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This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Nottingham on behalf of John Veitch with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was fourteen when war began and I can remember my mother saying ‘ Thank God, John you will be too young to join the forces’. I did, in fact, serve in the Royal Marines for almost four years but my memories of pre-service are much more vivid.
I recall Hitler’s speeches and his forces marching into Alsace, Czechoslovakia and Austria. I felt threatened and wondered when Hitler would attack us. On September 3rd I was walking our 3 evacuees on Harpenden Common and when I returned home my mother was frantically looking for me hysterically saying ‘didn’t you know the war had begun and there has already been an air raid alarm!’ The rest of the day we spent testing our gas masks and I believe my father was out somewhere digging trenches. He was already an ARP warden. I was convinced airraids and even gas attacks were soon to become a regular pattern in our lives.
I was at boarding school when the German troops smashed their way into Belgium and Holland and I remember feeling certain I would never see my parents again. I was inspired listening to the speeches of Winston Churchill but feared an imminent invasion by the Germans. In school holidays I was a member of the Home Guard mingling with the Captain Mainwarings!
Then at seventeen I volunteered to join the Royal Marines. I joined in the various pre OCTUS to become an officer and hence it was a group of all ages. I was straight out of boarding school where even four letter words were scarce and I had never had a girlfriend so it was a great shock to hear so much swearing and tales about sex! The training too was very tough and it was only the Royal Marine band that played at the end of a gruelling day that raised my spirits. I received my commission, as it happened on my birthday. The final OCTU was at Thurlston in hilly Devon where we had to double march everywhere. I was then posted to Inverary in Scotland for training in Combined Operations. Some of my colleagues who failed to get commissioned were immediately drafted into the Royal Marine Commandos and fought on D-Day, June 6th. Two were badly injured and one killed.
I never saw front line action and hence no medals. I was going out to the Far East and a farewell party was held at home for me with presents. I felt most embarrassed when I returned home after only a month as a result of the dropping of the atomic bomb. I felt most alarmed about Hiroshima and wrote an essay about my anxiety but I will admit that like many others I was delighted the war was over.
I do remember the few friends who were killed. Stephenson was a bright head boy of St John’s Leatherhead, the son of Mr Brearly who loved opposite us and the other was Robert Nelson who lived in Harpenden and was captain of Northampton Cricket and he used to give me batting practice. He was a Royal Marine, stationed at Deal where I was and he was struck by a piece of shrapnel. I sketched his gravestone to send home to his parents. I remember him along with the others every November 11th.
I do feel I lost my youth because of the war serving with men of all ages. I went to university after the war and students were more serious after the war. We wore our old ‘battle trousers’ and white shirts. We drank modestly and wore our gowns to lectures. I think things are very different nowadays! War is a terrible thing and I remember strong feelings of fear and uncertainty as war raged throughout my teenage years.

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