Recollections – Ray Elliot
I stayed in Norfolk during the war because I was in a reserved occupation, as I was farm worker.
At the beginning of the war in 1939 I was age 23 and I worked in the Fens around Feltwell, reclaiming land for agriculture. My health was not good so I later came back to South Norfolk to work for the Norfolk War Agricultural Committee. I lived in the village of Wattlefield, on a farm. Every day I used the motorcycle lent to me by the Committee to travel the 10 miles to the Isolation Hospital at Wicklewood, where I had my base.
My job was to collect a group of men and drive them to various farms in the area where help was needed. I had to supervise them doing various tasks on the land. Some of the men had never worked on a farm before. The men were mainly older or were unfit for the services. We did get some youngsters from the “Naughty Boys Home”, although they never were any trouble.
I seem to remember it always being noisy in Wattlefield, as there were several American air bases nearby. One day I remember standing and watching a doodlebug come over.
BBC WW2 Peoples War
Reginald Elliott 04/04/2005
Mr Elliott died on 8th May 2009 aged 93