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This story has been written onto the ´óÏó´«Ã½ People's War site by CSV Storygatherer, Pam McCarthy, on behalf of Bernard Peters. They fully understand the terms and conditions of the site.

My brother and I made friends with the GIs, partly through the canteen and meeting them as they came into Dad’s barber shop, a hot bath was 1/6 (7½p). Mum would do a fry-up for some, now and again and occasionally one or two would be in the saloon, in the evening, drying off. We lived beside what is now known as the River Walk, opposite a fish & chip shop. This was the blackout days, everywhere was in darkness, no street lights. What vehicles there were (not many because of petrol rationing) had special blackout visors over the headlamps.

To go into the chip shop a curtain had to be pulled aside for a moment, and immediately pulled across again. Any naked light could be seen from above, attracting enemy bombers. Hence the Air-raid Wardens shouting, ‘Put that light out!’, only seen now in the Dad’s Army TV series with Mr Hodges.

The pubs called ‘Time’ at 10 o’clock and the troops would then come and queue up for fish & chips. Whilst waiting in the queue, and having had several pints of beer, they would need to have a pee (then known as a ‘pumps hit’). So they would come across the road and go down the tide slipway to stand on the river bank, which was approximately 18 feet above the water at low tide. Usually there was just enough light emanating from the stars or moon to shown the edge.

Indoors Dad, Mum and us children would hear the peeing at high tide but not when the water level was way down. Standing on the edge, in semi-darkness, on a muddy sloping bank, no railings and unsteady with beer, or whisky if lucky (from under the counter - it was in short supply), now and again one of the men would slip and fall in. We would hear the splash or a shout, and Dad would say, ‘Another silly bugger fallen in’. That is how more than once they would be in Dad’s saloon, uniform off, Mum trying to dry their clothing, down by the stove, with them towelling themselves.

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