More range shooting, long schemes with various titles Spartan, Gunbuster, and many more, and of course who would remember any of them as it meant in many cases digging gun pits where allowed, and the filling them in. Good practice they thought. Well all this digging certainly was our advantage when we went into action. More on that later.
We did not have much time to do much except move around the country, fire and movement. I did not mention that just after Christmas I was in our sick bay with a high fever. Well a couple of German fighter planes skimmed overhead and I guess the pilot noted some army vehicles on the ground, or our huts whatever at the speed he was going. He fired his cannon hitting a barn down the road and killing a cow . No one hurt amongst us.
Oh yes after good evening of lifting the glasses at the Shelley Arms, you and your buddies would go across the street to a dimly lit sandwich counter where a gross looking individual made monster onion sandwiches. Great huge slices of bread, some type of grease for lubricant and massive slices of onion. I still get heart burn and indigestion thinking of these crude affairs that we ate on our way back to camp.
Soon our Chapelwood Manor stay came to a close with the regiment being escorted through London on a very strict plan. No stopping for anything, just keep going and get through the city. Captain Pyper and his crew all had a case of Diarreaha [ the shits ] and of course could not stop. To their embarassment they filled their drawers. Outside of London Capt Pyper had a good supply of money was able to stop at an inn and get their clothes changed and a shower. That crew would not forget going through London.
It was through London and on to Norfolk to the 76th Bty. destination. The village of Attelborough, a great spot, but again we were really too busy to enjoy it. Some of the chaps were making hay with the abundance of Land army girls who seemed starved for our fellows' attentions brief though these affairs were. My good buddy Bob Anderson had a pretty good thing going with a land army girl and was usually pretty pooped and hungry after an outing. So when he rolled into camp really late we decided to raid the cookhouse for a snack. The door was locked but Bob crawled up over a partition and dropped into the kitchen landing in a wash tub of liver in his sock feet. Shoes were off not to wake Wally the cook. Bob only found a couple of hard tack and was told by Wally Harris he had heard Bob stumbling around like a wounded buffalo anyway. Oh yes, we ate the liver not knowing Bob had done a route march in it. The remaining time in this area went fast, Many schemes, Rabbit, Hardtack, Grizzzly. With a scheme called Snaffle with the Polish armoured division .
Ending with the regiment moving to Windy ridge in the Winchester area .