大象传媒

This story has been written onto the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by Cornwall CSV Storygatherer, Martine Knight, on behalf of Delores Banks. Her story was given to the Trebah WW2 Video Archive, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2004. The Trebah Garden Trust understands the terms and conditions of the site.

I lived opposite Falmouth docks, in Marine Crescent.
My older sister became friendly with an American serviceman whom she invited home to tea one day. Our family watched in horror as he put the whole week鈥檚 butter ration (2oz) on one piece of bread! As he was a guest we couldn鈥檛 say anything and just had to go without for the rest of the week.

After one air raid a bomb landed right outside the family home. It didn鈥檛 explode, but left a huge crater that, in turn, caused a fatal accident when a jeep carrying four servicemen went straight into it. Only the driver survived and he was so shocked that he handed me his revolver saying, 鈥淚鈥檒l be back for it鈥�.
He did later return for it, but the image has stayed with me to this day.

Embarkation had to be delayed for a day, due to bad weather, and the troops were stuck, fully equipped, where they were in Falmouth. My mother, who was in the WRNS, tasked my sister and I to look after the soldiers nearby and make them coffee from her hoarded store.
I got the feeling that the troops just wanted to get on and 鈥榙o the job鈥�.

VIDEO DETAILS CWS180804 16:56:30 鈥� 17:18:0

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