大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Marie on behalf of Audrey and has been added to the site with her permission. Audrey fully understand the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

One day returning home on the bus from Braintree in Essex to Rayne where we lived at the time - about 3 or 4 miles - I sat next to the US Army Sergeant, Charles Yenky. I can鈥檛 remember what we talked about but when I got off the bus, he got off with me and we walked home to the farm where I lived with my mother. I wanted him to meet my mum as she had several American friends and I felt sure she would be interested to meet him. Anyway, I was very impressed by his beautiful manners, especially towards my mother, and he became a regular visitor and good friend to all the family - I was away a lot at the time - but he got to know everyone and was always welcome.

Fifty years after the war was over he came over to England to meet some of his old buddies and look up old haunts and friends - a farmer himself, he had got to know a lot of the local farming families. My brother Peter met him and they visited the farm house where we had lived. The present owners were very charming and they had done the house up beautifully. They were very interested to meet my brother and Charles and invited them in for coffee. It must have been strange as Peter had only been a schoolboy of about 14 or 15 when he had last seen Charles all those years ago. After his visit Peter had Charles鈥� address in Topeka, Kansas so I resumed writing to him - we had corresponded for a while towards the end of the war but gradually life had intervened. But when we got back in touch, we have been regular correspondents ever since. He must be 90 or 91 now and I still hear from him although he is very frail now. Every now and then in his letters he tells some amusing anecdote from his time in England. He always writes on A4 paper, very often with photocopies on the back. One picture in particular grabbed my attention. There was Charles and another guy outside a tent which had a sign on it 鈥淪gts Fry & Yenky - bike repairs!鈥� I wrote back 鈥淚f I had known that you did bike repairs I would never have let you go as I have always ridden a bike and still do鈥�

He then told me this marvellous story which I think is a fair example of the friendly relations between us and the Americans during the war鈥�.. There is a train station at Rayne but not many stopped there. And for the Americans based at Andrew鈥檚 Field, Great Saling most trains came and went from Braintree about 5 miles up the road. So for the Americans returning from furlough (leave) there were no taxis and it was a bit too far to walk, so they would look around for the odd bicycle outside the station to get them back to base (we never locked our bicycles in those days!) So a Yank would 鈥渂orrow鈥� a bike and ride it back to Andrew鈥檚 Field. After a few days there would be quite a number of bikes around the airfield - Charles and his buddy would round them up and take them back to the tent. Often they were not in very good shape, so the two sergeants would set to work, mend any punctures, fix anything that needed fixing, service them, oil them and make sure they were in good working order. They would then phone the local constabulary who would send someone round in van to pick them up and take them to Braintree Police Station. Anyone reporting a stolen bicycle to the Police would be told 鈥渄on鈥檛 worry, it鈥檚 probably up at the airfield. Call back in a couple of days and we will be able to return it to you in good nick!鈥�

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