大象传媒

I was called up in 1941 when I was 18 and I was in the army for 6 years, going from Normandy to Berlin. I was a driver and mechanic of a tank. There were 5 men in the tank - it was very crowded and the smell of oil and ammunition was unbearable. A Tank Commander gave the orders.

We would heat tins of soup and Irish stew on the tank engine and at night we would sleep on the warm side of the tank, near the engine.

The regiment was involved in fighting in Normandy. We lost a lot of tanks. One battle was near the River Orne in France on August Bank Holiday, 1944 - 18 tanks out of 54 survived. It was very bad for morale that so many tanks were bombed. I was one of the lucky ones and escaped death but we lost 12 of our men. Others were burnt and there were lots of pitiful sights. Army rations were very good. Everyone was frightened but would not show it.

England was better equipped than Germany - people had gas masks and every house had a dug-out and a Morrison shelter in the garden.

The King and Queen could have been evacuated to Canada but chose to stay with their people. Buckingham Palace was bombed and London was blitzed for seventy consecutive nights. Swimming pools were drained to contain the dead.

Thousands were lost on both sides. It was a hollow victory but we fought for freedom and to be able to choose.

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