Stench of buried decaying flesh stayed with me
Ken was an 18-year-old steelworker in Scarborough when he got the call-up for National Service. Some 14 weeks later, in May 1953, he was sent to fight in the Korean War.
He had completed six weeks of basic training, reporting to the newly formed 2nd Battalion Green Howards, and a further eight weeks continuation training.
He recalls: “We thought we were being sent to death row, we had no idea what to expect.”
He and eight others were transferred to the
Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, then sailed for four weeks to Japan to receive their vaccinations – malaria, yellow fever, smallpox, tetanus and typhus – then off to Korea.
Conditions were grim. “A lot of time was spent digging new fighting pits, bunkers or trenches until an hour before first light,” Ken says. “We had improvised beds and would sleep fully dressed, including our boots.
“Bed was where we faced our second enemy – the rats. One time, I had two bars of chocolate and was eating one in the dark and the other bar had disappeared.
“I found a rat nibbling it at the bottom of my bed.
“When I threw my mess tin at the offender, it disappeared so I threw the bar away. One of the lads, Ron Smailes, found it and simply broke off the nibbled bit and ate the rest.”
It wasn’t long before the teen rifleman’s battalion were ordered to take part in the Third Battle of the Hook.
There, British troops backed by American and Turkish units, fought the Chinese army.
“I’ll never forget the collapsed fighting pits and bunkers and shallow trenches due to the heavy bombardment,” says Ken.
“Most of all the stench of decaying flesh from buried limbs and bodies has stayed with me.”
Of the more than 40 men in his battalion, just 17 walked away on May 28, the day of the worst losses. Eleven were taken prisoner, the others were killed or badly wounded. Ken says: “We were a very close-knit group, but only five of us are left now from that original platoon.”
A few months later, Ken’s fallen comrades were commemorated at the United Nations Cemetery in Korea after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed.
He says: “I don’t think there was a dry eye on that parade and after the service we were allowed to visit the graves of our friends.”
Following his service, Ken met and married his wife Hazel. They had two daughters and three grandchildren. He became a self-employed ironmonger, making gates, and wrote a book called You’re Going To Korea!
He is also secretary for two branches of the 2nd Battalion Green Howards.
Of his National Service Ken says: “I made friends for life, some of who I still see. The list is growing shorter though. Out of the ones who went to Korea with me, I think I’m the only one left.”