大象传媒

My father served in the Royal Navy for the duration of the war in destroyers. He very rarely spoke of the war and as a small child I used to bombard him with questions with very little understanding of what war was and meant to the people involved.

He told me that the biggest battle he ever saw was when the British navy destroyed the French fleet anchored in Oran in North Africa. As a small boy I had never heard of this battle but have since researched the battle, only to find that this wasn't a battle, it was a slaughter, but wholly neccessary for the war effort.

He never spoke of hatred of the Germans or Italians and always spoke of them as "brave and honest men, just like us".

My father died over twenty years ago and as an adult I never got to ask him of his experiences. I feel that WW2 has touched my life through my dad. Thousands of men just like him served throughout the war to give us the comfortable life we now lead today. They did it with honour and dignity, many didn't return. We owe them so much.

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