大象传媒

My brother told me that one night in 1940 the Army came with lorries, a search light and a gun and set them right in front our house, Church Farm in Shrawley, Worcestershire. They immediately took over our phone, which was in the hall right in front of the room where mother and I lived.
I came home on a short leave from the RAF late at night to be challenged to a 鈥淲ho goes there?鈥� at the point of a gun. I nearly fell off my bike onto a bayonet and had to be identified.
Twenty-four hours a day there was a soldier sat there right by the phone; every time we went from the dining room into the kitchen the soldier was there with his rifle torch, gas mask and tin hat. If the phone rang in the night the shouting started, whistles blowing, the light started into life showing everything around and sleep was out of the question for everyone.
Mother used to do some little jobs for the soldiers, like sewing 鈥� mail, soldiers found it quicker to receive their letters from home 鈩� Mrs Verity rather than through the military side. In fact she mothered them no end. In turn they taught her to smoke and play cards!
On one short notice weekend leave I got home and Mother said 鈥淒o you need to wear your navy blue civvy suit? Because I must confess I have lent it to a Southern Irish soldier鈥�. This soldier鈥檚 mother had died and he wanted to get home to her funeral and he was only allowed leave if he had civilian clothes. If he had gone into Southern Ireland in uniform he would have been interned. I said 鈥渁lright鈥�, what more could I say.

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