Sir James William Spencer Mount B.E.M

Known as Jim he received the British Empire Medal 12th December 1944 for his service to 203 Battalion. He was also awarded the Defence Medal at stand down.

He was a familiar figure, walking about with his large dog by his side. A very friendly chap who held a garden party every summer at his farmhouse for selected local residents.

His daughter Ann McKeveer has been interviewed and recorded as saying;  ‘Q. Your father was a retained fireman?
They were the auxiliary fire service, he was called out regularly.  He was also of course in that famous Home Guard where nobody knew what they were doing.  He told mother, “If we’re invaded” he said “I shall disappear, but I’m not telling you where”.
 
Q. So he might have, if they’d come in, he might have been in that Secret Army?
Yes, he was because he actually took us down as children and taught us how to shoot with a pistol on the firing range. He used to go off regularly and practice bombing and things and blowing this up. They had a wonderful time at the end of the war because they let everything off. He was in the Secret Army definitely. At the time he hoped to fly but he couldn’t as his ears had something that he couldn’t fly. And he was in a restricted occupation in farming. They needed a certain number of farms. But he did everything else and he also ran the Cadet Force. He had a lot to do with the Canterbury Cadet Force.