Corp Jimmy Lightbody

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="0c200500dvldtc.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="BauerBodni BT" ><B>113 SQUADRON</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>     |    </B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="home_of_113_squadron.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WELCOME"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A></div> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >back to</FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#00FFFF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="( L to O )"><U><B>(    L to O    )</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=215 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="0c3d7c00dvldtc.gif"> <bR> <div> <B>Port Tufiq</B></div> <div> <B>Alexandria</B></div> <div> <B>Fuka</B></div> <div> <B>Giarabub</B></div> <div> <B>Helwan - Cairo</B></div> <div> <B>Bombay</B></div> <div> <B>Calcutta</B></div> <div> <B>Rangoon</B></div> <div> <B>Toungoo</B></div> <div> <B>Magwe</B></div> <div> <B>Akyab</B></div> <div> <B>Dum Dum</B></div> <div> <B>Fyzabad</B></div> <div> <B>Kalana</B></div> <div> <B>Asansol</B></div> <div> <B>Feni</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>NOTE</B></div> <div> <B>See Airfields -India  section & True tall Tales section for other articles regarding Corp Lightbody</B></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="4745c7b0.gif" border=0 width="92" height="123" ALT="113 squadron Crest" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> 113 SQUADRON RAF<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC9900" FACE="BauerBodni BT" > </FONT></div> <div> Corp Jimmy Lightbody</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="47bfb580.jpg" border=0 width="251" height="344" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Corp Jimmy Lightbody, Ground Gunner,  113 Squadron Sept. 1941? until July 1942. Posted to the 113 while on the Escarpment? in the Desert. Left the squadron at Asansol and was posted to Feni. Jimmy passed away in April 2006 and he will be sadly missed. His experiences however, will remain forever for future generations to read and learn about this important era in our history. We all owe him a great debt for having the wisdom and taking the time to do so. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" >(Note: the photo above was taken by the photographer to the Nizam of Hyperbad when Corp in 2942 Sqdn)</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Blackpool (Training) - </div> <div> Hornchurch (Ground Gunner) - 1940</div> <div> 113 Squadron - Sept 1941? to July 1942? (Ground Gunner)</div> <div> 2942 Squadron - July 1942 to Aug 1945</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Port Tufiq - Alexandria - Fuka </B></div> <div> We had arrived at Port Tufiq and after a couple of days we were paraded and I and five others were called out and told we were being posted to 113 Sqdn. As I was the most senior at the time I was put in charge of the party. I might add that by this time I had made friends with <B>Frank Gould</B>, a small chap who hailed from Plymouth and who we referred to as <B>Tich</B>. We travelled up to the Lakes and had four hours to wait for a train to Alexandria, so we took a walk around. Eventually we arrived at Alex when it was dark and the R T 0' s put us in the Naval Barracks for the night. Next morning we were up early for breakfast and down to Station about 5am. The train was packed with all manner of troops on the way up the desert. There were Arabs on the train selling tea and rolls with a fried egg on them and I'm afraid we bought our share.  We arrived at Fuka Camp as it was getting dark and we got off the train. There we were given a tent but it was too late to get any food, so we went in search of the NAAFI where we bought some. Having paid with a note, we were given boot laces & polish, tooth paste and laces as change. As we were trying to find the NAAFI an Italian plane came over strafing all around. Nobody seemed to bother and no guns opened up on it. Next morning we were up at first light, a garry came to take us to 113 Sqdn. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Escarpment - (possibly Ma'aten Bagush)</B></div> <div> On our arrival at the at 113 Squadron which was on the Escarpment, the garry dumped us and made his way off. We soon found that among the Ground Gunners there were as many Corporals as men, but none of them wanted responsibility for us. Early in the afternoon we had a visit from two Sp's who made themselves known and they said they would get us help. Later a Cpl. by the name of <B>Joe McCarthy </B>came and made himself known. He got us two tents and two spades and a pick and showed us where to pitch them. Then where we should dig our gun-pit and later came back with a pair of Lewis guns complete with stand. We found it very hard digglng, as when you got down about two feet it was hard rock. We also had to dig the holes to pitch our tents in. The only good thing about the site was it's proximity to the cookhouse. It consisted of large tent and alongside was the ration tent where Sgt. Jones used to sleep. He had built a wall of cases of corned beef all around the tent, to protect himself from strafing etc. Every night after we had our meal, we used to slip out a tin or two of bully beef for our supper. We had a shaded lamp and played cards in the evening. Nobody bothered us and and life went on O.K. I remember someone calling wanting two blokes to accompany him to a Naval Air Station and Tich and I volunteered. They had Albatross aircraft there and during our stay we had a sand storm which lasted more than an hour and we sheltered in a tent but the sand was everywhere.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> OFF TO BURMA</div> <div> <B>Helwan - Cairo</B></div> <div> As Christmas 1941 was on it's way we were told we were going back to Alexandria for a rest. We upped sticks and got on our way but as we arrived at Mersa Matrua we got a signal to proceed to Cairo and duly arrived at Helwan. (Cairo airport). The C.O. Wing Commander Stiddolph paraded us and told we were going to another theatre of war. Our Christmas rations had gone to Alexandra but would be forwarded to us. It was Friday and he said we could all go to Cairo for the Weekend, but we had to be back on Parade on Monday morning. Tich and I and the lads got a train from Bab el Louk to Cairo and were in awe of the condition of the train. We found a Greek place that gave us bed and breakfast and had quite a Weekend in the city. On the Monday we were on parade again and the news was our Xmas rations would not be with us until Thursday. There was no further news and we could go off to Cairo if we wanted. I remember we all got back on the train into Cairo and enjoyed the day. Tuesday we paraded again this time to tell us we were going to <B>Burma </B>and our Christmas Dinner would be served on Thursday night. The following morning we would be moving down to Port Tufiq and there we would have to change our money. We left early morning and on the way down on the train the cooks were having a game of pontoon for all the small change we had collected for them at the Christmas Dinner. One of them dropped out the game and I asked if I could take his place as I had discovered one or two small coins in my greatcoat pocket. They agreed and I took a hand. By the time we got to Port Tufiq I had as they used to say in Scotland 'Skinned the School'. I remember going to the Officer sitting at a table and unloading all this small change. "Where did you get all this", he asked. I had to tell him the tale.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Bombay</B></div> <div> We left Port Tufiq on New Years Day 1942 and after a short stay at Aden we arrived at Bombay. The ship we travelled in was the "Westernland", a Dutch vessel. We had Italian prisoners in the Forecastle and on the Upper Deck there was refugee families from Malta. Among them were a few teenage women who used to flaunt themselves on the railings but on no account were we allowed up them stairs. The Captain of the ship used to come and join us in the evening and had a record player to make the evening go with a swing. On our arrival in Bombay we were put in a tented camp for a few days and then on a train to Calcutta. I think we left on a Sunday afternoon and arrived in Cacutta on the Tues. evening. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Calcutta</B></div> <div> At Calcutta, we were accommodated in Fort William <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Courier New" ><I>(old British College in Calcutta) </I></FONT>where the South Staffs Regt. were garrisoned. They were quite immaculate in their White uniforms with metal braid on the shoulders and Black forage caps. Compared with us, we were like a lot of tramps. On the following day we were called out on parade and there was the C.O. with a padre. The C.O. introduced him and said he was holding a Dance at the YWCA and we would be welcome to come along. At that, we all went into Calcutta and bought new khaki drill. It was a good ploy to get us smartened up. Tich wasn't interested in the dance so I paired up with <B>Taffy Fletcher </B>who quite interested. The dance took place on the Thursday night and as the padre had said there was plenty of girls both English and Anglo Indian. Taffy and I got got a girl to take home, they lived over at Hastings. On the whole it was good night but we had to say goodnight to the girls about a hundred yards away from where my friend lived but we saw them in. We boarded a vessel at Hastings Dock on Sat morning and were told we would sail either Sunday or Monday. On Sunday a.m. we were told we would not be sailing until Monday. Some of us were allowed off the boat for the afternoon and Taffy and I made sure we got on the list. We went round to where we had left the girls the previous evening and fortunately I spotted the girl I had taken home. I made contact and said we would meet them in Chowringee if she could get her pal to agree. We were in an Ice cream bar when I saw them in a mirror crossing the MyDang and we immediately ran out and made contact. They were pleased to see us again, and as it was getting hot, we decided to go in a Cinema. They were the coolest places in the afternoon. It was early evening when we came out and we were going up towards Dalhousie Square to find a place where we could get sometthing to eat. As we passed near to the "Statesman" building their was a gentleman across the street trying to attract our attention and my friend said it was her Father and went over to to see what he wanted. She seemed to have quite a few words with him and came back to us saying he had told her she must go home immediatly with her friend and they got in a taxi. I'm afraid that was the last we ever saw of them. My friend's family came from Glasgow and her Mother had gone home just before the war broke out. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Rangoon - BURMA</B></div> <div> On the next morning we sailed down the Hugli river and into the bay of Bengal. The crossing was uneventful and we sailed up to Rangoon. Everything had been quiet until we were about to dock, then the air raid sirens heralded a formation of Jap aircraft who were intending to bomb the Docks. We were ushered off the vessel as quickly as possible and put on trucks which sped through the deserted streets to, of all places, the Zoo. There we hid until 4am the following morning. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="483ff580.jpg" border=0 width="255" height="344" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Shwe Dagon Pagoda - Rangoon Jan 1942</div> <bR> <div> <B>Toungoo</B></div> <div> Then we made our way to the station and were taken to Toungoo where our aircraft were based. There we stayed about a fortnight being bombed incessantly. The usual drill was for the Harvard the Mohawks and any Blenheims that were on the ground to take off and fly out of the way in the opposite direction. The rest of us got in the dugouts until it was all over. This went on for about a fortnight, then we moved up country to Magwe where things were more stable. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Magwe</B></div> <div> At Magwe we occupied what I think had been a school which was about four or five miles from the airfield. Also here were the American/Chinese Squadron of Tomahawks (the A.V.G) with their noses painted like a Sharks mouth showing their teeth. I must say up till now we Gunners had seen nothing of our guns since leaving Suez. We were all engaged in other activities. On one occasion a party of us were told to be at the Airfield before dawn. there we were met by the C.O. and the aircrews of our Blenheims and were told that we would be allocated two to an aircraft and would be going down to an airfield near Rangoon where we were to bomb up the aircraft, who then would be taking off for a raid on the enemy. Tich and I were allocated to C.O.'s aircraft and were just about to get on the plane when the air raid sirens started to go off. <B>Winco Stidulph </B>and the rest of us piled into a nearby slit trench for shelter. The Shark Sqdn. took off and about five minutes after the sirens blew the " all clear" we all returned to the aircraft and got in. I was very fortunate, the Winco told me to sit by him on the 'tool seat while <B>Cherry Orchard </B>got into the bomb aimers position. <B>Tich (Frank Gould)</B> got in at the rear dorsal position with<B> Jock Stirling </B>and we set off. All the other aircraft had taken off before us and we set course down the Irrawaddy, at what seemed to at a very high speed. We were flying very low, about 500 ft, and the ground was coming up very fast. About half way to Rangoon I could see something was going on between Cherry and the C.O. and at the end of the conversation <B>Stidulph</B> gave the thumbs down sign and turned the aircraft round. It appeared something was wrong with the control lines. We got back to Magwe and landed, the C.O. bade us farewell and we made our way back to the billets for the afternoon. The other lads came back later that evening, having had to wait on the DC2 which brought them back.  I remember on our arrival at Magwe we all had to have an inoculation for the plague and it had to be given in batches, as you needed 24 hrs to recover.  <B>Sgt Jones </B>our head cook took very bad with it, and had to be moved out. We never saw him again. </div> <bR> <div> There was one time a small group of us (six including Tich and myself) took a tea chest full of revolvers and sub machine guns up to the oilfields at Yenen Yaung about two hours away in the hope of selling them, only to find everyone was well armed. We were hungry and all we could get to eat was tins of fruit and of course beer in bottles, Chinese I think. The journey back was about 30 miles and we got back to Magwe about 4am. We put the tea chest back in the duty pilots hut, and then went back to our billets which were about 4 miles away. Nobody was any the wiser.</div> <bR> <div> Then one evening while were having our meal the C.O. came in and said "Look chaps the Japs have broken through and are only 24hrs away, get on anything you can and make your way up to Mandalay". At that we all dropped everything and made for our Garries. <IMG SRC="48111580.jpg" border=0 width="273" height="344" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0">Everyone had a truck and we were making our way to our trucks when the Warrant Officer Armourer who-was in charge of us Ground Gunners shouted "Where the hell are you fellows going", we told him what the C.O. had said and he said "you are staying here with me and we have to destroy all this equipment". If the Japs don't get here before 2pm. tomorrow we will try and get the DC2 to come and pick us up. Well we got down to the job in hand and I can always remember having to go into the Billets and drag out all the Kitbags, put them in a wooden hut and set fire to it. The lads had just dropped eveything in the mess tent and made for their trucks. We didn't bother with the mess but </div> <bR> <div> Corp Lightbody on left, Brownie 3rd from left, </div> <div> the rest are drivers for 113 but unidentified</div> <bR> <div> got busy destoying the equipment. We were working all during the night and from time to time drivers were coming in from the airfield and other places only to be collared by the Warrant Officer and put to work. In all there must have been about 25 to 30 of us and by about 11am we had more or less finished the job. During the destruction of equipment we opened two cases and were surprised to find they contained brand new Lee Enfields. The officer said we could have to get rid of our old rifles if we wanted a new one. Some were given to the M.T. people and we were told if the old ones had to be destroyed we would have to take the bolts out and go and bury them out in the field. Then the rest of the rifles had to be smashed up. We were all hanging about when somebody started firing there rifle at the Kitehawks flying around. Soon we were all at it, when suddenly appeared 3 Jeeps containing 12 Redcaps who called a halt to it. The Sargeant said they had thought the Japs had broken through. The Warrant Officer appeared and assured them we would keep quiet. About 10 mins. later he reappeared and told us to load our kit up and make way to the airfield. There it was deserted and we hung about expecting the plane to arrive about 2pm. We were still there at 2.30 when we heard the sound of an aircraft coming from the direction of Yenenyaung. At first we thought it could be a Jap but as it nearer I could see it was the Dakota. When it landed the Pilot told us to aet aboard and we thought he was going to take us to Mandalay but he had orders to take us to Akyab and try and get us on a ship for-Calcutta. As it happened we got over Akyab and on looking down at the harbour could see only one ship. We landed and sent two chaps down to see if the Captain could take us aboard. He said he could and at that the Pilot said cheerio.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Dum Dum - Fyzabad - Kalana</B></div> <div> We picked up our gear and made our way down to the harbour. The ship was was much smaller than we had expected and there didn't seem any room at at all. As well as natives there were animals such as Goats and Sheep going around the deck. There were only two officers, the rest of the crew were Chinese. The second in command was a big fellow from Leith and I said to him where the hell are we going, he said "Never mind laddie, we'll clear the stern and get you down there, we'll give you grub if you will arrange the cooking. Well, we did have <B>Ginger Hulme</B> who was our Cpl. cook and he took it over along with about a half dozen who volunteered to help him. The rest of us were paired off to go on the bridge to watch for submarines. I remember well doing a stint and the big fellow who was second in cormnand of the ship told us to keep a sharp look out as a submarine had been seen in these parts. We eventually arrived in Calcutta as it was getting dark and were taken to Dum Dum, where we spent the night in some broken down building. The following morning, as soon as we had breakfast we got on a train which took us to Fyzabad in the Upper Provences. There we found ourselves in a pre-war Army camp. It was a change to have a bed to sleep in. We must have been there for about two weeks when we were sent up the hills to an Army Camp called Kalana just below Mussurie. There we had good-billets but we were seven miles high and could look down on clouds in the valley. While we stayed there a draft of drivers, just out from Blighty and among them was an old school chum among them by the name of Jake Begg. After a fortnight at Kalana we were sent to Asansol.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Asansol</B></div> <div> At Asansol we occupied St, Vincent de Pauls school, here I had various jobs from helping Ginger in the cookhouse to doing a spell as assistant to the Duty Pilot up at the Airfield. We did have a Sargeant aircrew member that was grounded as suffering from LMF and he hung about the cook house at Asansol. It didn't affect his approaches to a girl's mother and father at the weekly dance held at the railway club. I remember the daughter as being a Deanna Durbin look alike and was always in demand. At that time W/C Stidulph had left the Squadron and W/C Grey had taken over. His landing of a Blenheim was a sight to see, he usually bumped his way along the runway until the aircraft came to a halt. One day while landing at Calcutta he bumped the aircraft too hard and crashed, with disastrous results. A South African, Major Viney then took over. It was soon after that I was posted with about another 15 gunners to Feni, which is north of Chittagong and left the Sqdn.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> FENI - 2942 Squadron</div> <div> One event which ocurred at Feni worth noting was when it came under attack by the Japs. Frank Dracup and I were manning the twin Lewis guns and we thought the Jap aircraft were going north to Argatala, as they were now overhead. Suddenly we heard the rush of air and just had time to dive into a small dugout we had made. It was just as well as the bombs completely destroyed our guns. The gunpost was riddled with shrapnel, a piece of which penetrated the rear part of my topee, the part that protects the back of the neck. We had to rebuild and get new guns. The day after an Army Colonel visited us and asked if we had been there the day before. He said he had been in an Auster aircraft and counted at least 40 bombs around the gunpost.</div> <div> (See drawing of Feni Airfield in the Operational Theaters - India section)</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="48508560.jpg" border=0 width="520" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Lord Louis Mountbatten at the Rangoon Victory Parade</div> <bR> <bR> <div> The following are some of the people I was involved with on 113 Sqd:</div> <bR> <div> W/C Stidulph (The C.O from the desert to Burma</div> <div> His No #l Fl/Lt Orchard (Cherry) flew as bomb aimer and Observer.</div> <div> Sgt. Smith Air Gunner, came from Dunfermline Scotland.</div> <div> Sqdn. Leader Le-Franais the Medical Officer. Came from the north east</div> <div> Sgt. Jones our Cook (Had to be taken to Hospital after that injection we had on arrival at Magwe.)</div> <div> Cpl. Hulme ( Ginger) Cook  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >*Corp Lightbody also referred to him as Ginger Gaskill, a fellow by the name of Halfpenny also helped as cook.</FONT></div> <div> Harold Dabbs M.T.</div> <div> Cpl. Chatsworth Photography Section - Canadian</div> <div> L.A.C. Muirhead "     "       Came from Edinburgh as I did.</div> <bR> <div> The following Gunners:- Cpls. Joe M'Carthy, Clarke Clark, Owen Joyce,</div> <div> L.A.C.'s Gunn, Dracup, Gould, Paynter, Fletcher, Price (Blackburn).</div> <bR> <div> Ginger Gaskill* and Corp Owen Joyce knew each other prior to the war. They had worked together at a big house. Joyce was a butler and Ginger was the Boots. </div> <bR> <div> Trader Horn. Looked after Squadron mail. He reckoned he lived next door to Vera Lynn the great war time singer. He used to write to her and got replies, when he did everyone knew about it. At that time they both lived in Telford Essex.</div> <bR> <div> These are some that I remember, like Sgt. Pilot Tex the American on the Sqdn who after hearing some of the other pilots berate him about flying too high over the target took his plane on a test flight one evening while we were all having dinner. He was flying low over the school and everybody left their meal to go out and watch. Then, on his final run he came so low he pulled up in front of the building and scraped the belly of the aircraft on one of the crosses. It ripped the belly of the aircraft and poor Tex was left to face a court martial. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >(Note: Tex was not court martialed, but he along with two or three others who were engaged in these flying stunts were ordered to desist.) </FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="48d06b20.jpg" border=0 width="518" height="690" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="487d9580.jpg" border=0 width="217" height="344" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">           <IMG SRC="48ab8580.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="344" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Corp Jimmy Lightbody - recent photos </div> <bR> <bR> <div> See drawing of Feni Airfield in the Operational Theaters - India section</div> <div> See also the True Tall Tales Section for several stories of Corp Lightbody's.</div> <bR> <div> It is with deepest sadness I regret to report that Jimmy passed away in April 2006. He will be sadly missed.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id153_m.htm" TITLE="Corp Jimmy Lightbody"><U><IMG SRC="22932320.gif" border=0 width="50" height="50" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id153_m.htm" TITLE="Corp Jimmy Lightbody"><U> </U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id153_m.htm" TITLE="Corp Jimmy Lightbody"><U>BACK TO TOP</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>