I know I had a great uncle who served in Burma during the war.
I forget his name , but he was a good looking man with a killer moustache.
I think he survived the war,
My father was an airman in the RAF and navigated Lancasters.
I’m still not sure if his war record
My family , from their own oral histories, fought the war more on the home front.
My Grandmother , mother and Uncle Jim were bombed out of their house on Louisa Street, Everton in the Blitz and were sheltering under an upturned sofa as the windows blew in and an unexplored flying torpedo lodged itself under the kitchen floor.
During the May Blitz my great grandfather was killed when their family shelter took a direct hit. A shelter my Grandmother and Mother was running for before the bombs proceeded them.
During all of this horrendous time my Grandfather was a fireman in the Auxiliary Fire Service, who spent days and days fighting the fires in dockland Liverpool.
You can understand just why my family moved to the quiet and prejudice of North Wales.
Tonight I was late for work. Bun was up the bookcase waving paws at Roger who was fed up with the excitement. Suddenly a black shape the side on an envelope fell from the shelves onto the floor
It was my Grandfather’s Fire Badge which he saved from his wartime uniform nearly 80 years ago. It is the only physical memory I have of my Grandfather
Funny how it turned up today,
That is a nice memento to have and you've got great stories. Some of mine make me want to flee and change my name.
ReplyDeleteYour post made me cry, John.
ReplyDeleteWW2 affected everyone here, year after year, not just the soldiers and their families.
DB was at The Cenotaph this morning, one of the brave, former members of emergency services.
It seems to me that maybe some of your family survived so that you would, too.Make the most of life and give the idea of someOne above
ReplyDeleteat least a bit of thought, -Mary
It is very strange that the badge turned up on Remembrance Sunday, but what a lovely thing to happen.
ReplyDeleteNaughty Bun, she's certainly come out of her shell, now. Fun and games! xx
My parents were civilians who volunteered to stand on the roofs of buildings in San Francisco watching for Japanese planes. They never saw one.
ReplyDeleteweavinfool
What a heart wrenching story of the tragic events that overtook your family during WW2. Also the miracle that spared your Grandmother and mother that they'd not reached the shelter when it was hit.
ReplyDeletePerfect timing for that memento to show up, too.
Hugs!
Strange. Or maybe not.
ReplyDelete(I managed to join in the two minute silence today without being interrupted. That was a first.)
My father only ever told me light-hearted tales of his time in WWII. He was in Burma too, and had that tan which never really left people who served there. He died 57 years ago last week.
ReplyDeleteWhoever runs the military archives in UK--Ministry of Defense? ---should be able to provide you with your father's war records? An RAF pilot--navigator?--is a father to be proud of!
ReplyDeleteOur Remembrance Day is tomorrow . Nov.11 at 11:00 AM The veterans hospital near me has thousands of little Canadian flags planted around the Veterans wing by volunteers tonight, so the Vets see them when they wake up. Then there is the ceremony at the cenotaph and a flyover of an old warplane {maybe a Lancaster} it is a very moving day. Gigi
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice momento to have, John.
ReplyDeleteOh, gees. There I go again. It's Debby.
DeleteYes - funny how it turned up on Remembrance Sunday. Lest We Forget.
ReplyDeleteCurious indeed. I am glad you have it.
ReplyDeleteThat is strange and must make him feel close for that moment.
ReplyDeleteI am from Liverpool and my family lived in Everton. My grandad worked on the docks all through the war. Sadly I was too young and didn't get to talk about it to him. Amazingly my great-aunt Minnie and her parents lived on Louisa street!
ReplyDeleteYou should have that badge framed, John, with notes on the back of its history. You can pass it down to your nephew.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely idea. :-)
DeleteWe need to remember that history, it will be lost in another generation. Several great aunts, uncles and cousins were evacuated as children to the states, at least three of them stayed. My father was drafted near the end of the war, and made it as far as defending New Jersey before being discharged and sent home. Several great uncles served in WWII, it changed them as people in ways that were hard to understand.
ReplyDeleteWonderful how it came to light today. I agree you should frame and conserve it.
ReplyDeleteIf your father was a Navigator on Lancasters and survived the war he was a lucky man, Bomber Command losses in WWII were horrendous.
ReplyDeleteYour family experienced lots of wartime hardship. Terrible times.
ReplyDeletei would consider putting the badge in a shadow box along with a written explanation. It is a very special military recognition.
Bun and Roger need to form a truce.
Nice Remembrance Day post!
ReplyDeleteThe spirits work in mysterious ways. (I mean, of course, the spirits of those black cats.)
ReplyDeleteThis day does bring back memories of older generations stories and how hard life was for them . I remember my grandfather, a grenadier guard in WW1 talking about the battle of Mons and how he saw “ no b….y angels, just injured men and chaos” then as a member of the Home Guard in Kent telling Churchill that the main A road was closed on the way to Biggin Hill, but being told that he was Prime minister so could go! He was back within. 20 minutes as the road had been so badly bombed, he would never vote for him and was most impolite when talking about him! Then in the 1950s still seeing so many bombed and damaged houses in London. It makes you realise that Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon will not easily heal and take generations to repair . 🤨😢 when will we ever learn and sadly I have to say it is the fault of mainly men. ☹️☹️😢. 💕
ReplyDeleteMy great uncle Jack fought in Monte Cassino, and came home. Great uncle Frank was a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp and told terrible whispered stories to the grown ups for years. Great great Uncle Pat went to France in WW1. The only time these family left NZ, to go to war, and all such lovely gentle men XOXO.
ReplyDeleteYour family experiences during the war were so frightening. All who survived were changed forever. And here we are with more horrific wars and who knows what lies ahead. The more I ponder it the less I understand. Sounds like the cats received a message for you.
ReplyDelete