大象传媒

I had never met, or spoken to anyone from another land before the war began. My first encounter with a foreigner was just after the fall of France. I was staying with my Grandmother in Aintree, which I often did in those days. Opening the door one morning to get the milk, I found three French sailors sitting on the step! They looked quite cute in their uniforms, which were similar to our sailor鈥檚 uniforms only they had red pompoms on their hats. They had been at sea when France capitulated, and since received orders to return to the U.K rather than return to their own port and Hitler鈥檚 clutches. They had set up camp on the race course.

They spoke to me, but I was unable to understand what they were saying. My Uncle Ted invited them in and while my Gran made breakfast he did his best to communicate with the young French boys. 鈥淧arlez Vous鈥�, was about the limit of his French vocabulary. However he was not deterred, and he tried to make them understand and every other word he said ended with an 鈥極鈥�. Pointing to objects around the house, he did some mime play and generally waved his arms about. He looked and sounded so funny. The French boys could not speak English either, but mesmerised by my Uncle the boys sat there, hunching their shoulders and lifting their hands in the expressive way that continentals do. They pursed their lips, and repeated 鈥榤erci鈥� over and over.

Actually we all got along quite well and managed in the end to understand each other. We saw a lot of our new friends in the short time they were stationed in Aintree. I still have my autograph book, which they and their friends signed for me.

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