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Edited transcript of a video recording of Stanley Bichard interviewed by John Gaisford, 12/3/2005
Transcribed by J David 4/10/05
[Transcriber’s note — The two brothers are identical twins]

Mr Bichard. My name is Stanley Bichard, and I joined the army when I was twenty-four years old. And I got demobbed six years later, and I was with my twin brother all the time, and we joined up the same day at Sydney Hall, Weymouth, because the States recommended that all men of military age should leave the island, so we joined up at Weymouth in the 6th Dorset regiment, I think it was about June 23rd or something like that in 1940. Just a few days before the occupation. So we went to Wyke Regis, just outside Weymouth on the cliffs there, and we had our training there.
I………. How long were you training?
Mr Bichard. A few weeks.
I………. Not very long
Mr Bichard. Oh, no, not particularly long, and we went to Wilton House, near Salisbury, that’s the Earl of Pembroke’s mansion, and there were a lot of important generals and that there, and we did guard duty there, and we went to Highclere Castle on the same kind of thing and we also on the same kind of thing guarded these generals, and form there we went up by troopship after that to Algiers in North Africa. We went to a place called Soukh el Kemiss — that’s in Algeria of course — we stayed a while, we were guarding prisoners-of war. It wasn’t what you might call a first-line battalion we were in, we were more occupation troops.
I………. When did you get involved in your first real battle, was it right away, as soon as you got there?
Mr Bichard. No. Our battalion wasn’t involved in any battles, let me make that clear, we were occupation troops, and we went from North Africa to Catania, in Sicily, we were there for quite a while, about a year, I think, then we went to Salerno, in Italy, for a few weeks, and then after that we went to Gibraltar, for eighteen months, we were the garrison troops there, we guarded the frontier with Spain, because they feared Spain would attack Gibraltar, so there were guard duties there
I………. Showing my ignorance, but Spain never did they occupy Gibraltar in the war?
Mr Bichard. Oh no, but they thought it quite possible it might happen.
I………. You say that your regiment, or platoon, you were in occupation, behind the lines, you presumably started seeing lots of prisoners, Italian prisoners, probably, and maybe German, coming back, were you involved with that at all?
Mr Bichard. No, I think when we were guarding prisoners, one lot was in the prison at Catania, they were German prisoners. They took over the prison in Catania, and I know that we were doing some of the time, guarding these prisoners-of-war.
I………. Did you get much contact with them? I just wondered what sort of spirits they were in? Whether they were beaten, or whether they were arrogant,
Mr Bichard. I wouldn’t like to say, I wouldn’t say they were arrogant.
I………. a lot of them would be quite glad to be out of it.
Mr Bichard. Yes, I dare say that’s what it was, they didn’t really have much argument after they’d been taken as prisoners-of-war.
I………. That’s fascinating, isn’t it amazing that you and your brother managed to stay together the whole time,
I………. Did you write to Guernsey during the war?
Mr Bichard. Oh, yes, it was these Red Cross messages, we were allowed to send so many words, so all I remember is our sister sent us a message to say that she had just had another son.
I………. And how quick was this Red Cross letter service, how long did it take, do you know, to go from you to Guernsey and back? Was it about two weeks or so?
Mr Bichard. I would think so, but I can’t quite remember that
I………. Did you keep any of your Red Cross letters?
Mr Bichard. No, I didn’t. I kept a kind of diary, during the war, I’ve got it somewhere, more or less from the start off, eh, but of course you’re not supposed to keep diaries of course. .
I………. That would be fascinating, of course. I hope you find it soon, pick it up, and have a look at it.

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