大象传媒

Collected at the Help the Aged coffee room in Cambridge, by Philippa Geering.

I was married in 1940 and I was married for 6 weeks when my husband was sent to the army. I was doing munitions on Chesterton Road in Cambridge, where Staples is now. He was sent to North Africa and badly wounded on the Anzio beach head on landing. He was taken to a hospital in Naples. Anyway after three years they sent him home by troop ship. When they got to England no one could go and see them because they got small pox on the boat. Then they bought a boat load of wounded home to Leys School which was a hospital at that time and I head that he was there - some porter told my mother-in-law.

She and I went to see him only to be told by a strict old matron he was having his dressings done and I couldn't see him for half an hour. So we walked up and down Brookside for the half hour before I dare go back and see him. When I went in I said could I see Trooper Gray and she pointed to the end but one bed and said "You can go, but don't take the child." When I arrived my husband asked how I knew he was there.

There was a polish soldier knitting bed socks in the next bed and he said "You can kiss him, I won't look," and the tears flowed. About a month later they asked me to fetch him home because they were bringing a train load of German PoWs and the needed the beds. So my mother-in-law gave me 10/- to get a taxi for him. This was about 1944.

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