大象传媒

Mr Donald Board interviewed by Margaret le Cras.
Edited transcript of tape recording of the interview

Anyhow, we were in the kitchen, actually, when our troops were driving up and down in jeeps, because Theo said, I鈥檓 going to have to pack everything, because I鈥檓 going to have to feed our chaps, I suppose, until they鈥檙e taken away, so we helped him to pack everything, the kitchen utensils鈥�
I鈥︹�︹��. When we were liberated, did you mean?
Mr Board. Yes, so we were here really to the bitter end.
I鈥︹�︹��. At the end, when they were packing up the stuff in the kitchen, Theo gave me his overcoat, his long grey overcoat, and the other thing, Frisch, he had a very tiny little automatic, and I said to him one day, I said 鈥淵our automatic,鈥� I don鈥檛 know why I said that, 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 mind having that鈥�. 鈥淲ell鈥�, he said, 鈥渋f you鈥檝e got some English money, I鈥檒l make a swap with you.鈥�.As it was, I don鈥檛 know why I鈥檇 kept that, but I had fifteen shillings, and I gave him that and he gave me his little automatic. Of course, the wife, she didn鈥檛 want me to have that, so I only fired it once in the back garden. Now we got friendly with one or two Tommies, because they were billeted at Amherst School, there was one who used to come home, and I showed him this automatic 鈥淐or鈥� he said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 just what I want鈥�. 鈥淲ell 鈥淚 said, 鈥測ou give me a pair of German binoculars, and I鈥檒l make a swap.鈥� 鈥淗old on,鈥� he said, 鈥淚鈥檒l be back鈥�. A couple of weeks later he came, and he had a pair of binoculars, and they were night glasses, and instead of using one control, you control each side, I could look across from anywhere, and I could look at Herm when it was nearly dark, it was green, So I made a swap. I said 鈥淗ow鈥檙e you going to get that through?鈥� He said 鈥渦nder my cap鈥�. It was so small. So anyhow when we went to Bristol I took these with me, I made a sort of swap, not a swap but an exchange and pay at a photographer鈥檚 for a smaller pair and a camera, because I found them too big.
And because the Little Russel was still mined, we had to come all round this way, I can鈥檛 think of the name of the boat now, he got a job as a gardener, and they lived quite close to where we were, we were living, with my wife鈥檚 aunt, she were sister to my wife鈥檚 mother, in Bristol. That鈥檚 where my wife鈥檚 sister, Dorothy, lived, she was evacuated.
I鈥︹�︹��. Bristol had quite a time of it as well, didn鈥檛 they, with the bombing
Mr Board. They had five hundred air raids in Bristol. We got to know Bristol very well , because I got a job with the Bristol Co-op on a big furniture pantechnicon, and we鈥檇 load up with say twelve bedroom suites for a day, and we鈥檇 go off, and in the end I got to know it so well that the driver, who was an ex-army man, when he came back and took over, I had to tell him 鈥� 鈥渢ake the third on the left鈥� 鈥� I knew Bristol very very well. And then this Eury, they moved down to a place called Limpley Stoke and Freshford, and they ended up at Bradford on Avon and that鈥檚 where their son was born, and he now is a friend of my son, my son is very keen on radio- model controlled boats, and my little grandson has his own boat, he鈥檚 only seven, but he can put his batteries in,

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