大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Anne King of Leicestershire Library Services on behalf of John Hammond and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Although I was only 11 years of age in 1944, I can still recall the day vividly.

I was then a pupil at South County Junior School, West Bridgford, Nottingham. On 6 June 1944, the Headmaster, Mr Angrave - normally an extremely strict disciplinarian- assembled a group of us together in the hall and gave us a talk on the significance of D-Day.

History, he said , was not just about kings and queens and battles long ago. History was being made here and now. He advised us to save that day鈥檚 newspaper as it might be rare- how I wished I had taken his advice!

He drew a map of Normandy on the blackboard and explained the significance of the landings. He left us in no doubt of the importance of that day and said it would live long in our memories.

That talk, by a usually forbidding headmaster, has remained in my mind for 60 years. He was the first teacher I ever knew who really made history come alive.

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