daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 26,513
- Points
- 1,160
2 PARA were billeted at Stoke Rochford until they left for Arnhem on 17 Sep 44:
"In the summer of 44 a replacement cook Cpl arrived. They were not sorry to see his predecessor go. His one ambition had been to conserve rations for a rainy day, and the rest of the rations were mutilated and burnt by his assistant ‘Old Bert’. You ate because you had to, not to savour the meal. Cpl Menzies, a Scot was different. The food and brews were great. What had been fondly imagined as stewed gas cape previously now became known for what it was: ‘cabbage’. It was not until the day before Arnhem that 2 PARA really found out what a truly fantastic man Jock Menzies was. The Army Catering Corps were only attached to the Parachute regiment, and there were no para trained cooks back then. On the evening before Arnhem in the cookhouse, Jock said’ “You blokes aren’t leaving me behind. I’m coming with you”. The blokes he was talking to then had to bribe the stick Sgt in the aircraft and smuggle him on board. So it was, that this quiet man with no parachute training whatsoever, jumped for the first time in his life at Arnhem. He survived and was taken POW."
https://books.google.ca/books?id=TxnOAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA159&lpg=PA159&dq=cpl+menzies+2+para+cook+arnhem&source=bl&ots=oA1ZgGP9NH&sig=yKZxv4e-2qQOUqVfj8_EFSy_xAk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwu5TM3uXdAhVXBjQIHQD3CuEQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=cpl%20menzies%202%20para%20cook%20arnhem&f=false
"In the summer of 44 a replacement cook Cpl arrived. They were not sorry to see his predecessor go. His one ambition had been to conserve rations for a rainy day, and the rest of the rations were mutilated and burnt by his assistant ‘Old Bert’. You ate because you had to, not to savour the meal. Cpl Menzies, a Scot was different. The food and brews were great. What had been fondly imagined as stewed gas cape previously now became known for what it was: ‘cabbage’. It was not until the day before Arnhem that 2 PARA really found out what a truly fantastic man Jock Menzies was. The Army Catering Corps were only attached to the Parachute regiment, and there were no para trained cooks back then. On the evening before Arnhem in the cookhouse, Jock said’ “You blokes aren’t leaving me behind. I’m coming with you”. The blokes he was talking to then had to bribe the stick Sgt in the aircraft and smuggle him on board. So it was, that this quiet man with no parachute training whatsoever, jumped for the first time in his life at Arnhem. He survived and was taken POW."
https://books.google.ca/books?id=TxnOAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA159&lpg=PA159&dq=cpl+menzies+2+para+cook+arnhem&source=bl&ots=oA1ZgGP9NH&sig=yKZxv4e-2qQOUqVfj8_EFSy_xAk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwu5TM3uXdAhVXBjQIHQD3CuEQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=cpl%20menzies%202%20para%20cook%20arnhem&f=false
