大象传媒

My World War ll Memories

During the war I went to school at one time in Coventry. At Little Heath School I gained a sailor pen pal from one of His Majesties ships, (have no idea of the name of the ship).
I wrote to my sailor Stan Holding (Sparks, a radio operator) probably from 1942 to 1944 whilst I was in Coventry.

In 1944 at the age of 9 years I went to Deal in Kent to live. Quite soon after moving my sailor Stan paid us a visit. The only thing was he arrived on
22 February 1945 and on that day our family was at my aunt鈥檚 wedding in Deal.

A neighbour told Stan that we were at the wedding and so he came along to the Port Arms pub on the sea front where the reception was being held.
I can remember him being there at the time but not much else.

Subsequently he came to visit again as his ship had docked at Ramsgate.
I remember the talk about him wanting to take me to the cinema, my parents agreed only after my eldest brother was allowed to accompany us.
I don鈥檛 remember going to the cinema, and the only other memory I have of Stan is touching his sailor collar whilst standing on a chair. I think my mother had instigated it, as it is a sign of good luck.

I never saw Stan again and I only have one letter which I have kept safe all these years.
It is an air mail letter from Sydney, Australia written on Tuesday
30th October 1945.
Stan talks of it being a long time since he wrote to me as he was 31 days at sea, and travelling almost half way round the world.
He talked about the ship he was on being converted into a 鈥渢roop ship鈥�; the heat and travel through the Red Sea and from Aden to Freemantle and non-stop across the Indian Ocean for 16 days. Finally reaching Sydney and then enjoying all the wonderful things there like fruit and food in the shops that he hoped we would soon have back at home.

He did not know how long he would be in Australia, he says 鈥淚t is not for me to say unfortunately for I may join a ship any day now, and be based in another part of the Far East, but if I wrote to the address above the letter would reach him鈥�

.
The address was Stan Holding,
C/Jx 4048?1, Hut 314, R.N.B.
H.M.S. Golden Hind,
c/o G.P.O.London

I鈥檓 sure I would have written again, especially after he visited us, but I never heard another word from him.

He had stated in his letter that he hoped to visit us again after he was demobilised next August or September.

In recent years I have tried to track him down but my gut feeling is that he did not make it to demobilising day.

This may be a different story to what went on during the bombing but never the less it was important to me during my early years in the war.

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