- Contributed by听
- ambervalley
- People in story:听
- Jean Magaret Sears,Earnest William Sears, Florence Amy Sears
- Location of story:听
- Walthamstow, East London
- Background to story:听
- Royal Navy
- Article ID:听
- A2766486
- Contributed on:听
- 21 June 2004
During the War i lived in Walthamstow, East London with my mother and father, Florence and Earnest sears.
My father was working as a painter and decorator when the War started. He joined the A.R.P(air raid patrol) as a warden to help people during air raids. He was "called up" in 1941, as one of the older conscripts, and joined the Navy. After a priliminary examination he was recommended to become a Telegraphist after obtaining the necessary qualifications, which he did in August 1943 at St Angels, Liddesdale.
He was on a destroyer, sending messages by morse code, serving mainly in the Mediteranean area. His ship was blown up, but he survived many hours in the sea. Towards the end of the War he was posted to Germany.
My father was one of five brothers, the other four all joined the army. Once whilst serving in a country in the Far East, i'm not sure where, he literally "bumped into" one of his brothers, neither had any idea that they were in the same country!
After the War their photo was put in the local paper, standing outside their mother's house near Chelmsford in Essex. It was unusual for so many sons from the same family to return home to their mother unscathed!
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