大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War Site by Margaret Walsh of The Royal Star and Garter Home on behalf of Micky Browne and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

My first Unit was Bridgnorth, Salop. I started there as a rookie. I was there for quite a time. We used to go out on our days off. The local people were very kind to us. They'd bring us back to the Unit.
Later I went to a big camp where I was a corporal and had 17 girls to look after. Then I worked my way down to London. They were advertising for people to join the police. I thought it might be a change from teaching drill and shouting my guts out!
I joined the police and was in London - Princes Gate Court, Kensington. We used to patrol in 2's - around Piccadilly and other local stations.
Then I went overseas with the police, where I was in Cairo, Haifa and Tel Aviv. I did patrols and checking on absentees from the local units. For example, they might have gone on leave and not returned. I would have to go and look for them. I always had a man with me.
In Tel Aviv there were a lot of prostitutes. They used to come and pester our boys. One of our men had a long moustache and was called Peter. On one occasion one of the girls said, "Where's my Peter?" I pushed her off the wall!!
One of our girls got engaged to an awfully nice boy. We were going home at the end of the war. I had a pass to go on the plane and I gave it to them so that they could go together. I followed on another flight to the UK. The one I should have been on crashed and they were both killed. The only good thing was that they were together. For years I wouldn't go on a plane.
I came back to Princes Gate and was demobbed from there. If I'd stayed in I'd have been a warrant officer. But my father was ill and I thought I had better go home - not that I was thanked very much!
I had a lot of jobs in civvy street - Simpsons of Piccadilly and different places in the city. I had been in the rag trade before the war.

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