Its 70 years!!

It is > 70 years since the 2nd world war started.the older ones on the forum, will remember from experience ,the younger ones will remember stories, handed down from parents/grand parents of experiences that happened during the war. Any interesting experiences to record.i know it was a horrendous time. But we all remember,if we lived through it ,or where informed about it, at later years . Any stories?????. Music.

 

My late father in law landed on D-Day - he was a Canadian RAF radar signalman. He had been handed over to the British by the Canadian government and was treated as a British member of the forces. H was once atop a radio signal tower trying to make some repair, and a german plane flew overhead. His seargent at the time had noted this in a diary (which he wasn't supposedly allowed to keep a diary of events), but we received copies of this diary about ten years ago - and was very interesting to see his name mentioned in these handwritten notes. His colleagues thought he was a goner, as the plane was very (or seemed very) close to him as he was atop the tower. He never spoke about the war - his time there, what he did - we are just starting to be able to find information - but the Canadian records are sealed for 20 years after the persons death - so we still have some years to wait to get the full details.

 

One Grandad was army and was captured by the Germans. He said it was rough to say the least and he would show some of the scars on his arms where they burned him after he escaped and was recaptured. Whilst he was on the run he met a young German woman who helped him-gave him some food etc-her brother had died in action and that she gave him food meant that they weren't all bad-he never held a grudge against them. He got caught because he stowed away on a train that was on its way out of the town-only to find that it was a circular and came back into the town again after some stops-or at least that's they way the story went. He is long gone now, along with his many stories. When I was a little girl he seemed like the very epitome of heroism.


My other Grandad was involved in the D-day landings too-he was involved in the waves that came in the days after the beaches were secured-he said the shoreline was stained red as far as his eyes could see, that it was the worst thing he had ever been through in his life-until he was gassed that is-that was the end of the war for him.


Funny that the compensation for injured soldiers seems to pop up now and again-he got a small pension-but very little and spent the rest of his life unable to even climb stairs without gasping for breath.


My DHs grandad was Home Guard, he wrote a diary too ( I think they were asked to fill something in ) and you can view it online somewhere-I'll ask my DH and post when I have it if anyone is interested. There is an awful lot of lines such as "I staggered home exhausted, where I fell flat on my bed and slept the sleep of the just!" and "we had nothing but the radio but between us we had a rare old time"-and lots of Oldfashioned Bolton colloquialisms.


To those that fought and suffered-each in their own way, Thank You.

 

My grandad was already an experienced soldier by the time WW2 started, being somewhat older than most of his squad. One of his stories is pretty horrendous. He was in the Royal Artillery, and in one particular engagement he and his squad were in one stronghold, trying to punch a hole in the line of the Germans. Someone screamed 'incoming', and my grandad, while taking cover, yelled at his less experienced comrade to get his head down. My grandad, being more experienced than his comrade, didn't hesitate. A huge explosion went off right close. As the **** stopped flying he went to get up and as he did he said to his mate "by that one was close", looked round to where his mate had been stood, to see a decapitated body. His mate hadn't taken cover quickly enough, and had been pretty mutilated in the blast.

When the war was over and those that made it came home, other family members had prepared a surprise welcome home party for my grandad. He came in, everyone shouted surprise, expecting him to be full of glory at the allied victory that he was part of. He apparently broke down in tears and ran out of the house.

At school we're taught that the Germans were evil, simple as that, but all the old men I've spoken to that were actually there said they were just scared young lads who didn't want to be there any more than our lot did. War is a horrible thing. If the politicians want to fight, let them, just don't drag everyone else into it is what I say.

 

MY FATHER was on the russian convoys,(merchant navy)1943 sailed from uk to Archangle in Russia. he used to tell me some stories of his days ,under the RED DUSTER and some of the tradgedies that occured during the convoys.the one that sticks in my mind was one of the times he was torpedoed,they started to shut the metal doors to cut off the sea from going throughout the ship. he said they were given the orders to close the doors,and some of the crew where still on the other side,he could hear them screaming,but there was nothing they could do.it meant a loss of a few to save the ship!!. i read in the national press in 2007 that the merchant navy seamen who served on the russian convoys would recieve a citation and a badge,for service to there country.
i had a thought to claim this award,for my father ,who has since passed away,and place it in the garden of remembrance.i wrote to TONY BLAIR ,10 DOWNING STREET LONDON SW1A2AA, claiming the citation,as i was the oldest living son and explained what i wanted to do with it.
i recieved an answer on 07/02/07 thanking me for my letter and they would pass it on to the M.O.D.
i then recieved a letter from THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT,thanking me for my letter to the prime minister,saying they had forwarded my letter to the VETERANS AGENCY. by this time i had about given up hope,then i joined (SHIPS NOSTALGIA) i had made a few posts and threads,not thinking of my fathers citation,till i read one of the posts which mentioned "THE ARCTIC EMBLEM".
i made a thread and gave all the information i had dates,ships,ports,captains names etc.
thanks to the excellent knowledge of the forum ,i had my dads citation/arctic emblem sent to me
(IN TWO WEEKS!!) these lads had achieved in 2 weeks,which i had spent over 2 years to achieve.
if you want to know anything about ships GO TO SHIPS NOSTALGIA. music

 

Thanks Music for that useful info.
I shall be checking Ships nostalgia as some of my family served navy.
One was serving on HMS Diamond and I have a fairly complete history of one particular battle via some ink drawings handed down to me and verified by the RN museum.

 

hello capney .i have just been in ships nostalgia ,information>HMS DIAMOND>
launch date 08-04-32. built GBR. builder VICKERS-ARMSTRONGS. yard, BARROW.
type DESTROYER. TONS 1375 IDNo 6109305. HOPE THIS WILL HELP YOU. music.:gnthb: