大象传媒

Jack and Iris Pocock, dear friends of Ros eand Hugh.

Rose:Jack was in the war, a soldier, antiaircraft bloke. He never went outside the country 鈥淚 hate those Germans!鈥� (he used to say)
Where was Jack, in Scotland?
Rose: Right up in the Orkneys.
Hugh: With an ack-ack battery up there wasn't he?
Rose: I don't think he did very much.
Hugh: Miles from anywhere you know. Pretty cushy number. Scapa flow or something.
Rose: He used to have good nights out because he could play the piano.
Hugh: Oh he was an expert at pubs and free drinks.
Rose: When they got married she was in the army, he was in the army and she asked, couldn't she please have a posting nearer to her husband? And he was up in Scotland, and they gave her a posting down in Portsmouth (laughter).
Hugh: But when the war ended Jack was sent to Germany.
Rose: Looking after prisoners 鈥淚 could kill them!鈥� (he said)
Hugh: And he had a rough time there with this lot. He didn't treat them very gently.
He was in Germany doing what?
Rose: Prisoner of war camps.
Rose: The war was over, there were prisoners galore.
Hugh: He had been in active service in Scotland.
Rose: I don鈥檛 think he fired a gun in anger.
Hugh: He was available then to go to Germany because all the other troops were starting to come home, and they were put in charge of Nazis and god knows what. He hated them. Well I suppose they were like spivs, these blokes. They all got good jobs. All the judges got good jobs. The allies used the judges because they hadn't got any judges and to this day they all disappeared into the countryside. Some came to England. Free transport to England.

This is where this particular conversation ended, and its been a worthwhile and satisfying experience putting it together for this website. Ithas made me even more aware though that these words are just a brief and rather superficial account of a time of extraordinary experiences. There are so many others I would love to tell, but that time and space simply don't allow. So I'm left with a determination to at least get them recorded for our family of the future. Thank you 大象传媒, your initiative is commendable and what a treasure of personal stories you have gathered.

Hugh and Peter Martin (son and grandson of Rose and Hugh).

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