大象传媒

This story and picture has been contributed to the People's War by the 大象传媒 Learning Centre on behalf of Jeremy Harker and with his permission.

Uncle Tony lived at the Magnet Hotel in Kingsholm, Gloucester, before it was pulled down to build flats.

He went into the war as an ordinary private in the Gloucesters and came out as an officer.

Soon after entering the war he was taken prisoner by the Germans and shot in both arms. They left him with a gun and one bullet, the idea being that he would kill himself. But when you鈥檝e been shot in both arms it鈥檚 very difficult to do that.

He was found by some troops, he says they were Pakistanis, who took him to the Red Cross where they treated his wounds.

He said they used something like an apple-corer to clean the wounds, with no drugs to ease the pain, they just said 鈥淐ome on soldier, be a man, there鈥檚 lots worse off than you in the field,鈥� then they bound it with a rag and told him to get back on duty.

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