- Contributed by听
- 大象传媒 Learning Centre Gloucester
- People in story:听
- Joseph Gunn; Denis Gunn; Marie Carruthers
- Location of story:听
- Europe; Hertfordshire; Antwerp
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A8795136
- Contributed on:听
- 24 January 2006
Joseph Gunn with his motorbike at Antwerp in 1944
This story has been contributed to the People鈥檚 War by the 大象传媒 Learning Centre on behalf of Joseph Gunn's daughter Iris Cotterell, with her permission.
My father Joseph Gunn was born on August 11th 1912.
He was called up in 1940. When we were small he wouldn't talk about the war but towards the end of his life he started to tell his stories.
He was a driver for the RAOC and said he enjoyed his wartime service in Europe. In any case he was one of the lucky ones and escaped injury.
He said that one day towards the end of the war he was in a convoy and some German planes went overhead which were obviously meant to be bombing his convoy.
He said either they were very bad shots or they were deliberately dropping them in the hedge because they knew the war would soon be over.
Joseph met my mother Marie Carruthers when he was home on wartime leave and she was staying with his sister.
She met and was first courted by Joseph's younger brother Denis when he worked at the bank in Bishop's Stortford opposite the shop where she worked early on in the war, but stayed in touch with his sister when she moved away with the Land Army.
Joseph and Marie were married soon after the end of the war.
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