THE MEDLOC ROUTE
& THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING SQUADDIE
As Remembered By John Davis - RAPC, Maida Camp, Fayid
Called up mid March 1953 to RAPC training depot at Devizes. Finalised training
(including overseas) by the end of May. I was posted to the Royal Signals pay
office in Reading, thinking that I was very lucky as all of my ‘intake’,
except one other guy, was posted to Egypt! ….Lucky or what!
After settling in, I was given a job with others (mostly GD and blokes on jankers) of clearing wood from four W.D. wagons for the camps winter use from Reading railway yard. I was then taken swimming, with a few others, every afternoon in the Thames by a PTI. I didn’t twig that was going on at the time! As I was a fully trained pay clerk I decided to enquire as to why I had not been allotted a ‘proper job’ in the pay office …. I was quickly summoned to the C.O.’s office and informed by him that “because of my swimming abilities I had been held back to swim for Southern Command in the national inter-command gala later that month”. He said “I’ve no doubt you will do very well for us Davis”! What a cheek! I immediately felt a loosing streak coming on but I did a good job on the day by coming 4th out of 6, a race that I could have won hands down!
Upon returning from the championships, I was given 7 days embarkation leave and instructions to report to a transit camp in Ashvale, Aldershot, where we were issued with our K.D’s and shown how to put out ‘putties’ on ….. I was again surprised when I met up with the other chap, Bob, who had also been held back in Southern command for cricketing reasons! So at least I knew someone for the forthcoming journey from my original intake, that was good news for both of us.
Two days after arriving at Ashvale we left by special train for the boat. Where the boat was we were not informed. We travelled towards London, around the back of the Earls Court area, eventually finishing up at Stratford where we changed locomotives. We soon moved on and, low and behold, we arrived at our destination, Harwich, where we were fed and watered and told that breakfast would be at the Hook of Holland! Half the blokes didn’t know where that was! (I was lucky as I had done this trip 2 years earlier going to a scout Jamboree in Austria). We all slowly embarked on the ship, no civilians on this sailing. Arriving at the Hook we were again fed and watered and informed that this was our last chance to use the NAAFI as there were no facilities on the train to buy anything until we reached the troopship in Trieste. We then all embarked on another troop train. We travelled through Holland into Germany and then Austria. We came to a stop in Salzberg station, Austria and were warned not to leave the train, the RTO’s and SP’s were walking the platform etc!
The locomotive was being changed about and some of the lads were asking the RTO’s how long we were likely to be at the station. Anything from one to three hours was indicated so Bob and I re-discussed the idea of me quickly descending the steps (ducking the RTO’s etc) to the shops at the lower level and buying ‘goodies’. (As I said earlier, I had been here two years before and knew the lay of the land!). We could then ‘flog it on’ to all the squaddies that hadn’t heeded the warnings given at the Hook, so we decided that money could be made and it was worth the risk! So, successfully loaded with lots of cigarettes and chocolate, I ascended the steps and Bob, leaning out of the carriage window, signalled the ‘all clear’ for me to re-board the train. We soon sorted things out and about one hour later with a jerk we started to move. After a while we then let it be known that we had ‘goodies’ on offer! It went very well, with us making a tidy profit (for those days) but one chap called Bob and me “a couple of spivs” (plus army adjectives etc) and asked how we had come by these ‘goodies’. So we told him what we had done and we had just taken a chance at Salzburg station. He then went away, but I’m very glad to say that the vast majority were just pleased to lay their hands on a few ‘fags and chocolate bars’.
So somewhere in the darkness of the Austrian/Italian Alps, we again came to a stop at a station – RTO’s were off the train again calling out their orders as before. The engine was again being changed. The chap that had given us so much grief about our ‘sales effort’ was last seen going down the stairs at a rate of knots …… sad to say I never saw him return to the train as it moved out about 10 minutes after he disappeared!! I often think of him. Perhaps he settled down in Italy, who knows? If he is amongst our readership and recognises himself, it would be nice to know!
By mid-morning the next day we arrived and detrained at Trieste and we were all bussed to the docks where our troopship was awaiting to take us all to Port Said, Egypt, where we all boarded for points south.
This route was known as the Medloc Route, and it was the very last time it was ever used, so it was a wonderful experience for all us very young men who were fortunate to have used it.
Bob and I eventually arrived at Maida Camp Fayid pay office. We were soon spotted by some of our intake mates who had arrived just a couple of months before us and immediately shouted out “get some in and get your knees brown!” What’s new!! One of these chaps was called Tom and I’m very pleased to say that I am still in touch with him.
By the way, the profit of our little train enterprise was the princely sum of £6.14.2 pence, split between two – a lot of money in those days when most were on just 28 bob a week! Most of all it helped us pass the time on a very long uncomfortable train ride.
Very best wishes to any of my old intake of mid March ’53 that are still
around