The 11th Hour

[grendel]

my father can remember tucking his youngest bother (of 7) into his draw of the chest of drawers then almost shutting it if there was an air raid. he also talks of his school being bombed and the children escaping to the outskirts of Deal through the smugglers tunnels that run under the town - and that the statue of the Virgin Mary in the playground was untouched, my mother also stayed in Deal through the war and remembers a german plane strafing them as they went to school. my Mothers father had served in the first war, was totally deaf and as a master baker was in a reserved profession, and thus the family stayed at Deal, one of the worst places along bomb alley, as the germans dumped their bombs there before heading back across the channel. My father was at his local rememberance service this morning with his naval buddies.

[SweetKingfisher1]

On 11/11/2016 at 0:58 PM, SueH said:

It is a shame that shops don't at least tannoy just before 1100 to remind people.  So many may not be aware despite all the TV advertising.

Hi SueH, the funny thing is, the shop did tannoy at 10:50 then again at 10:55 and again at 10:59 , but still some shoppers carried on shopping . 

That's humans for you .

Regards

Marina 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

11 years ago, it was my late Mother and late Father`s golden wedding anneversary, and i suggested my Brother and i treat Mum and Dad to a trip to Bergen Op Zoom in Holland. for a weekend. The reason behind the trip was for them to visit the grave of my uncle Jack aka "Gunner John Phillip Lawlor" who is buried in the Commonwealth Wargrave Cemetary there.  When we got there, the place was so big that we all split up and looked for his grave, which i found, and called everyone over. I`l never forget the tingling feeling i felt when i touched his headstone, and imediately a picture came into my mind of a soldier in uniform with short dark hair, though i`ve never seen a close up photo of Uncle Jack, and can`t say whether it was his likeness.  It was a very emotional time, and made me think of an Uncle i never had the privilage to meet.

However, the saddest thing to see was the sheer number of gravestones bearing the inscription "An Airman", or "A Sailor" or "Soldier".  These poor souls have given their lives, but nobody could identify who they were, so nobody could visit their graves.  I think that is real tragedy.

 

[TheQ]

 Sadly I never knew one of my grandfathers, He died the year before I was born. He joined up in 1919 when his apprenticeship ended as they closed the shipyards In Glasgow at the end of WW1, He served in Egypt, Pakistan (British India), and of course the UK. in 1939 He was given "Exceptional Leave to remain in the His Majesties Armed forces" and served in Europe as a Company Sergeant Major being evacuated on the 29th May 1940 from Dunkirk, His regiment nearly doing for Rommel in one action.

From there he went to Africa and fought in the western deserts being wounded, but returned to action. He was both in the Siege of Tobruk, and it's later fall. As Regimental Sergeant Major of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, becoming one of the 33,000 British and Commonwealth troops captured there, later as a POW he was one of the many who endured the retreat of the Germans as the Allies advanced up Italy and was eventually shipped to Germany.. He finally retired in 1953, having trained another generation to go and fight for us in Korea.

The 7th RTR were fighting along side the Anzacs , in Matilda Tanks, because of this the Regimental March of the 7TH RTR became "Waltzing Matida".

My mothers father born the same year as the other grandfather, was originally a miner, but came out of the mines between the wars, to Serve in the RAF, but in 1936, became a lengthman (later ganger)  working on the tracks for GWR. Working in all hours maintaining the track, manning fog positions , clearing snow from the tracks, though the severe winters of the time. Luckily I knew this grandfather as he lived until 1982.

Brothers of my grandparents generation served in the armed forces and merchant navy  during WW1 and 2 ,  Two uncles served In the army (one in Burma) another Uncle was in the RAF, My father was too young for WW2 But later in the RAF, serving in Aden, Kenya, Cyprus.

 

 

[Gracie]

I have read these stories with tears in my eyes, how very lucky we are today because of the bravery and courage of the men and women that fought for our freedom

This is why my children wear a poppy and are gently reminded of the sacrifices of these people to allow us that freedom

Of course we should never forget and teach our children's children the same, it's a tragedy that the terrible things that are going on in the world and with such hatred, more people don't feel the same

Grace

[charlesa]

[Vaughan]

Something else about my father, if I may.

His flotilla were escorting one of the allied landings in Sicily, against air attack, when he was blown off the bridge of his MTB into the water. He was seriously injured all up one leg and lost a  lot of the bone in his knee. He had a quick patch up operation in Alexandria and should then have gone  to England for further treatment and recuperation.

As he was senior officer, coastal forces in the area, it was his signature which decided whether one of his men was fit to return to action, or should be shipped home. He signed himself back in again and served the remaining two years of the war, during which he added to his decorations with a bar to the DSC and a further mention in despatches.

He was left with a permanent heavy limp and by the end of the 50s his knee had become such a focus for gout and arthritis that it almost crippled him. He therefore applied to London for a war disability pension backed up with a doctor's certificate, but was turned down on the grounds that he had never been invalided out of the Navy.

Such was the way a grateful nation treated its war heroes.

I only mention this as it is not only the dead who make a sacrifice in war : the wounded do also - maybe even more so - and this of course, is what the Legion is all about.

 

[addicted]

my Granddad was invalided out of the army in 1916 with a piece of shrapnel lodged too near his heart for the limited skills of the day to deal with. He was sent to see an eminent , titled surgeon who told him that in due time the authorities would contact him and tell him that they could now deal with his problem and that he should have  surgery.  He told him that he should refuse to do this  as the operation would undoubtedly kill  him. He also said that the government would threated to withdraw his pension if he refused the surgery. And when this happened he should refer them to him  It all came to pass exactly as the surgeon had said. And the surgeon contacted granddad and told him that he had dealt with it once and for all and he should never be troubled again. having led a very limited life from then on constantly  very worried about the shrapnel coming dislodged Granddad died in 1929 and the consultant in charge of his case told my nan that he had several options open to him as to what to enter on the death certificate, as the cause of death but that  he was going to put the cause of death to have been caused by wounds received in the war as in his opinion this is what was the cause. and he was very mindful he said of protecting her financial future This of course made sure that she got  the full war widows' pension which made a big difference to her quality of life. I read of the poor financial aid given to todays soldiers and realise nothing has changed!

 

Regards,

Carole

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JennyMorgan]

Regarding the sacrifices made by the wounded, how right Vaughan is. An uncle of mine was a p.o.w. in Japan and within the blast area of one of the atomic bombs, an occurrence over which he had no control. Although he lived until nearly eighty he suffered fallout related illness all his life including sterility. A grateful government? No. Thank goodness for the Legion.

[lincan]

Hello All,

 Just reading these memories reminds us that in our small Island, there can't be many families who haven't had relatives who have taken part in WW1, WW2, and every theatre since. There must be millions of these stories out there that haven't been heard, because, as has been said here, those involved didn't want to or couldn't  talk about their experiences, and all of them so very different. The contributions and sacrifices that have been made by the 'ordinary' people through the years for Our Country and the World must never be forgotten. The younger generations are being reminded through their schools as well as at home [hopefully] and always show interest in finding out more. There's a lot of support now for the families of those who have given their lives, and those who have, and continue to suffer mental and physical injury and their families also get support. Quite rightly so, but things were so different for those involved in the World Wars. Not sure if my words come over as they are meant. l too have stories of my relatives who have been involved in past conflicts. We will remember them.

[Baitrunner]

Just reading some of these stories reminds me of how brave or at least how much they valued their freedom to fight.

My father served in WW2 and he never mentioned anything that happened to him until my Mum died and he was seriously ill. I guess he held it in all those years. When he told me about some of the things he had seen it really does open your eyes as to how this stuff affects people and he may have benefited from sharing his experiences with others, but like so many folk he was too proud, stubborn and had never been brought up to share emotions.

I do recall one story he told me and I cannot comprehend how he must have felt going into what was basically a less than 50/50 chance of coming out the other side - after they took their guns and ammo off them in case they were captured. By the way he was a tank transporter driver so had to get them as close to the front line as possible.

Needless to say he was never very complimentary of any of the recent politicians who had involved our troops in fights they had little chance of winning.