大象传媒

This story is about my grandfather, Reginald Parkhouse, who died in 1972. My father found a diary he had written during the war years, and in particular about events in 1938. My grandfather had served with the Middlesex Regiment in the First World War and was a member of the British Legion. When Hitler threatened the Sudetenland, Churchill wasn't the only one who was worried, the Legion were too. They canvassed their members and agreed to send over a civilian police force to help the Czechs and repel the Germans. They were entirely volunteers and my grandfather was one of them. They were issued with armbands and a short stick and about 1,000 men signed up. My grandfather and these other men marched down to Tilbury and there was a ship waiting there (I don't know where it was headed as to my knowledge Czecheslovakia is landlocked!). However, they stayed on board at Tilbury for a couple of days and caught up with gossip; some of these men hadn't seen each other since the end of the Great War. Finally, they received notification in the form of an official letter from Lord Halifax to say that they would not now be needed as the British Government had assurances that the invasion would not take place. Sadly, as we all know, these assurances were fictitious. It's a great tribute to these brave men that they were prepared to go to a foreign land, totally unarmed, to help a defenceless civilian population. My grandfather had kept his armband, stick, letter from Lord Halifax and a cutting from the Picture Post which showed them marching towards the docks, and I took these down to the Imperial War Museum some years ago. They did not have any knowledge of this strange incident, but have now opened a file on it for anyone to read about. Hope people find this interesting. Carole Parkhouse

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