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Introduction

This article is submitted on behalf of Mr Pat Kelly from Whitehaven, Cumbria. During World War Two, Pat served in the British Army with the 11th Armoured Division and took part in the Normandy Landings. He has been an active member of the Normandy Veterans Association (West Cumbria Branch No 51) since 1989 and he is also a member of the Market Garden Association, commemorating the Allied advance through Belgium and the Netherlands towards Arnhem.

This article concentrates mainly on Pat's account of the activities of World War Two Veterans Associations. Pat has signed a form agreeing that I could write about his memories, that they can be donated to an archive and that it can be read by others if they wish. I am pleased to honour Pat and other members of the Veterans' Association by submitting this article.

Membership of wartime Veterans' Associations

"I鈥檓 a member of the Normandy Veterans Association and a member of the 鈥楳arket Garden鈥� Association. That's because I was involved in both the Normandy campaign and the Arnhem push, as far as the Nijmegen area.

With the Normandy Veterans, I think it was about 1989 and I was asked if I鈥檇 have a go at being Treasurer of the local West Cumbria Branch. I had to give it a lot of thought before taking it on. Originally, I thought, 鈥淥h, I don鈥檛 want to be involved again!鈥� But after a careful think about it all, I thought 鈥淲ell, I鈥檒l have a go at it. I鈥檒l give it twelve months.鈥� And so I鈥檝e been Treasurer of the Branch for a number of years now.

Locally, the public activities we do includes two Commemorative Services a year. The first one is usually on the 6th June when we hold a service before our plaque in St. Nicholas Church Gardens, Whitehaven. Then, on the 11th November we have another service in front of our plaque. It's held at the same place in St. Nicholas' Church Gardens, Whitehaven. After both of these events we have a cup of tea or something afterwards. Sometimes we have had this back in the Rugby League Club in Whitehaven or we have held it in St Nicholas' Church Tower. We maybe have a buffet or soup and sometimes a little entertainment.

Everything鈥檚 alright with the Branch as it is financially sound. We have done other things. In 2000 for example, we paid one thousand one hundred pounds for a new Memorial Garden Seat in St Nicholas' Church Gardens in Whitehaven. It means that anyone can have a sit down and reflect on their past endeavours in front of the Normandy Veterans' Plaque there. Every time we go to these services, we think of comrades who died and our experiences. Each time we have a meeting we say the 鈥楴ormandy Veterans' Prayer鈥�. That that always brings back memories of what happened during the War. Being a member of the Veterans' Association always brings back memories.

My wife Pauline, she plays a big part in my activities with the Association because she helps with most of my correspondence. Pauline is very good at English and a very good writer. So, it saves me a lot of time and a lot of bother, or worrying about anything because Pauline's very good at this. She will always help me in anything I do with the Normandy Veterans or the 鈥楳arket Garden鈥� Association. I鈥檓 proud to be a member of both those Associations.

We have had reunions with the 鈥楳arket Garden鈥� Association. For example, we have been to the Norbreck Hotel, Blackpool, for a long weekend in the past with Veterans from all over England, Scotland and Wales. We've had some marvellous times, really marvellous. While I've been there, I've met people that I鈥檇 met in previous years. We've all had a good 鈥榗raic鈥� and there was good entertainment and good food. Then we look forward to the next one!

Obviously some Veterans Associations have disbanded, such as the Dunkirk Veterans Association. I think the Normandy Veterans Association will carry on a while longer yet from what I鈥檝e heard. Regarding the 'Market Garden Association', a few years ago they invited the Dutch Committee over to Britain. The main man of the Dutch Committee said, 鈥淭here would always be a welcome in Holland for the 鈥楳arket Garden鈥� Association until the last one went out and blew the light out!" That鈥檚 the way he put it, you know, that there鈥檒l always be a welcome in Holland for the Veterans.

Veterans' Association Activities

Of course we have other activities that you know about. Every year we hold a Reunion Buffet and Dance and get-together at Kells Royal British Legion Club in Whitehaven. That鈥檚 happened for quite a number of years now. We all have a great night out as you know! It started off with about sixty or so people and I think it's grown since. Our Branch in this area has been very good and getting better for many a year.

Mostly of course, it's people from Normandy Veterans Branch, in West Cumbria and others mainly from the Whitehaven Area. We also allow people in who were wives, sweethearts or friends. They are all allowed in to make it one big happy family. We don鈥檛 like the idea that we鈥檙e going to sit there on our own. We like everybody to come and enjoy it with us as well! We have sing-songs, a dance and we have bingo, anything really to make it an enjoyable night. We put it on once a year and I must say the Kells Royal British Legion Club have been very good to us throughout the years.

Then, as you know, we try our best to answer questions from people who want to know about the war. It is a difficult job at times, but we do our best! We really go into it we try to visit schools and explain to all of them. We get asked such a lot of questions by these young children! It鈥檚 unbelievable what they come up with at times. But, we try to do whatever we can to keep the memories going. For us, it鈥檚 a great honour that we took part in this campaign of World War Two, because we met some terrific blokes and comradeship was at its highest.

Then after the war, you don鈥檛 forget. Of course you just seem to put it to one side in your mind because you have that many other things to do. You have to do this to get on with life, but you never forget! Our Normandy Veterans Association Headquarters, they encourage this dialogue a lot. Because the Association have one or two people that go regularly around schools in each area, so this is a good thing. We鈥檙e hoping that we can carry on as long as we can as we鈥檙e all getting older, I think we all look at the youth side of it. We all want to feel younger, because when you talk to these younger people they make you feel younger! So it's a great thing!

Anniversaries commemorating World War Two

I've been back to Normandy with my wife Pauline and quite a few times. I've also been back to the Netherlands once with the 'Market Garden' Association. We also stayed in Antwerp, Belgium in 1989 because I was asked to go there. We stayed there in Antwerp with a family and I must say they were the most generous family I鈥檝e ever met in my life. This Belgian couple, they looked after us as though we were their own children and they were marvellous with us! I must also say, that the people we鈥檝e met in the Netherlands when we've stayed with them as well, they were marvellous as well. You couldn鈥檛 have asked them for more!

The time we were in Antwerp in 1989 was marvellous, with people waving flags and everything. Antwerp holds a display every year with army vehicles and everything, all authentic I think. Antwerp has its own group of people who re-enact their Liberation Day. They go through all their streets in Antwerp, and all the people line up and they鈥檙e throwing their flowers and cheering and everything and it's just like it was in those days when we liberated Antwerp! I can remember that quite well. It brought back some memories.

In 2004 we went for the 60th Anniversary Commemorations of Normandy and took part in all the activities over there. It was some weekend! I've got lots of photographs, newspaper articles and video coverage of the event. It was beamed all over the world.

When I look back now at D-Day or V.E. Day I think was all worthwhile, I really do think so! It was great at the time, when you were in army during the War. You met some fantastic pals! They really were fantastic. You can always think about the good times. I hope it was worth it, anyway!

Of course I've read a lot of the books and seen films about the war. A lot of them depict more or less what happened. For example, it was good for our Branch when they showed 'Saving Private Ryan' at the cinema. I went to see 鈥楽aving Private Ryan鈥�. Along with a number of others from our Normandy Veterans Branch, we gave a little talk about Normandy and the war before the film. It was really good.

We had a lot of dealings with Tom Hanks the leading actor in 'Private Ryan'. We sent him a plaque of our Normandy Veterans Association out to America and he acknowledged it. He sent us some marvellous photographs from the film back to us. Jim Jolly, our Branch Secretary, he received them and then we shared them out. So we all got some of these free prints each. Tom Hanks was really very nice about it, sending all these pictures of him dressed up for the film.

We also asked him to be an Honorary Member of our Branch but I think he was a bit too busy for that. However, he was in Normandy with Stephen Spielberg for the 60th Anniversary Commemoration in 2004.

It's good to see these anniversaries, books and films and it brings back memories for us. Not only is it good for us, but it is good for the other people who have never been in the war. It's particularly good for the younger people. For 2005, the 60th Anniversary of the end of the war, we have a number of activities to commemorate that in Whitehaven and throughout the country. The Normandy Veterans Association are part of all that.

I have a couple of books about the 11th Armoured Division which bring back memories as well. I can recall certain times during the war but names you naturally forget through the years. But then when you read the books 鈥� it鈥檚 great! It brings everything back. I could read them every few months or so! I'm always proud to have been a member of the 11th Armoured Division. It was an honour to be with them. For example, there one chap in our Branch, Dick Wylie, who was in the Royal Artillery, 11th Armoured Division and we used to take ammunition up to them. He's always said, 鈥淚鈥檓 glad when you used to come up with the ammunition, so as we could have something we could fire back at them鈥�

We are all in favour of commemorating the role everyone played during World War Two, such as the Miners and the Land Girls. They all played a part somehow during the War. I think a lot of them have played a part since the war as well so they should take part in marches and commemorations. I'm all for encouraging them to do good things for people and I鈥檓 all for commemorating the role of everyone during the war. You never forget what happened."

Conclusion

I have seen Pat take part in numerous activities with the Normandy Veterans Association over the years. In the past, Pat has provided me with a lot of information about the Battle of Normandy to help my university research, which I am pleased to acknowledge. This article is submitted to record the importance of remembering World War Two to those who lived through those times.

During the 60th Anniversary Commemorations of D-Day in June 2004, Pat was one of the Normandy Veterans who took part in the march past at Arromanches on Sunday 6th June 2004. A group from the West Cumbria Branch of the Normandy Veterans Association were based in Bayeux during the first weekend of June 2004 and took part in many of the official organised activities in the presence of world leaders and Heads of State.

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