大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Carol Greenwood of Bradford Libraries on behalf of Mary Shaw and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

My husband, Raymond Shaw, was called up in 1944. He went to various training camps including Shepley near Huddersfield and Kent.
He was in Whitby on duty on VE Day. Although the war in Europe had ended in May 1945, the war with Japan was still continuing.
His regiment was sent to India, they had a very rough crossing through the Bay of Biscay when most of them were very sick. Whilst he was in India he got dysentry three times and looked like a Belsen victim in photographs that were taken at the time. He was sharing a bell tent with several other soldiers when one of the other occupants of the tent contracted polio and later died.
He was always disappointed that they were suddenly moved and he missed going to the Taj Mahal. He was still in India during the partition of India and Pakistan which resulted in much bloodshed.
His wartime experiences destroyed his wish to travel and he would never go abroad again.
Because he came back to this country later than most who were demobbed he missed out on the chance to go to university. He studied Civil Engineering at night school at Bradford Technical College whilst working during the day, which was much harder than fulltime study.

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