I wanted to contribute to this website because I think it is important to record the thoughts and feelings of those who actually experienced the incredible years of WW2. I was born in 1950, but the effects of the war were still being felt even then.I lived in Exeter in Devon as a child and remember the empty spaces that the Baedecker raids had left behind.The word "Bombsite" was a regular part of our vocabulary. I often used to ask my Dad to "tell me a story about when you were in the war Daddy," and I remember the utility symbol in my vests!
My Dad was in the Royal Observer Corps.In April 1944 his first wife died and a couple of months later he found himself on a supply ship bound for the Normandy coastline, bringing reinforcements after D Day. He remained in the ROC after the war and used to give lectures about his wartime experiences.He died in 1969.
I have also contributed memories fom my parents-in-law who are still both alive at present and were considerably younger than my Dad in the war years. I find the memories of my father-in-law's evacuation from the industrial North East to the Lake District particularly poignant and they serve as a reminder that not all wartime experiences were unhappy ones.