest but it did not work for me. Will sort it out.

    My military life was relatively mundane compared to many!

    Nevil.

    Herewith new picture set for 1939-42:

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    CL1, Slipdigit, sol and 2 others like this.
  4. 51highland

    51highland Very Senior Member

    Welcome and enjoy.!!!!
     
  5. Recce_Mitch

    Recce_Mitch Very Senior Member

    Welcome to the forum


    Cheers
    Paul
     
  6. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Nevil,

    Hello and welcome to the forum.

    Regards
    Tom
     
  7. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Hi Nevil,
    Was only joking mate, welcome.
    If you are having trouble uploading pictures have a look at the advice given on the front page of the Forum, left hand side under WW2Talk heading; how to insert pictures.
    Good luck!
     
  8. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Fantastic !
     
  9. Paul Pariso

    Paul Pariso Very Senior Member

    Hello Nevil and welcome to the forum. Thanks for allowing your great pictures to be posted here.

    All the best...... :)
     
  10. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Those pics are bloody brilliant aren't they?
    Rich is going to come over all funny when he sees them.
     
  11. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Nevil,

    Excellent photographs.

    I have never seen as many dispatch motorcycles before!

    I believe that you will have many many members happy.

    Regards
    Tom
     
  12. nicks

    nicks Very Senior Member

    Hello Nevil and welcome to the forum.

    Thank you for sharing those brilliant photos.

    Nick
     
  13. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Worth waiting for Nevil!
    Well done Owen for posting them.
     
  14. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    I'm glad to see the photos have made it to the forum Nevil. Are you still struggling to get them to paste from Photobucket ?

    I very much like the lines of those 1940 model WM20s with the valanced rear mudguard and deep deLuxe fuel tank. Those are the hard to find parts now for owners wishing to convert back bikes that have been through countless REME rebuilds.

    It goes without saying that I have nothing but respect for someone who can elevate the front wheel of a Norton side-valve. Perhaps I just started too late ?
     
  15. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    An excellent selection of pictures.

    Welcome to the forum.
     
  16. Nevil

    Nevil WW2 Veteran/Royal Signals WW2 Veteran

    Nevil,

    Hello and welcome to the forum.

    Regards
    Tom

    Thank you, and to others, for the welcome!

    Nevil.
     
  17. Nevil

    Nevil WW2 Veteran/Royal Signals WW2 Veteran

    I'm glad to see the photos have made it to the forum Nevil. Are you still struggling to get them to paste from Photobucket ?

    I very much like the lines of those 1940 model WM20s with the valanced rear mudguard and deep deLuxe fuel tank. Those are the hard to find parts now for owners wishing to convert back bikes that have been through countless REME rebuilds.

    It goes without saying that I have nothing but respect for someone who can elevate the front wheel of a Norton side-valve. Perhaps I just started too late ?

    Hi Rich,
    Yes, still having a problem somewhere at my end I will work on it. Just took delivery of a new laptop with Win 7 after years with XP so maybe there is some reason there!

    As I mentioned once before, the army could not supply bikes when my brother Alan and I joined in September 1939. At the same time, they badly needed DRs to do actual duty runs from Corps HQ around the various divisions and so on, so they agreed that we could use our own bikes, which we did for about 8 weeks, and they paid quite generously so we were sorry when the new Norton SVs arrived! But we had a real mixed bag of bikes in that time......from the Scotts run by my brother and me to really super competition bikes and everythiug in between.

    During all time I was in DR sections, we never had any work done in army workshops, all the repair and maintenance was done by the DRs. We were lucky to have a DR, Bill Colclough, who could do just about anything with anything mechanical although he had no formal training. After I left them in late 1942 he was transferred to REME and I think served with 11 Armoured Div in Normandy and beyond. I kept in touch with him for years after the war, until he passed away about ten years ago.

    The winter of '39-'40 was specially hard for us with a lot of very cold days and deep snow in the Derbyshire hills. On those early mornings when bikes would not start, the procedure was to soak rags in paint thinner and then light them under the crankcase. If the carburettor caught fire, the only remedy was to get the engine running immediately....we never lost a bike but we did have a few singed DRs!

    Doing wheelies and generally fooling around on bikes was an occupational hazard with DRs when off duty. I think most officers and RSMs considered us somewhat odd and 'unsoldierly' so we got left on our own perhaps more than others in different trades.

    These are all the pictures I have of my DR days I think. I have nothing of France in 1940 as cameras were strictly forbidden......unlike the Germans, as you have observed. There is some notation on most of the pictures that pretty well identifies time and place so I will not attempt to do any futher description. I will be happy to answer any questions If any come up.

    Regards,

    Nevil.
     
  18. Nevil

    Nevil WW2 Veteran/Royal Signals WW2 Veteran

    Hello Nevil and welcome to the forum.

    Thank you for sharing those brilliant photos.

    Nick

    Thanks, Nick, and others for your comments about the photos. They have somehow survived for about 70 years, and quite a few house moves, and a move to Canada in 1957 that was done with one large suitcase! There are a few more of my later service in Signals and I will gather those together gradually and post them when I can.

    I also have some shoulder patches that Rich Payne has indicated will be of interest so that is something else for me to do.

    Regards,

    Nevil.
     
  19. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    most excellent
    thank you
     
  20. Nevil

    Nevil WW2 Veteran/Royal Signals WW2 Veteran

    Hi Nevil,
    Was only joking mate, welcome.
    If you are having trouble uploading pictures have a look at the advice given on the front page of the Forum, left hand side under WW2Talk heading; how to insert pictures.
    Good luck!
    No problem at all, Mike! I just chuckled when I saw your comment. I was very aware of the fact that my post looked pretty screwy!

    Nevil.
     
    CL1 likes this.

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