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(This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Three Counties Action at the Taking it On roadshow in Luton on behalf of Elsie Jackins and has been added to the site with her permision. Elsie fully understands the site's terms and conditions).

I was 11 when the war broke out..

We were in Ireland but my grandfather was in the British army for 41 years. My father was in both world wars and my brother joined the navy at the age of 15. He was at sea in the Mediterranean when the war broke out. He got torpeded during the war in the Mediterranean — and he was transferred to HMS Repulse, along with HMS Prince of Wales. They were torpedoed and sunk three days after Pearl Harbour off the coast of Malia. He was then moved to Singapore to HMS Sultan and captured by the Japanese and sent to Chaingi jail and later to Sumatra where he was in prison for two and a half years, where he died on the 26th June 1944 aged 21.

The hardest thing was my mother shut me out as she thought I wasn’t old enough to grieve, but I was. My father survived the war and but died on his 67 birthday.

My father was with the Royal Fusiliers infantry and he went to Dunkirk and went over with the invasion 4 days after D Day.

We received during the war a series of telegrams saying my father was missing. My mother knew my brother was suffering as she could feel it but in June 1944 I came back from a girl guide meeting and my mother said your brothers dead as I can no longer feel he's with us.. 18 months later we heard from the war office confirming he was dead. She never recovered from it.

When we were told he was a prisoners the war office didn’t know anything but the Pope of the time got a list of the names of the prisoners and the Pope let us know he was a prisoner not the war office. The War Office never knew where he was.

I had 34 cousins fighting in the war — it really was terrible. My brother was the only one in the navy and the only one that died.

When HMS Repulse was torpedoed all the neighbours and friends prayed for his survival — but they didn't know he was going to go on and spend 2 and a half years in a prison of war camp and then be killed — so be careful what you pray for!

My husband is an ex desert rat. He went through Tobrook, the battles of El Alamein and over to Sicily and Italy and back to go with the Royal Horse Artillery on VE day. He is still alive and coming up for 85.

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