大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Geoff Knight of Age Concern Suffolk on behalf of Janet Castle (the author)and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was six years old when war broke out in 1939.
My mother and father, living in Ipswich, decided it would be better for me to live in the country with my Grandmother. She had a son living at home called George who was 17 years old.
George had lived in a small village all his life and had been out to work for 3 years having left school at 14 years.
Gran was grateful for the small wage her son brought home, having been widowed when George was a baby.
Eventually conscription came into force and call-up papers were issued to men aged 18-40. Men who were not 鈥淎1鈥� or didn鈥檛 pass the Government health test were given war work mostly in factories.Men who worked on farms were not called up.
George was not 18 until Dec 1940. Mother and son were very close and knew that they would have to be parted very soon. This happened to hundreds of families in Suffolk when husbands and sons were called to do their duty for their country.
Call-up papers came, and George went from a small Suffolk village to Devon to train for the Army. After embarkation leave he was sent to North Africa. In his own words 鈥淚t was an awful feeling, leaving Dover at night in a troopship, not knowing their exact destination.鈥�
After a long campaign in the deserts of North Africa they moved on to Italy and finally the German/Austrian border.
It was a peace-keeping force. The men were glad of a rest and of the chance to test out the local talent! George met a beautiful Austrian girl called Ria. He had been writing home to his mother whenever he had a chance and told her about Ria; they had fallen in love. His mother had not seen him for 5 years and wrote back saying 鈥� Come home alone鈥�
The war ended and the service men came home to a heroes welcome. Straightaway George applied for the necessary papers to bring Ria to England, hoping his mother would relent and welcome her into their home, but anyone living outside of English waters was a 鈥淔oreigner鈥� to her.
I never really knew the true reason the romance ended but not long afterwards a small box arrived containing the white edelweiss flower with a note saying 鈥淔ORGET ME NOT鈥�.

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