D-Day

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/08/poppy-last-time-remembrance-harry-leslie-smith

Last year from the same man.

www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/04/coalition-attacks-nhs-return-britain-age-workhouse

I've just ordered his book. He's 91. And he's a Yorkshireman.

Yay! Good for him! Well done that man.

THAT'S THE SPIRIT!!

Good for him!

Just spoken with my dear Uncle who is also my Godfather, he is 92 and served as a flying officer bringing severely wounded soldiers back from Normandy. He rarely speaks of his experiences but tonight he tells me he finds discussing it all too emotional, makes him cry. He still cannot speak about the sights he witnessed. Sadly I think he will take his experiences to the grave. So many old solders have never spoken about their war experiences. It must be the deep emotion it provokes, exposing the soft side of all these old veterans.

DD2 and I have today been going through a load of photos and paperwork (she is home for 2 weeks from Oz) and found photos and medals of her Great Grandfather, Harry Benjamin Mason, who was my MiL's father. He was in WW1 and didn't return. He left a widow and 2 daughters aged 10 and 8. We have been having a quiet few moments and a few tears - thinking of all the rellies who have gone, particularly her Dad who died 2 years ago. We also read through letters from my Dad who was 'out East' from 1941 until 1946, to my Mum, which are so moving and informative. We, our children and grandchildren really don't know the half of it. We feel so sad - especially this week

Thanks for the link to the then and now pictures. Just been scrolling through them.

interesting map

some good then and now pictures here If you click on each one it becomes "now". Very clever.

Interesting comments underneath too.

At the time of the 50th anniversary of VE Day, we owned a pub/restaurant on a very busy trunk road. We also had an adjoining campsite.

That weekend we were full to bursting with people making their way south to go to Normandy for the celebrations.

I keep thinking about a father and son that stayed with us. They were from Australia and the father told us he was in the first landing and kept saying to himself, 'I must survive because I'm going to marry, have a son and one day we will walk hand in hand on this beach'

We were proud to think we were part of their journey. We met some wonderful people that weekend.

We've got a lot to thank them all for. That was a war that had to be fought.

My Darling Dad lost his hearing at the D-day landings. He was bombarding the shore (Sword beach) from a gun emplacement on a ship (one of the ones where the gunner is fully exposed - a pom pom I think it was called) and he didn't have time to put his ear plugs in - 2 shattered ear drums deaf as post thereafter he was only 23 - never talked about it. It was only in recent years that I persuaded him to apply for a War Pension when he was fairly hard up- he said he was to ashamed to take it as he survived with his life. lovely man sadly no longer with us.

Oh Jing The story of Jock Hutton makes me think of my father. He was in the 6th Airborne (later it became the 1st Airborne I think) and in the gliders that 'crash landed' the men rather than parachuting them in. He never talked about it, as so many of them didn't. He didn't even have to be there, as he'd been wounded and sent back to hospital in England, but he volunteered to go back!!

There must be so many stories that have been 'lost' because the men and women wouldn't/couldn't talk about what they went through.

the 'new' penicillin

and this chap was only 15!