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This story was written by Brian Morgan with the permission of Mr Robert McIlroy

In France the American Royal Engineers were stationed close by Robert McIlroy and his colleagues. The Yanks had been purposely sent over to conduct exercises, not military manouvers, but exercises which included teaching the British soldiers how to construct mines that would explode if a ship or boat came into contact with them. This was, notes Robert, his first encounter with American soldiers in the campaign
However Robert has very fond memories of the local French people where he was stationed, as he recalls‘There were two types of French, those who were pro English and those who were pro German’ according to his thoughts at the time.............
But if you were Irish you were liked and welcomed by all of them, there was no doubt about it, they loved us as the Irish loved to sing’
Robert recalls that everywhere he and his Ulster colleagues went there was always one demand, for them to sing all the old Irish songs.
‘Yes the Irish soldiers were especially loved by the French locals, they would often say to us that the Irish were tres bon’
Robert remembers that they had some great times and 'booze ups' in France. He particularly loved the French wine, but shakes his head with disgust when telling me that ‘the next day it would leave an awful taste in your mouth, it would have taken a floor brush to clean your teeth’
After the troops had been hastily withdrawn from France at the beginning of the war Robert remembers going back in 1945 and meeting the French people who had looked after them when they were first there in 1939-40 .
He can still, to this day, vividly remember their screaming and shouting when they first seen him on his return. When he was first there he was only a Corporal with two stripes on his arm, but now, several years later, he was Platoon Sergeant Major with an extra stripe on his arm. Robert , laughing, remembers how they shouted ‘Bobby now a general’ as they didn’t understand what this other stripe signified.
After this day of reuniting with the French locals he unsurprisingly doesn’t recall ‘anything much’ for days, probably due to the French wine.
He does though remember that the whole village sang and celebrated and when they were drunk they would give them ‘some stuff’ to sober them up. The next day they would take one drink and be back to being as drunk as they were the day before.
All of the British soldiers were well behaved and courteous towards the females as they were under strict orders to be. A big difference from the way the Germans would ‘use’ the women. Even when they entered Germany they maintained their high standards and did not abuse the locals, especially the women.
However even with all the celebrating Robert recalls that the French were a ‘very reticent people’ When it came to talking of their treatment at the hands of the Germans they would rarely continue the conversation, the ‘book was closed….. they would just say ‘too many tears’
Robert went back to visit all the people he’d met in France long after the war, such was his fondness for them.
However he always maintained that through the war the main thing was ‘not where you were but how you were’

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