- Contributed by听
- Hitchin Museum
- People in story:听
- Mr John Lee
- Location of story:听
- Cardiff, Normandy, Germany
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A7038560
- Contributed on:听
- 17 November 2005
I lived in Cardiff when the war started. I was 14 and still at school. I remember helping to sandbag the classrooms as a temporary measure. Students were used to assemble gas masks.
There was an air raid on Cardiff when the school (Canton High School) was set on fire. I think they took pity on us and treated us softly at school as I got a pass in Latin and didn鈥檛 deserve it.
When I left school I worked on the docks repairing warships. We installed magnetic field coils (it was called degaussing kit) on the ships to repel the landmines.
I was called up for the Army at age 18. In the first 12 months I went to 11 different places in this country. Then to Normandy and was in north Germany when war ended. I was 20.
So I was a young 14 year old when the war stared and a man, at 20, when it finished.
This story has been submitted by Hitchin Museum on behalf of Mr John Lee.
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