大象传媒

My father, Arthur Thomas Brock, born in Swansea 29/09/1920 died 18/10/1991 in Cardiff, South Wales, was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940. I know very little of the circumstances and unfortunately he is no longer here for me to ask, he didn't like talking about his experiences much anyway but I do know the following:
He was a 19 year old private, his unit had marched for days and were exhausted. On arrival in Dunkirk he and some comrades crawled under a railway carriage near the beach to avoid the bombs and get some sleep. He was woken some time later and told to get on a boat. I do not know how long he was in the sea but I know that he was picked up by a small boat that was used for carrying potatoes. They had little perception of where they were and no idea of where they were being taken. He fell asleep again on some potato sacks and awoke to see the white cliffs of Dover. He had never seen the cliffs before and felt very emotional to see this wonderful image of home. In due course he was sent to the Middle East, he was a driver at El Alamein, driving ammunition to the front lines. His eardrums ruptured during the battle and he was sent to the hospital where he was kept for a few days. When he got out his unit had moved on across the desert. He and a couple of comrades were instructed to rejoin them under their own steam. They crossed the desert with native caravan and lived on curry and chapatis (he never touched curry again in his life!). When they reached their destination they discovered that their unit had been completely wiped out. He always reckoned that his life-long loss of hearing was a small price to pay.

He spoke about being in Egypt and we have photo's of him at the Spinx, and in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia I think). He survived malaria and a scorpion bite and returned home in 1945, a few months before the end of the war. He married his childhood sweetheart and fathered 3 daughters of whom I am the middle one. He built a successful business but sadly died of cancer aged 70. He was just an ordinary soldier like hundreds of thousands of others but their bravery is overwhelming, especially when you consider how young they were. He was a wonderful man and I deeply regret not finding out more about his experiences when he was alive.

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