213777 Sgt. Arthur Emmett British Army Royal Signals My grandad Arthur Emmett was too young for the first war and almost too old for the second world war, but being a member of the TA at Gibraltar barracks he was called to serve. We are trying to piece together his service life. I know he worked for Butlers Steel Company of Leeds and, I believe, the owner of this company was his CO. He was in charge of a line laying unit and served on the Norway landings, the one they didn't give medals for, as he put it. He remembers Warspite opening up with her guns, he said you all but leapt off your ship as the shock wave hit your ribcage. He served for a time in Iceland and I've been led to believe some of his layouts are still in use. He was in Africa and Italy, possibly landing at Salerno. His CO once asked him to join the new parachute unit but he said he declined on account of there being no point to jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft, I disagree. He told stories of his shortest member of his team leaving the landing craft whilst the ramp was sitting in deep water and how they had to pull him to surface.
It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has a relation that was involved with Royal Signals in Norway. Alas, my grandfather died in the 1980s after many years of dementia. He was my hero.
|