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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Roger Marsh of the ‘Action Desk — Sheffield’ Team on behalf of KENNETH REED, and has been added to the site with the author’s permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

KENNETH REED'S LIFE STORY DURING WW2
By
KENNETH REED

I was born in 1933. My dad was Joshua Reed, and my mum was Elsie Reed. After my dad was enlisted into the R.A.S.C. in 1942 mum and I continued to live on Sutton Trust in East Hull.

My mum worked at the Smith and Nephews factory making bandages, and I was transferred from Mayberry Infants School to Hopewell Road School when the bombing of HULL began. I used to go my Aunt Charlotte’s home in Grimsby during the summer holidays from school. My Uncle Jack and Aunt Charlotte and family were transferred to Grimsby, when the Spillers' factory was bombed in Hull. Uncle Jack used to watch the bombing of Hull, and he said it looked as if the whole of Hull was on fire.

Mum's brother George Teal lived with us until he was enlisted into the Royal Corps of Signals. He was sent to Burma, and fought behind the Japanese lines, but he never talks about his service in the army with the West African Division. Uncle George returned to live with us in 1946. Not enough ships were available to bring them back sooner.

Aunt Gladys Teal worked on munitions in Birmingham during the war, but she returned to us in 1945.

The last time I saw my dad was when he marched away from us in Morley, near Leeds in 1942 dressed in Jungle Fatigues. He was sent by ship to Singapore and was interned into Changi Prison Camp. Immediately, he disembarked from the ship. We received a postcard from him in 1944 saying that he was a prisoner of war, and was well. Mum and I did not know until 1945 that he had died in the camp on 21st September 1942, suffering from Dysentery, but he did not receive any treatment for his illness.

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