Ve Day

I grew up near Widnes, so I imagine that was a vast improvement.

Fair play to him for signing up when he had the option of staining in his RO. Both my granddads (one from Widnes) were in ROs - one was a welder and one was a coal miner, so unfortunately the only war stories they could tell were of faffing around in the Home Guard dodging ricochets when doing live ammunition target practice in Pex Hill quarry.

 

My father Captain Leonard Birds unfortunately died last year on May 1st.

My grandfather he fought in WW1 later dies from the effects of being gassed, wish I could have met him.
Steve

 

Great pics.

 

What great pictures Birdie. My father served in the Tank Corps in world war one and his brother in The Border regiment was killed at Paschendaele in 1917 and my Grandfather died near Amiens 19th May 1918. In World War two I was an evacuee but returned to Liverpool in 1944. On May 8th 1945 my Dad and I were walking past the Gladstone Dry dock and towering above us was the beautiful Cunard ship Aquitania with her four funnels in battleship grey. Launched in 1913 she served our country well in two world wars. A passer by shouted from across the road "The war's over!" No more bombing, No more family and friends and neighbours would die in the European War. A good moment to look back upon.Of course the war against the Japanese would carry on for four more months and then the poor lads coming back from the P.O.W. camps looking like walking skeletons.

 

I notice you are from Notts and mention Liverpool, my farther served in the Sherwood Foresters and spent the second half of his life living in Southport and working in Litherland Liverpool.
Steve

 

Good old Sherwood Foresters! the history of the Foresters is one of my great interests. I have Quite a few medals awarded to brave men who served in this regiment. A dear neighbour who died a few years ago served from 1939 to 1945 fought through the Italian campaign etc. He was a lovely man. We miss him a lot. Now for Southport, I was evacuated to Ormskirk near Southport in late 1940 all a lot safer than living in Liverpool at this time with the houses down our street being blitzed badly. Southport was a good place to be during the war and we spent many happy times there. I don't know Litherland very well at all Birdie.

 

My father was too young to serve in the war he went to Singapore in 48 as part of conscription in the REME. My maternal grandfather served in a Scottish Regiment in the first war.He came home full of shrapnel. My Paternal grandfather lost an eye as child so couldn't serve. My father often spoke about his cousin with a bit of hero worship. He trained as a School Teacher but joined the RAF in 39 and flew Hurricanes in the Battle Of Britain
He was shot down September 14th 1940 managed to crash land but died of his bullet wounds shortly after.
I decided for an 80th birthday present for my dad to paint a picture depicting his Cousin. Trouble was with work and other things I didn't finish it and he died shortly after so never saw the finished painting

 

My father was in the RAF. Leading Aircraftsman (Bomber Ground Crew /Armourer....Wellingtons and Lancasters)

My mother was in the WRVS.....Got blown off her bicycle by a doodlebug in a country lane and ended up in a field on her way home from some hospital duty. The crater (from the explosion, not where she landed) is still there.

One of her brothers was RAF Ghost Squadron; Sergeant (Flight Engineer and Flight Navigator in all the heavy bombers) seconded to RCAF on Lancasters. Ended up POW in Stalag Luft VII Bankau. Forced marched from there to Stalag Luft III and then the Long March. His first march was about the same as the Long March. Decorated for his actions on some of the bombing operations.

The other brother was Army Intelligence. Corporal (Royal Signals Corps) SEAC (Burma, Malaya, Singapore etc).

 

I was thinking earlier today, why on earth didn't all the WWII aircraft in the UK that are currently in flight condition be arranged to fly and give a lot more people (especially in the North) a flypast?

 

I suspect in this period as we commemorate VE day, many of us 40’s and 50’s babies (and maybe even one or two 30’s babies) on this forum are remembering their parents. Although passed away nearly 20 years now, I still think of my father and am myself now reflecting on his contribution to WWII. My father spoke little of that period in his life and I really only know what my mum told me later in life. Douglas Harold Collins was born in March 1918, the year after his father was invalided out of French battlefields having been mustard gassed. The gas may have ruined my grandfathers lungs but did little to affect his sperm as my father was the eldest of 6. A Territorial throughout the war having volunteered for the Expeditionary Force in 1939, my father was one of the lucky ones to be evacuated from Europe only days before the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940. He served in the 42nd Tank Regiment which landed at Caen during the D-Day campaign and I believe it was the horrors of the journey fighting through France into Germany that stayed with him until his death. In the immediate period post German surrender, he served in the Army of Occupation as a Provost Marshall in one of the German cities before being honourably discharged and meeting my mum. I apologise for the tome but it has been strangely cathartic and brought both my mum and dad closer to me than they have been in recent years. Andy

 

As Andy has just said, my father never spoke of his experience in the army, I learnt more about him at his funeral last year than he'd ever told me.
Steve

 

It is hard to imagine what people went through and people find lockdown so hard!

It certainly brings back memories of my father. He was a Lancaster Captain at the end of WW2. His elder brother was also but was lost with all his crew in 43 after being sent on a raid when there was heavy fog. Tragic loss of life.

 

Makes me well up reading others memories of family members. We owe such a lot and should never forget.

 

My dad was too young, he was born in 1931 - he was in the Jungles of Malaya in the '50s with the Gurkhas. He had a few tales about the little fellas with the big knifes lost dad in 1999 to cancer.

 

Dad wasn't old enough to join the forces in the war but was old enough to be in the navy shortly after and the clean up that followed and interfactional fighting in asia, burma, singapore etc. Some of the sights he saw from the japanese invasion of some of those countries, still haunt him today and like many have mentioned, it's a not a subject he chooses to offer up.

funny thing though, we found his service record which showed where he was, when he was and and what ships he was attached too, we even found an entry of 28 days in the brig that has provided much mickey taking when required