大象传媒

The image attached to this story cannot be viewed for moderation or technical reasons

Battle of Britain 1940:
My Dads D.C.M. at Buckingham Palace and the day I saw the King.
Account by Kitty Wrigley nee McDonald.

Printed on the two beige tickets that I am holding are the words:

Buckingham Palace 1371+1372
Admit one to witness the Investiture
Central Chancery of the Order of Knighthood
25 MAR 1941

These tickets bring many memories back to me, one of which is that I am nineteen years old and standing about six feet away from the King inside Buckingham Palace.
I was alone when the report came over the radio that my dad had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (the first of the war I think). I remember shouting to my mother and two sisters 鈥淐ome quick鈥� we were very surprised at this news because dad had not mentioned it to us. Soon all our neighbours in Prince Edwin Street and the rest of the country would learn of my dad鈥檚 part in the Battle of Britain.
My father had been a regular soldier with the (Irish) Kings Liverpool Regiment from WW1,he was seconded to the Green Howards on 23/April/1940.
The story of how my father鈥檚 Company Commander, Captain F. Dawson. D.S.O. M.C was fatally wounded and how my dad rescued his men while under heavy fire and dive-bombing was headline news in all the local and national newspapers. Sadly the only account I still have is printed in the 鈥淕reen Howard鈥檚 Gazette鈥� February 1941.
The introduction leads:
War Office 7th January 1941.
The King has been pleased to approve of the undermentioned award in recognition of gallant conduct in action with the enemy.
The Distinguished Conduct Medal.
No. 3757247 Warrant Officer Class H (Company Sergeant Major) James McDonald, The Green Howard鈥檚 (Alexandra, Princess of Wale鈥檚 Own Yorkshire Regiment). - (He was seconded from the Irish Kings Liverpool Regiment 23/April 1940.
A detailed account of this act of gallantry is given on page 218 under Kent News with a portrait.
When the travel passes arrived I was very proud when my dad said that I could accompany him to Buckingham Palace to receive the award. My elder brother Jimmy had joined the army as a boy soldier around 1930. As a regular solider he had been posted overseas some months before, therefore, as I was the elder of three sisters I was allowed to accompany our parents to London.
The train, which we boarded at Lime Street Station, was packed with soldiers鈥� travelling to their posts on the south coast. As a girl of nineteen some of the soldiers looked like grown men, but other seemed younger than I. Although we were packed in like sardines the journey south was pleasant and light-hearted. There was some banter and joking between most of the men but a few looked quiet, sad and troubled as I watched them. I remember feeling guilty that I was on a day trip while they were going to face experiences like the ones my dad had been through.
Arriving in the Capital, we were met and taken as guests of the army to stay overnight in the N.A.F.F.I Annexe. That evening an officer offered us tickets to a West End show. I cannot remember the name of the theatre but I do recall the laughter at two female. cockney comediennes .I am now 84 and cannot recall their names but I do remember the laughter and excitement of that night in London.
The following day I awoke about two hours before my mum told me to get dressed. We opened our cases and put on our Sunday best. I had a new blackish purple coat and hat with fur trimmings and my mum wore a two-piece blue suit with a grey coat.
A taxi arrived about 9 am and off we went to see the King. We joined a queue of polished spic 鈥榥鈥� span servicemen and their families, each passing their tickets to a soldier who took us to a large ballroom. Rows of chairs faced a dais; the seats were soon filled in the quiet and sombre atmosphere that pervaded the large room. My memory is of reds and gold, grand imposing paintings and furniture and plush carpets on highly polished floors. I particularly remember a smile from a very young seaman who had had his leg blown off. Seeing the wounded men brought back the reality of why we were really here and overshadowed the grandeur of our surroundings. My mother and I held hands as my dad was introduced to the King to receive his Distinguished Conduct Medal. We had forgotten to bring a camera and therefore have no personal photographs of this day but I do know that pictures where taken around us, maybe we are on some, stored away in a dusty attic? We returned to the real world as we stepped onto the Mall and had to hail a cab, grab our luggage and catch a train back home to Prince Edwin Street Liverpool, that same day. After a few days leave dad returned to his regiment and travelled to many different places to train troops in Britain during the war.
That battle at Dover where my dad won his D.C.M was to bring great relief to my sick babies three years later, ironically from a German pilot who landed in the English Channel, but that is another story (See: How an enemy pilot unwittingly helped my babies in WW2).
My father and brother were well known in army circles because they had both been 鈥淎ll Forces鈥� boxing champions at different periods of their lives. They kept in contact with some of their old pals in the Irish Kings Liverpool Regiment for many years, often visiting the barracks and attending functions. For some years my father鈥檚 old commanding officer tried to get a war pension for my dad because of the injuries he received in WW1 at the Battle of the Somme. He eventually received this about twelve months before he died in 1973.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.