Gerald Neil (Bill) Williamson

Christening: 16th December 1926 Āsansol, West Bengal, India

Gerald Neil (Bill) Williamson - Timeline

20/09/1925 Born Calcutta, India
All childhood ailments plus typhoid twice, diphtheria, hooping cough.

School in Goethals School run by the Christian Brothers in Kurseong (between Siliguri and Darjeeling) travelling on the Toy Train – up in to the hills for 9 months at school and then home for 3 months and Christmas.

At St Vincent’s High School at Asensol while at Asensol Hospital with the typhoid and diphtheria.

Applied to join the RAF at DumDum Aerodrome in Calcutta in 1943.
RAF Service No 772616

Dec 1943 Joined RAF in Calcutta – sent to Quetta for training (now Pakistan, NW India).
There was 6 wks of drill and square bashing, then 6 wks of technical training on the engines. They were right by the Khyber Pass to Afghanistan. He qualified as an AC and was transferred back to Calcutta.

April 1944 was sent to 155 Squadron to Dum Dum near Calcutta
Firstly he worked on Mohawks but soon worked on the new Spitfire 9s which had just arrived and no-one was used to them yet. There was 6 wks/2 months to settling in and get used to the Spitfires and then sent off to Palel at Imphal.

June 1944 to Palel and Burma for the war
to Kalewa, Myingan, Magwe, Tangoo, Prome (all Burma) to June 1945

June 1945 on way to Rangoon all 155 Squadron ground crew left, flew to Madura (S India) joined 132 Squadron with Spit XIVs, four week shake down, then to Trincomalee (Celyon now Sri Lanka).
The COs of 155 Squadron were Bats Krone and Lacey

From Trincomalee onto HMS Smiter for invasion of Singapore and Operation Pig/Brisk. The A Bombs were then dropped and Japan surrendered and war was over so sailed through Malacha Straits (between Malay and Java) to Hong Kong.

Took over the Kai Tak air strip from the Japs and flew anti piracy patrols.
Jan and Feb 1946 with demobilisation at full spate 132 disbanded. About 20-25 ground crew left and formed with a Com-Can unit (Communication and Conveyance) with a L5 (Lycoming) Anson Bow fighter and a spitfire. When not flying the ground crew worked in the workshops and the Sunderlands (many damaged in typhoons)

Bill’s demob should have been Jan 1947 – but his papers were lost. WinCo fuelled a trip and went to Seecta (Singapore sea plane lease) in transit to Changi airstrip which survived visiting planes attached to Traffic Control. Singapore was in SE Asia Control but Bill had no papers so flew to Calcutta, there 2 days then on to Ambala (Indian Air Force OCTU) nearest air base to Dheli – and a paper hunt for his papers. Partition of India taken place and Independence near. Papers found, posted to Karachi and then to Bombay.

Dec 1947 on the Empire Windrush sailed to the UK through the Suez Canal and Med to Southampton. At a port in the Med, they docked briefly and the French Battleship Richelieu was also moored near them. There was a constant armed guard on the Richelieu as the body of - probably Philippe Leclerc - was aboard and he was not well liked!

From docking in Southampton, Bill was given a rail ticket to Morecombe on 22 Dec 1947 for demob. With a new set of clothes he made his way to Topcliffe, Thirsk where his Mother and stepfather, George, lived.

1948 To Newcastle Labour Exchange which his brother, Bob (Robert).
Bob opted to go into white collar work at a mine in Newcastle, Bill opted for agriculture and joined Bill and Margaret Henderson and their family on Stotsfold Farm, Hexam.

1949-51 Bill spent 3 yrs at Shuttleworth College, Bedford and spent the half terms and summers at Stotsfold Farm – one summer he did stay and work at the college.
1952 Avon Farmers magazine carried an advert for overseas agriculture work – Bill had an interview in London with “3 old foggies” for Kenya.
1952 To Kenya as Agricultural Officer, Deputy District Officer, District Officer for the Colonial Office Crown Agents – Districts Embu, Meru, Fort Hall and Nyeri.
1955 Married Frances, a Red Cross Nurse.
1956 Richard born.
1959 Jane born.
Dec 1965 the family came back to England by sea on The Kenya Castle.
1966 House rented in Seaford, Sussex while looking to buy a farm in South Devon.
1966 Stoneleigh Farm, Gara Bridge, Moreleigh, Devon – bought from the Edwards.Bill was a one man dairy farmer and Frances ran the B&B in the Farmhouse.
July 1970 The Corner Shop, Ermington, Devon – bought from Joy and Bill Dyke.
1974 Richard died.
Nov 1978 3 Pretoria Cottages, Smithaleigh, Plymouth – bought from the Phillips. Bill worked night shifts at Bowyers Meat Factory in the despatch department, first in Alexandra Road, Plymouth and then at their factory in Plympton.
1990 Retired.
1991 Went on holiday to Kenya.to have a last look
1996 Frances died and ashes interred into Richard’s grave.
16/08/2000 A visit to France to see Joy and Bill Dyke.
20/03/2018 Died very peacefully and his ashes interred into the grave with Frances and Richard, Nicola Hunt Rev of Ermington officiated for us.

Some of Bill's Stories -

The night of VE day, unaware of the imminent victory, Bill was setting up his charpoi ready for the night when a little way away a barrage of military gun fire and armament went up, it carried on for a long time. The CO sent a couple of jeeps out to scout the situation – they did not come back for several hours and were thoroughly intoxicated when they returned to inform the Company that it was Victory in Europe and that war was over and the American’s were celebrating in style!

Bill often slept in pagodas although many of the other men were superstitious and would not.

One night they were on a march through to the next airstrip and stopped to make camp for the night. Bill made his charpoi up on the bank of the dried river bed while many of the men made theirs in the river. It had obviously rained up river somewhere for in the morning quite a lot of the men were soaked through as the water had risen up.

Jimmy Lee was in Bill’s squad, he had already served a lot of the war in the UK flying in Lancasters over Germany when his Lancaster crashed into the “only hill in Norfolk” and he was “scraped” up onto a stretcher and spent a long time in hospital. When they had declared him fit for duty he opted for ground crew and ended up in Burma with the feeling of invincibility. He would collect the shells out of the spitfire cockpits and with anything else he could find, would make rockets and set them off when everyone was at lunch. Setting one off it landed in Company C on the other side of the airfield!

One thing that always surprised and appalled Bill, after the Japanese had surrendered and there were a large number under POW conditions, they were led by a single armed Allied Officer at the front of the queue and a single armed Officer at the back – they were led through the streets to a work station. Along the route any Chinese would bow the lowest of the lowest bows to the marching Japanese, afraid of reprisals should the Japanese succeed in taking over again.

Family search :
Name Gerald Neil Williamson
Sex Male
Age 26
Travel Place MOMBASA, KENYA
Arrival Place KENYA
Birth Date 1926
Occupation AGRICULTURE
Event Type Emigration
Event Date 19 Jun 1952
Event Place England, United Kingdom
Event Place (Original) England
Source Amended N
Arrival Port MOMBASA
Departure Port LONDON
Ship Name MULBERA
Shipping Company P. & O.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/?name=gerald+neil_williamson&even...

Gerald N Williamson
Residence Year 1950
Address LONDON CHEST HOSPITAL Shuttleworth College
Residence Place Bedfordshire, England
Parliamentary Division Mid-Bedfordshire

Gerald N Williamson
Residence Year 1951
Address LONDON CHEST HOSPITAL Shuttleworth College
Residence Place Bedfordshire, England
Parliamentary Division Mid-Bedfordshire

Gerald Neil Williamson
Gender Male
Departure Age 26
Birth Date abt 1926
Departure Date 21 Jun 1952
Departure Port England
Ship Name Mulbera
Shipping Line P and O
Search Ship Database
Search for the Mulbera in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Destination Port Mombasa, Kenya
Master E G Baines