Stanley Blay part 1
Stanley talks about his training at Ipswich at the start of the Second World War.

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I was born in Markenfield Road at Guildford opposite Stoke School and I haven’t ventured out of Guildford really except for the time when I was in the Forces.
It was a completely new life to what I’d been through
Well it was Army uniform of course, introduction to Army boots and an overall battle dress. 
We stayed in the Ipswich area for about six weeks and we done our individual training. It was first of all drill obviously, the drill marches, drill movement and all that sort of thing.
One day they told us beforehand when our training started there would be a river crossing and they put a line across but it was deepish and we had to go sort of hand over hand on this line and you came to the stage when your feet weren’t touching the ground and you had to rely on your hands to pull you across. Then eventually your feet touched the ground again and you thought, 'Oh well that’s it,' but it’s the bit when it got deep and you weren’t having your feet on there, you relied on your hands.
One or two got a bit panicky and they left the rope but our corporal and some more corporals were all there, and they were in the water all the time so we had people there but we did, in fact, lose one man during that crossing. I’m not quite sure what happened but he got drowned anyway I understand he panicked a bit you know.  We didn’t dwell on it sort of thing.