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I was 9 years old when war broke out. My father, Frank Dobson owned the windmill and bakehouse in Burgh-le-Marsh, Lincolnshire during the war. The Sherwood Forresters, Kings Shropshire Light Infantry (or KSLI – Kings Silly Little Idiots), Duke of Wellingtons commandeered the windmill yard and sheds for the various transport vehicles such as the Brenn Gun carriers, motorbikes etc. My mother invited some of the troops in for baths and cups of tea, a luxury for them at the time to make them feel more at home.

The miller used to get annoyed with the Brenn Gun drivers because their caterpillar tracks used to churn up the asphalt surface.

Because there were so many troops stationed here, getting in and out of the village was different. You had to show your identity cards before you were allowed in.

When the troops came back from Dunkirk, they had only the uniforms they stood up in, no vehicles or guns came back with them. Part of the cattle market was turned into a field cookhouse.

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