大象传媒

during the 1930's my father, adam stanley calder moved with his wife and 6month old son from west rainton in co.durham to portsmouth on a scheme to provide work for the unemployed in the area, preference was given to ex servicemen. My father had served seven years abroad with the 1st Royal Dragoons and had not been able to find work since he was demobbed at the end of his term. He was one of the men who took up the offer of the , then post office telephones, to move south and be trained for work in portsmouth, southampton or reading, my family were sent to portsmouth. Normally he would have been called up for war service as he was still on the reserve, but as by then he was a qualified telephone engineer, and by all accounts one of the best in the area. He was retained for civilian work and all through the war was in portsmouth keeping the telephones working for the military and especially for churchill and eisenhower for the d day operations. He also was in the home guard and was a fire watcher as well as doing his 'day job'. I was born in portsmouth in february 1940 and so he had the added responsibility of a wife and two children. i feel that people like my father should also be remembered when these aniniverseries come round as in his way he was as important to the war effort as the generals and others who are remembered.

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