大象传媒

I stayed in gloustershire till november 1942,then my sister and i went to scotland to a place
called pollock out side glasgow were my mother was with my father whose unit was getting ready
for the north african campain.

it was there that i saw the first G.I.american soldiers to in this country 1000,s of
them all lined up by the side of the roads with the biggest lorries and tanks i had seen.

the people of pollock thought the germans had landed.

we children soon found out the differents when we recieved chewing gum-chocolate and comics
it did not last long as the G.I.s was shipped out with our lads to north africa.
the school i went to while in glasgow was"nitshill primary school"i was like a fish out
of water the teaching was much different to the english way.
the times table was done like a clock you multiplied a number that is placed in the
centre of the clock to a outer numbers it is not as easy as it seem.
as for english lessons to me thay were a nightmare it was taught in verse so you learn
like a song me being english couldnot uderstand the scottish language being sung so for me
it like being taught gaelic.
we only went to school half days per week the catholic children in the mornings one
week and the protestant children in the afternoon,there was never any trouble we still
played together,i was in the boy scouts and the boys brigade and there was mixed religions
in both groups.
one thing that sticks in my memory of glasgow it was wartime 1942-3 and i had no fear
of travelling on my own by bus or tram to the cinema or to the parks everybody was so
friendy and helpful different to todays standards.
we came back to harwich essex,just as the flying bombs first came over,we used watch
the coastal guns try and shoot them down before thay came in land or the fighters tip them
in sea with their wings also when a german plane machined-gunned the regal cinema.
the most memorable time was when thay was preparing for d.day there was every allied
nations troops and sailors in the town i can remember the "czechoslavakian"soldiers being
billieted in the old central school in waddeston rd now where the council office are now.
the soldiers would play football with us boys in the play ground and smuggle tins of
food and jam out in buckets of water and leave them on our door steps for us to pick up,
thay was great company to us children most of a fathers were away in the forces and
for what they were preparing for we children must have been the nearest thing to home life
they would get for a long time.
i will always be proud and grateful that i was home in harwich to see these forces from
other lands ,danes,dutch,french,czechs,polish,american,s and our lads.
a lasting memory of the war was going up our main road going to school and seeing all
the planes and gliders with their white stripes painted on their wings flying out across
the sea to what we now know was the para,s going to arnhem holland,i donot think that now
or ever there will be as many planes in the sky as there was that day.
by the time the war in japan was coming to a end i had left school and was working for
a local builder of harwich who had the job of painting and repair the houses the army had
left,i spent most of my pulling 6"inch nails out of walls and woodwork soldiers had used
as coat-hangers,i also became very good at putting glass back in windows and finding ammo
under floor boards.
there was good and bad things about the war years,my grandmother[grannie rowland]who
i spent most of my week-ends and holidays with died andmy grandfather[poppa smith]was killed
on the s.s.arkangel when it was bombed and sunk off the scottish coast all in the time i was
away,but the good thing my father came home safe after serving 7yrs in the army there lays
another story.
to conclude "my war"i would like to say i am now 74 yrs of age and i have had the
privilege of going to the w.w.1-2 battle grounds and war graves,i would to say to people
who condemn the youth of today go over and see how many of them pay homage to the fallen
the best example of this is by going to "ypres"[ieper]belgiem,at the "menim gate"
every night at 8pm and watch the youth of all nations lay their wreaths in respect to
the past,the number of times i have been there you have to get there early to get a place.
"youth of tomorrow will remember"
bill smith.

9g




I stayed in gloustershire till november 1942,then my sister and i went to scotland to a place
called pollock out side glasgow were my mother was with my father whose unit was getting ready
for the north african campain.

it was there that i saw the first G.I.american soldiers to in this country 1000,s of
them all lined up by the side of the roads with the biggest lorries and tanks i had seen.

the people of pollock thought the germans had landed.

we children soon found out the differents when we recieved chewing gum-chocolate and comics
it did not last long as the G.I.s was shipped out with our lads to north africa.
the school i went to while in glasgow was"nitshill primary school"i was like a fish out
of water the teaching was much different to the english way.
the times table was done like a clock you multiplied a number that is placed in the
centre of the clock to a outer numbers it is not as easy as it seem.
as for english lessons to me thay were a nightmare it was taught in verse so you learn
like a song me being english couldnot uderstand the scottish language being sung so for me
it like being taught gaelic.
we only went to school half days per week the catholic children in the mornings one
week and the protestant children in the afternoon,there was never any trouble we still
played together,i was in the boy scouts and the boys brigade and there was mixed religions
in both groups.
one thing that sticks in my memory of glasgow it was wartime 1942-3 and i had no fear
of travelling on my own by bus or tram to the cinema or to the parks everybody was so
friendy and helpful different to todays standards.
we came back to harwich essex,just as the flying bombs first came over,we used watch
the coastal guns try and shoot them down before thay came in land or the fighters tip them
in sea with their wings also when a german plane machined-gunned the regal cinema.
the most memorable time was when thay was preparing for d.day there was every allied
nations troops and sailors in the town i can remember the "czechoslavakian"soldiers being
billieted in the old central school in waddeston rd now where the council office are now.
the soldiers would play football with us boys in the play ground and smuggle tins of
food and jam out in buckets of water and leave them on our door steps for us to pick up,
thay was great company to us children most of a fathers were away in the forces and
for what they were preparing for we children must have been the nearest thing to home life
they would get for a long time.
i will always be proud and grateful that i was home in harwich to see these forces from
other lands ,danes,dutch,french,czechs,polish,american,s and our lads.
a lasting memory of the war was going up our main road going to school and seeing all
the planes and gliders with their white stripes painted on their wings flying out across
the sea to what we now know was the para,s going to arnhem holland,i donot think that now
or ever there will be as many planes in the sky as there was that day.
by the time the war in japan was coming to a end i had left school and was working for
a local builder of harwich who had the job of painting and repair the houses the army had
left,i spent most of my pulling 6"inch nails out of walls and woodwork soldiers had used
as coat-hangers,i also became very good at putting glass back in windows and finding ammo
under floor boards.
there was good and bad things about the war years,my grandmother[grannie rowland]who
i spent most of my week-ends and holidays with died andmy grandfather[poppa smith]was killed
on the s.s.arkangel when it was bombed and sunk off the scottish coast all in the time i was
away,but the good thing my father came home safe after serving 7yrs in the army there lays
another story.
to conclude "my war"i would like to say i am now 74 yrs of age and i have had the
privilege of going to the w.w.1-2 battle grounds and war graves,i would to say to people
who condemn the youth of today go over and see how many of them pay homage to the fallen
the best example of this is by going to "ypres"[ieper]belgiem,at the "menim gate"
every night at 8pm and watch the youth of all nations lay their wreaths in respect to
the past,the number of times i have been there you have to get there early to get a place.
"youth of tomorrow will remember"
bill smith.

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