大象传媒

This is a story about a very sad VE Day.

I had taken part in the D-Day landings in 1944, and was heading up to the West Coast of Scotland to join US forces en route to Japan. Then VE Day arrived. But there were to be no celebrations for us. We sat in a boat on the Thames. Some of the disembarking staff had gone off into town in a party, but it was pretty glum for us. We were heading to Japan, with US troops, who were used to a different type of "assault landing" -- a type that brought about enormous numbers of casualties.

I felt disillusioned, and very apprehensive. Cynical, even. We understood now that the civilian population wouldn't be bombed -- but we certainly feared for our future.

One amusing thing does stick in my mind, though. When we disembarked, I saw what I thought was a pile of ammunition on the dock -- I couldn't understand why we were taking ammunition ashore. But I was soon disabused of this. "They're wirelesses!" I was told. It turned out the Germans had taken them all from their civilian population, so they couldn't hear the real news.

VJ DAY came three months later, on August 15. It was the day before we were due to take that train to Scotland, en route for Japan. We were saying our goodbyes at King's Cross, and then, suddenly, there was a change of tone. Standing on the platform, a rumour began to sweep through the crowd, that a bomb had dropped on the Japanese that would probably save our lives.

I'm always unhappy when I hear that bomb described as a "disaster". It saved tens of thousands of lives. The Japanese fought to the end -- but it probably saved my life.

THIS ENTRY WAS MADE BY JOHN YOUNG OF 大象传媒 SOUTH EAST TODAY ON BEHALF OF MAJOR MICHAEL GOULDEN. MAJOR GOULDEN FULLY UNDERSTANDS THE SITE'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

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