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Fate

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 10:57 am
by bodge
My 1952 intake was all due to join the 10TH Hussars luckily I got out of step on the pass out parade and was back squaded therefore I was allowed to become a member of THE REGIMENT .Which means I made many friends and have lots of memories and exigencies but just 2 poor ones 1 my accident with the B.E.S.A. 3weeks in B M H 2 my friend found dead in his store room 3 Slim Bonfield breaking his leg

Re: Fate

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:41 am
by Bill Bentley
Bodge,

I can understand that anybody who is 'out of step' felt at home in the 14/20H :lol: .
But, can I ask you to be a bit clearer, my not knowing your abbreviations, about the following:
What does B.E.S.A. mean and, after 3 weeks in BMH, I hope that you have been getting some compensation.
And, yes, isn't it odd: Everybody expects soldiers to be KiA, but a great many die of RTA's and the like and of course the effects of booze related conditions, or just life both in and out of barracks.
Notwithstanding all of that, we're still here :D :D :D

Re: Fate

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:14 am
by bodge
Hi Bill The besa was the machine gun on the Comet when there was a stoppage you had to lift the cover a little to see if the cartilage had been hit
If it had you slam it down quick.
I did not have time and the full percussion cap hit me between the eyes and entered my head about 1 inch I was am very lucky to be alive.

Re: Fate

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:02 am
by Bill Bentley
Ouch :o :o !
Sometimes people are lucky in their misfortune :shock: .

If it had struck anywhere else it could have been serious :lol: :lol: :lol: .

Joking apart, you were very lucky !

Re: Fate

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:25 pm
by Michael Burgess
Bodge
Am I right in thinking when you had a stoppage on the BESA the action was "Tap Cock Pull" glad you survived
Take care Mick :roll: :oops: :lol:

Re: Fate

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:46 am
by Bill Bentley
Mick,
although I worked with the Brownings .30 & .50 for years I can't remember what the phrase was. Cock, hook & look sticks in my mind, but whether that was GPMG, LMG, SLR, SMG or my trusted handgun was, I can't remember; it's no longer a part of my life 8-).

Re: Fate

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:18 am
by bodge
Yes Mick
with the stoppage you recocked then fired and if it did not then fire you again recocked and lifted the cover a little to see if the round had bee struck
if it had you slammed it shut real quick. In my case it went off as I lifted the cover bang. The next I remember as they lifted me out of the turret was someone saying look at the hole in his head.
Fate I was not in the tank at the time the loader had forgotten what to do so thy sent for me Yes I was and am lucky.
Bodge

Re: Fate

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:03 pm
by Syd Jones
Well there you are Bodge! Must confess I hadn't realised that the cap had actually entered your noddle! I was sitting on the turret of a nearby Comet when a cloud of smoke puffed out of your hatch...Very impressive it was too! Was it Willie (Sgt. Williams) who came to the rescue? Golly! Just think, it was close on seventy years ago! Glad to know you're going on well. I clocked 90 back in February. Where did the years disappear to?
Cheers, Syd Jones.