大象传媒

I was admitted to Queen Victoria Hospital in 1944 for bone grafts after a sniper shot me at Monte Casino. Bullet entered my back and exited out my left side of my jaw. Surgeon looked at me 鈥渆xcuse me young man, do you drink?鈥� 鈥淲hen I can get it, I like a drop of Guinness,鈥� I replied. He got me a pint bottle of Guinness everyday.

At the hospital, McIndoe told me what he was going to do - Open my hip up, chip the bone up, open the jaw up and mould it into my jaw shape. I had to have liquid lunch for 13 weeks. After being an out-patient in Eastbourne I was discharged in 1945.

McIndoe didn鈥檛 insist that all wounded personnel must wear hospital blues鈥�.鈥漀o they don鈥檛 have to! They will wear what I want them to wear. If they want to go out and get drunk, they can go out and get drunk.鈥� So on occasions we used to go to the pub. The Swan Hotel at the top end of London Road. The Landlord was very good to us. Used to take some of the guinea pigs up there in wheelchairs. It was not easy to get the wheelchairs upstairs. So we would park the chair & pop up to the bar and ask some of the locals to help out.

As part of my occupational therapy, I made frames. I got lumbered with several jobs. Because I was in the army I was using the bumpers (polishers). Metal bumper with a brush underneath.

I met my wife through the hospital. She was working as a nurse. Her sister worked in the hospital and they were twins. Unfortunately my wife passed away at Christmas. This year would have been our 60th wedding anniversary.

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