大象传媒

Bill Brand was my nans (Clara Brand) brother, one of two brothers who sreved in the army before and during WW2.

they came from a very poor family and broken home the eldest of of three two boys and a girl, in the east end of london.
with alamost no schooling untill about ten years old (a duffer) he was put into an orphanage and poor law school (only him not his brother and sister). for some time he was at Aldersbrook homes off the wanstead flts..

then he was sent to Woodford, near herman hills. the cottage held a youksher foster mother and 12 bys. he siad she was a wondefull lady he he owed many of the good things that happend to him to this dear lady.
he was put in charge of the youner children and had to work hard cleaning and polishing floors, cleaning stoves and drying etc. if you didi it well you got six pence off the foster mother. each morning befor school they were paradea and checked, hands ,ears backs and fronts then of to school. at 14 he was sent to back to aldersbrook to become a tailor (he gained a diploma).
later he joined the miltary when very young. Bill Brands brother Sydney joined the camoron highlander or the camoronian rifles.

Bill jioned the army in 1925, became a P.T. instructor, weapoms instructor and a qualified talior!. In 1926 he helped oraganise and parade in the gaurd of honour for King George V at Chatham Gravesend. the major gave the ordre to salute but only the front ranks heard him. they presented and the the next two and so on. the crowed cheered thinking it was part of the show. The king asked if they have they got playing fields (they had the lot) and the queen was poking him with her gamp!

befor he left the army he had vocational tranining as a gardener nd chaffeur plus became a specialist reserve on leaving.

In 1939 he was recalled to his old regiment in lancashire. trained hard and was then sent to france.His regement was sent to belgium as soon as the fighting began.his regeiment had few weopens-one entrenching tool amomg 6 men-others used mess spoons, 2-inch mortars with only smoke bombs. and ammo in short supply. he was then sent to dunkirk.

some of his regiment were sent to hold the canals and were all but wiped out , survivors wadeing throug the water ways to escape.(we dont know if Bill was one of these men).

On reaching dunkirk he saw bodies all over the place. there was hardly a space to be found. His officer had them in long zig zag lines(some of them wer standing on bodies). they were waiting for boats and ships to pick them up. his officer gave orders dump all weopens in the sea. which ment bill dumping his own weapon which was a begian officers one that had never been used.
when the boats came in they had to waddle out to them, with the sea almost up to their lips before climbing abaored ship.

they landed at Harwich. some service men were without uniform, but we had other types of gear.-one waring a womens nightdress! bill said if you did see see a film called dunkirk with troops landing at Dover with highley polished boots and smart battle dress it was all cobblers.

reaching England he went o leicester to be rigged out, then on to leads to re-form and re-stock the regiment.

after a few weeks in England he was one of a few dozen british army instructors to go teach and train the new zealand army and said they were a nice bunch of chaps.

returning to his regemeint he was sent on loan to the 7th battalion of the Manchester regeiment. he wasent with them long but was claimed by them and stayed longer.during his stay he was sent on on three special courses passing all of them. then he spent months mountain training in Scotland.

he went on to serve on the flats of North Africa, then on t Sciliy, Italy and Austria.

one time im between two warrant officers (he was one)and two Sargents were sent on a mission in mufti (civil clobber) and no shaving. The job done they went back to the regiment, nice and smart again. back to war he was injured at Monti-cassino and graded down for a while until he was fit again.

about 10 weeks before being demobbed he was court martialled for having combat with a very drunken major. he proved and his men were with him, that the major had been drnking and at the 8th Army HQ all day with his chums and he was cleared. the major was sent back to Engaland at the double, what happened to him he never found out.
he said that major was the the most scruffy, unclean soldier he had ever seen-shorts six inches below his knees, bush shrt four sizes to big and an old pair of derert boots!

Bill said he had a rather large number of medals but only the dunkirk one was on show at his house. he siad he lost so many chums on that beach, he stiil would have a weep at times.

after he left the service he spent 3 months up and down the country before starting back at Boake roberts where he used to work. he went to a differnt plant where he spent 25 years. not such a dusty job after all was it?

about 18 months before retirement, his wife passed on. he siad she was such a dear person, it took him a vey long time to get over his loss. he said they say time heals, but does it? i wonder.

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