大象传媒

This is George Etheridge's story as told to Kathleen Pounder. The author is aware of the implications of adding his story to the website.

I was living in Gillingham, Kent when war broke out, I can remember it as if it were yesterday. I was seven years old, school was already closed and I was in the back with dad and mum doing a bit of gardening we heard the sirens going and dad took us all in doors.

There was no school during the war and I taught myself to read and write by going into the local library.

He was in the Navy but home on leave then, he went on to serve in Trinka in India. He was discharged from the navy after some beggar had dropped a great big steel plate on his foot. He was in the cookhouse at the time.

I remember St. George's day in 1943 we were in doors and the sailors were having a big parade along Prince Arthur Road from Pembroke Naval barracks. As they were walking along in full regalia and colours flying when a Gerry plane came over and machine gunned the lot of them. There was a hell of a lot of casualties, bodies everywhere.

The day the war ended we had a great big street party, the biggest party going, kids bands and music, plenty of food, everyone had donated something. The pubs had donated beer for the men and soft drinks for the children.

I remember most of all my mother when she couldn't get a joint of meat for the weekend so she went to the butcher and he gave her a piece of meat and it was whale meat! Well it was a bit of a shock at first but once my mum had cooked it it was beautiful, tender and tasty.

We even had to have our ration books to get sweets, only one fresh egg a week after that it was powdered egg, we used to make scrambled eggs and it was lovely.

Mum worked in the dockyard in the flag loft as a machinist. She worked hard and was a good mother.

When the war ended in 1945, in 1947 I joined up at the tender age of 15. I went into the Royal Artillery, and was stationed in North Wales.

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