大象传媒

My brother Peter Parker sadly died on St. Valentines Day 2003 at the age of ninety-seven years. When he was thirty-eight he volunteered for Army service although at that time his occupation was still a reserved one. Despite a serious hearing disability he was accepted and recruited into the Royal Army Service Corps. A few days after D Day he crossed the channel in a landing craft and landed in Normandy. The safe route up the beach was indicated by tape. Despite this, a young soldier who had chummed up with Peter as someone to help him to cope with the stressful situation that faced him, trod on a mine and was killed. Peter鈥檚 unit followed up and supplied the 51st Highland Division in their long slog battling across France and into Germany. He was used by the Commanding Officer as they made their way across France, to liase with the local people, since he could make himself understood. He travelled in the leading lorry with the C.O. and typed orders and memos etc. while on the move. Many times they slept in the lorries or in the ditches at the side of the roads. In the last few days before the surrender of Germany Peter found himself walking back to camp alone along a railway track after an evening in the local village. Suddenly in the half-light a figure emerged from the bushes at the side of the track. When the figure came closer Peter saw that it was a large German soldier. After a moment鈥檚 trepidation he realised with relief that far from intending to attack him, it was his intention to surrender himself into Peter鈥檚 custody. At first his prisoner walked in front of him with his hands above his head. However since there was a mile or two to go Peter indicated that he was to lower his hands and walk beside him. With his prisoner in tow he presented himself at the camp guardhouse. He was admonished for bringing him in because there were specialist units set up to deal with the thousands of soldiers wanting to finish with the war. His protestations that he had told him to B---- off without result, did not help. He was told that he would have to be responsible for escorting his prisoner to the nearest holding camp. The next day he took the prisoner in an army truck to the entrance to the specialist camp, where his vehicle joined a long queue of lorries packed with surrendered German troops. At the guardhouse each escort was asked 鈥淗ow many鈥� The response was always in the hundreds. When Peter鈥檚 vehicle eventually reached the Guardhouse and the Military Policeman asked Peter, 鈥淗ow many?鈥� His response 鈥渙ne!鈥� was greeted with cries of derision and disbelief, such as 鈥淗ardly worth coming, was it Mate!鈥�

July 2005 Paul Parker

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