大象传媒

WW2 I was just a little boy with my new born sister, saw my Dad leave for India in 1941 not to return until 1945, after the slog through NE India and Burma (3rd Madras Reg鈥檛). Since then I have been very glad he was not one of the thousands sent to Singapore to be imprisoned by the Japanese without firing a shot, or for that matter on two fine ships (Prince of Wakes and Repulse) sunk without the opportunity to fight. Inept leadership, token 鈥渨ar鈥� before we really got going.

Langley Mill, Derbys only received one bomb - no one ever seemed to know whether it was aimed at a nearby factory or a 鈥渟tray鈥�. Evacuees came there and I knew several of them, some were adopted at the end of the war. We all had to learn shelter and gas mask drill just the same.
Everyone was rationed, pretty fairly and I can remember collecting a lot of them even at less than eight years old in some ways shopping was more simple then. But we were often a bit hungry didn鈥檛 seem to do anyone much harm. Nothing like those across the channel in Netherlands etc.
J Gray Bedworth

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