I think Wonky's paternal grandfather was in the Royal Engineers ... not totally sure on that one but for quite a while he was a sergeant in charge of a bomb clearance party ... not nice ... especially when one group led by him was totally blown up and killed ... he was the only one who escaped because he'd told them they could take a break and sit down ... he stood .... whatever it was they sat on had been boobytrapped ........... he never got over that ... he only told us about that just the once because he'd had a few drinks at Christmas and got a bit maudlin' .... he never ever said anything else about his experiences.
Pa wrote his memoirs of his time in the RAF ... if anyone in your family would be interested I have a few spare copies ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I started to research anything I might find about my Dad's wartime service in the RAF, but have stopped for the moment. He was a very private man, and I'm not sure he'd have been happy for me to discover things after his death, that he didn't want me to know in his lifetime... I need to sort out my feelings about that, I think. It's 20 years since his death but it doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. Perhaps I'll just write down what I know, and leave it for the next generation to do the research.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for aircrew.
It's only when I think about it now that I realise that Dad only ever told us about the silly things that happened to him during his time in the Middle East and North Africa with the RAF. We never heard anything about other events.
That's where Pa was for a lot of the time ... do you know which squadron your father was in? Wouldn't it be a coincidence .............
No idea I'm afraid, other than being based in Aden for over 2 years.
The maintenance manager at one place I worked had won the Military Medal or Military Cross (I can't remember which). Apparently he was commander of a group of tanks and his own was blown up. He rode on the top of another one so that he could get his orders through to his troops. The bravery of some of those people is unbelievable.
We watched the film but I had to shut my eyes several times, some bits were just too awful. My grandfather (bn 1857) had been a Royal Marine in late 1890/1900's and was technically too old in WW1, but knocked 5 years off his age, re-enlisted and served on a balloon ship in the Med. We think he was at Gallipoli, but don't know for certain. He did survive though. My maternal great uncle had been a conscientious objector, but served in the Army Medical Corp in France, was gassed and invalided out but suffered the rest of his life. We owe a big debt of gratitude to all those who fought or suffered.
The crowd at our local War Memorial was shocked and incensed at some ranting anti-war woman who interrupted the ceremony just after the 2 mins silence. She obviously didn't realise that those men died so she had the freedom to do so, but that wasn't the time or place to do it.
Pa wrote his memoirs of his time in the RAF ... if anyone in your family would be interested I have a few spare copies ...
I'm sure OH would be very interested, Dove! There's a book about Harold too, but he didn't write it and we only have the one copy. It would be interesting to see if their paths crossed.
Has anyone looked at that 'Street where you live' website? Really brings the numbers home.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
I saw it at the cinema which included the Q+A with Peter Jackson. Everyone should watch this film (I didn't think I could watch anything else about WWI because it was too sad but I'm glad I did) - it brings the soldiers to life and Jackson said he wants everyone to find out about family that was in the war. His grandfather inspired him to do this film.
My Mother and Father both lost relatives in WW1 and the whole families were affected by it. Worse though were the wounded and gassed coming home, I have seen what shell splinters can do and some of those men came back with pieces sliced off them that would never heal. Mother told me her Uncles Oswald and Charles suffered that, when the Hospitals could do no more for them they were sent home. The women of the family had to clean and dress the wounds, even though they lived in the same street as the Hospital they got no help, Oswald died in 1925 Charles in 1933 from war wounds as did so many. Great Aunts three of them never married having lost boy friends in the war and then a shortage of men, married women with children left to live on a small pension, Parents never getting over the loss. As to never talking about what they did or saw I was the same in my time, over seas in the Middle east at the time of the mandate was not a happy time for anyone. I got home on leave, three years had gone by everything changed. Girls I knew and danced with were pushing prams or left the area, lads who never went in the forces greeted you with "my you look brown been chasing good looking Camels round an oasis" no answer to that you kept your mouth shut or like me you went back off leave early to be with your own kind. War is not a jolly jape as you would read in boys books it is a horrible life changing experience for those involved although Politicians think it a good way to increase their own standing. As my old Sergeant would say, "we should line the lot of them up in the front and make them charge" he was a wartime man who told it as it was. Frank.
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This is the test pilot uncle https://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/documents/aa110018152/collection-of-papers-relating-to-the-career-of-jimmy-orrell-avro-test-pilot , if you can see any possible overlaps. He also did the early ballbearing runs (not in Lancasters).
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The crowd at our local War Memorial was shocked and incensed at some ranting anti-war woman who interrupted the ceremony just after the 2 mins silence. She obviously didn't realise that those men died so she had the freedom to do so, but that wasn't the time or place to do it.
Has anyone looked at that 'Street where you live' website? Really brings the numbers home.
Great Aunts three of them never married having lost boy friends in the war and then a shortage of men, married women with children left to live on a small pension, Parents never getting over the loss.
As to never talking about what they did or saw I was the same in my time, over seas in the Middle east at the time of the mandate was not a happy time for anyone. I got home on leave, three years had gone by everything changed. Girls I knew and danced with were pushing prams or left the area, lads who never went in the forces greeted you with "my you look brown been chasing good looking Camels round an oasis" no answer to that you kept your mouth shut or like me you went back off leave early to be with your own kind.
War is not a jolly jape as you would read in boys books it is a horrible life changing experience for those involved although Politicians think it a good way to increase their own standing. As my old Sergeant would say, "we should line the lot of them up in the front and make them charge" he was a wartime man who told it as it was.
Frank.