大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Pat Mantell from Sidley Online Centre and has been added to the website on behalf of Geoffrey Bennett with his permission and they fully understand the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

As a boy during the war I was always in trouble
Each day before infant school two friends and I visited the Italian Prisoners of war in Cove Hampshire and drank tea with them. When my parents found out that I was late for school, where had I been for the last 5 days, they were furious and I couldn鈥檛 understand why!
Three years later in Bournemouth I met a group of German prisoners digging the roads. I made friends and carried messages and purchased packets of Woodbines which cost 10 and a h鈥檖enny and charged the Germans one shilling. I told the newsagent the cigarettes were for my father; I was 8 years old. Unfortunately my father used the same newsagent and he was not particularly partial to German prisoners, so I was in trouble again. Finally, June 1944 I was 8 and I discovered all the soldiers had disappeared leaving anti-aircraft guns and machine guns free to play with and huge underground ammunition stores totally empty, but perfect hide-outs for little boys. Behind my house was a complete army camp, containing beds, lockers, cupboards and crockery, totally uninhabited.

For 3 weeks we played in the deserted camp, swung on the AA Guns, broke crockery, tipped up wardrobes and had a wonderful time.

The infant school Headmistress Miss Orchard came into the class one day with a policeman who interviewed all the boys to discover who had vandalised the Army camp and guns. We were all taken to court, but as we were all aged 7/8 our parents only had to pay 5 shillings court cost and the case was dismissed.
My father stopped my pocket money for 3 months.

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