In the Slammer
We were stationed in the Citadel barracks in Cairo for a while before moving up to the front line just before the battle of El Alamein . The place was bug ridden with bed bugs. They gave you a nasty bite and drew blood from you, sleeping at night was just about impossible, so a few of us got wise and after last post was sounded, sooner than be bitten by the bugs at night, we took our blankets down to the parade square and slept out in the open, and when reveille sounded in the morning we got up and took our blankets back to the barrack room to dress up our beds. You had to be quick before the RSM caught you sneaking back into the barracks. If he had found out there would have been HELL to pay, bugs or no bugs
While in the Citadel barracks the carrier platoon had to carry out various guard duties around the city. One of these guard duties was in the Citadel its self. At the main gate we pulled guard duties and also we had to mount a guard to go to redcaps prison where they held the recaptured free british. When I say " recaptured free British " I mean deserters and other army criminals. Some these blokes were very nasty customers indeed. They had mostly been caught selling black market goods and dealing drugs. In every army you get a few bad apples and this lot were the worst. There were about 20 of them banged up there from a R.S.M, to Private's doing time for all kinds of wrong doings. One morning I read in Part two orders that some of the carrier platoon had been assigned a 24 hour guard duty at the prison, Sergeant Porter, Paddy M'Grath, Jock Graham and myself formed the guard
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At first I thought it wouldn't be such a bad chore because both Paddy and Jock were good pals of mine. I did not know Sergeant Porter that well, he a was regular who had been in the battalion since before the war and was due for re-patriation back to the UK soon. We relived the Red Cap guard at 7:00 pm and Sergeant Porter inspected the prisoners and when he was satisfied gave us three our orders for the night ahead. Well for my liking I did not like what Sergeant Porter allowed the prisoners to do, roam from cell to cell, playing cards etc. and going to the shower at the end of cells to shower when they fancied. |  |
It all seemed a bit laxed to me. But who was I to tell a Sergeant of 8 years service what I thought so I kept my thoughts to myself. Paddy said we should just get on with it. I took the 2.00 am till 4.00 am stag. For two hours I walked up and down the cells and then outside around the walls of the small prison compound. About 3.00 am I walked through the cell block for about the fifth time. Every thing seemed normal, the prisoners were all asleep so I marched outside to check the exercise yard. I was gone about five minutes. As I walked back into the cell block I could hear the showers running at the end of the cell block. I knew straight away that things were wrong. I ran down to the showers at the end of the cell block. The showers were empty and the bars to the shower windows had GONE. My heart stopped. I turned around and ran back into the cell block. EVERY CELL WAS EMPTY.
The prisoners must have been waiting for me to step outside and since Sergeant Porter had left their cell doors open all they had to do was walk out. In the showers there was a window with bars of steel embedded in stonework. The prisoners must have planned their escape for months, as they had cunningly loosened all lead in the rods so as to lift out the bars and smash the window to make their escape. It was my misfortune to be the one on guard at the time when they made their break. I dashed into the guard room and told Sgt. Porter the bad news, he got a hell of a shock too, he jumped into his kit and ran to the redcap's building.
| The Redcaps turned up very quickly and they were not in the best of moods. The redcap's senior NCO soon arrived with some other redcaps. He did not like what he heard from myself and Sergeant Porter. He had me immediately placed under arrest and I was charged there and then with being in on the prisoners escape. I could not believe this was happening to me. Sergeant Porter was also arrested. Within 20 minutes I was in a cell of my own in the Citadel Slammer feeling very sorry for myself. First thing in the morning I was informed that I was to be court martialed in one months time for aiding the escape. I was assigned an officer who would represent me in the court martial, he arrived to speak to me on my second day in the cell's. I told him exactly what had happened that night and how I was unhappy with the way Sergeant Porter dealt with the prisoners. He told me not to worry and that he would prove that I was innocent, but in the mean time I would just have to sweat it out in the Slammer |  |
I was in the jail house at citadel for 42 days. Each morning I was brought before the prison CO. He was very good to me and let me have my cigarettes each day which was not really allowed but I think he was on my side and thought the charges brought against me were wrong. I asked him if I could work in the prison kitchens to break the monotony of sitting in the cell all day, he granted me this and the very next day I would be escorted to the kitchens were I would spend the day peeling spuds and scrubbing pans. After 42 days my court martial came up and also Sgt. Porter's. There was a prosecuting officer, and a defending one for us. I was in the court room answering questions for about 2 hours. Then marched out. After their deliberation, I was exonerated open to re-arrest on any new evidence against me. Sgt. Porter was severely reprimanded and reduced in the ranks for being negligent in his duties. I drew some back pay from the quarter master and had a celebration drink with the boys in the naffi canteen, glad to be free again. Sgt. Porter was due for repatriation, home after his four year stint abroad, he left for home soon after this. All in all, I felt it was a waste of time.
