Rtn Eddie Percival Speaker 17-Feb-2011 My Life


My Life So Far!


The Eddy Percival Story in his own words (or similar)


E


ddy was born into a theatrical family in Wakefield in 1937. He


was the third child of six. His mother was a ‗Tiller Girl‘ and his father was a Theatrical Manager/Impresario and for the first 10 years of his life he toured all over the country as his father moved from theatre to theatre. Dur- ing this most enjoyable of times he met very many stars of the day. The likes of Tommy Trinder, Flanagan and Allen, Billy Reed, Doro- thy Squires, Billy Cotton and his band and Will Fyfe to name but a few. The day eventually came when his father and mother and their growing family had had enough of travelling and the family settled in London where Eddy went to school for the first time in his life ,at the age of eleven. Eddy rather liked school but did suffer somewhat at the hands of his fellow classmates due to the fact that he had bright red hair, a strange accent and was a tad overweight. He would have liked to stay on at school but at 15 he left and got an apprenticeship as a steam en- gineer only to be informed shortly afterwards that ‗steam‘ was out and ‗Diesel‘ was in!


S


o at 16 he joined the Merchant Navy with the Union Castle Line. This career lasted for


some 4 ½ years when he had to leave the service due to sun-blindness. It was during these years however that he first discovered his entrepreneu- rial gene. For 1 shilling a time he would wash, dry and iron (overnight) a pair of jeans and a shirt and deliver them back next day. By doing this a good many times he (in his own words) made a lot of money.


E


ddy discovered the problems with his eyes when he found out with the aid of a col-


league that he was unable to read signs and la- bels. On seeking medical advice he was told he had very badly burned lenses which resulted in his loss of ‗long sight‘. With treatment and a pair of glasses he was soon on the mend but his life on the high seas came to an end.


H


e then decided to ‗sign on‘ in the army ini- tially for 3 yrs. with an option to stay for 9.


Within a week he was sent to Aldershot and be- came a driver. His first piece of advice was to


‗look after‘ your gear because ‗if you lose it you pay for it‘. All was going well when his beret went missing and so he did as all young squadies do, he nicked somebody else‘s.


S


hortly afterwards whilst on parade after getting through


basic training he was to encounter


the ‗funny‘ sergeant who asked him if he knew he had a ‗Wee‘ in his beret. On replying that he did not know that the sergeant whipped his beret off his head and hurled across the parade ground, frisbee style, as he yelled WEEeeeeeeeeee! At the end of this hilarious stunt the sergeant instructed him to fetch it, to which our intrepid soldier replied ―You threw it so you can pick it up‖. This of course was not the correct or expected response and he was or- dered to remain where he was until he did pick it up. It was some time later that a young officer suggested that he ought to pick it up and go and get something to eat! So, after a rather rocky start, began the next phase of his life.


I


t was during this time that his father became ill and he put in for a ‗home posting‘. This


was granted and he found himself at Middle Wallop‘ which is now the home of the Army Air Corp Museum. He was to be working with heli- copters! An obvious move, because he was trained to be a driver... Anyway, the next few years he was either re-fuelling helicopters or was a member of the helicopter crew. On being asked if anyone had any experience of flying Eddy said he had once flown down to the Mediterranean to pick up a ship and thus, due to this qualifying him as an experienced flyer, he was told to board the craft. The pilot proceeded to take the passen- gers up and then proceeded to switch off the en- gine. As the craft began to drop at a rate of knots Eddy found that his stomach was not where it ought to be and thought he would be a goner un- til the pilot re-started the helicopter moments before it reached the ground. Apart from the fact that his life flashed before his eyes and his stom- ach was in another place, he was not sick. Once again he had passed a test and he had qualified to become a crew member. (Eddy in fact was never sea or air sick except for once, when he was on a pleasure craft!)


Exciting story to be continued........


32


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54