Anyone have any war stories?

[What the Fuchs?]

With the 75th anniversary of D-Day coming up it's more important than ever to remember those who fought before the Second World War goes out of living memory - I'd like to know if anyone has any stories or memories to do with WW2 or indeed any other conflict. Can be stories or titbits you have been told by family members, even just as simple as what they experienced during wartime, or your own experiences if you were around during a conflict.

[urban.spaceman]

Not from WW2 but my gran has her father’s medical discharge sheet from the First World War - he was shot in the thigh in 1917... Basically, two inches to the left and none of my family would have existed. 

[What the Fuchs?]

I'll start, unfortunately I know nothing about what my family did in the World Wars as my grandparents never asked what their parents did in WW1, beyond one being in the navy, another in the infantry and an uncle in the Royal Flying Corps. My grandparents were kids during WW2 and they've told me a few interesting things about rationing, air raids and the black market for instance, but for know I'll just briefly share a few stories from people I've spoken to with fighting stories.

 

My stepdad's father lied about his age to join the army in 1944, but missed the Normandy Landings. Instead he was involved in the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944, where his unit tried to prevent the SS armoured division from taking a vital fuel depot on their way to the Belgian ports. But his involvement didn't last long, after seeing most of his friends ripped to shreds by mortar fire, including his officer who was extremely popular, he himself was blasted off his feet and shot through the leg. After some time he was eventually picked up by some American troops who took him to their camp to care for him - plenty of chocolate for him too, as this was just a boy of 17. It was a 'Blighty' wound and he was sent home. He was extremely lucky.

 

I once spoke for a long time to an old man in a hospital ward a few years ago who told me that he was a paratrooper during WW2 and he took part in the disastrous Arnhem raid. My overriding memory from talking to him was the fear he had after landing in dense forest, completely alone and disoriented in the dark, and then suddenly hearing German voices around him, not knowing how close they were...

 

Finally a good friend of my Grandparents who they have had an annual dinner along with others for many years witnessed a very important moment at the end of the war. He's 96 now, and his memory was completely clear when I spoke to him for almost the entirety of one of these dinners about his experiences. In August 1945 he was a member of the British delegation on board the USS Missouri along with General Douglas MacArthur to receive the surrender of Japanese forces. I was a kid when he told me about it, and I remember not believing that the Japanese representative was wearing a full 19th century upper class suit, complete with top hat and monocle until I saw it on video footage!

 

I'd love to hear anything you guys have to share - these stories, no matter how brief should never be forgotten ???

[What the Fuchs?]

15 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

Not from WW2 but my gran has her father’s medical discharge sheet from the First World War - he was shot in the thigh in 1917... Basically, two inches to the left and none of my family would have existed. 

Do you know where he was stationed, or what battles he participated in? My great grandad didn't join til 1917, I think he may have been at Passchendaele but I'll have to check. My granddads uncle who was in the Royal Flying Corps actually got a medal for gallantry or something, but I can't remember exactly what since I was around 7 when I was told about it

[pSinatra]

My Grandad sunk the Bismarck

 

He died when I was fairly young & although there were loads of pictures of him around the house from his navy days, I don't really remember him talking about the war much.  But I do remember hearing the name Bismarck a few times.

 

When I was older, there was an old boy in the local pub who everyone called Major because he "fought in the war you know".  So I used to tell him that my Grandad sunk the Bismarck.

 

I've since looked into it a bit further.  He was a stoker on HMS Suffolk that sighted & engaged with the Bismarck at the Battle of Denmark Strait. They kept tabs on the Bismarck long enough for the Hood & others to turn up.  I didn't even know he was a stoker until I looked into it further.  Fvck knows what went through his head during battles, knowing that any sort of decent hit probably meant death.  A much braver man than me & I would love to have known more

[Buce]

 

I think this bloke might know one but he doesn't like to talk about it...

 

 

[Kopic]

My Polish grandad fought in WW2 for Poland. Was in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Also spent time in a Russian gulag where most of his family died but he escaped. Still alive now and going strong.

[Parafox]

My late dad was conscripted into the Romanian army as a way of being released from prison as a "political". He was 17 and was arrested with his mates messing about in a Romanian government building that had already been broken into by Legionnaires. Following his arrest he was chained and imprisoned. He couldn't remember how long for, but it was weeks His family were never told what had happened to him and for several months didn't know where he was.

Eventually he was taken from the prison and put in a platoon that were sent to fight the Russians. They were so disorganised that at some point my dad got separated from the rest but several days later, lost in an area he didn't know, he managed to locate a different group of soldiers and joined up with them until, again they got split up. He then decided he would try to make his way alone across to France somehow. Avoiding any military presence, he travelled from place to place, on foot mostly but also with help from sympathetic locals. He did favours in return and blagged his way as a handyman and a baker as well as a mechanic although he was no expert in any trade.

He finished up in Belgium and was ultimately given a choice of being ex-patriated to either Australia or England. He chose England and made a life here in Leicester where he was sent to work as a farm hand at Ingarsby Old Hall where he worked for several years until he got his own place to live and got married and then worked for Wadkins.

 

We have a very unique surname and there's only myself and my brother's family with this name in England.

Oddly enough, when I was researching our family name it turns out there's a family in Australia with the same surname!

 

There's lots more to his story and he has written his memoirs in a book for the family.

[mozartfox]

My neighbors here do not talk much about the War, probably because of Austria's more than significant contribution to the Holocaust.   I was convinced my ex-father-in-law's Father was a member of the SS Einsatzgruppen killing Squads operating in western Russia. 

[Izzy]

My Grandad serve with the Gurkha's in WW2.

 

He brought back a really cool Gurkha knife in a leather case which is sharp as fvck (wit two little knives in a pocket either side)

 

A bit like this:

 

[Buce]

 

I have spent time with Holocaust survivors.

 

Truly harrowing what they went through.

[Stadt]

1 minute ago, Buce said:

 

I have spent time with Holocaust survivors.

 

Truly harrowing what they went through.

How’s Argentina?

[bovril]

Some fantastic stories here.

 

My great grandfather (from Sileby) was on the HMS Agamemnon that saw combat in the Dardanelles and was where the Ottomans signed the armistice of Mudros, effectively setting in motion the end of the Empire. His son (my Grandfather) was a desert rat in Tobruk and was captured by the Italians, ending up in a prisoner of war camp in central Italy. He escaped and stayed two years with a family in Marche, who we keep in contact with.

[Bellend Sebastian]

My late grandfather was in the RAF Police during World War II, and the only time he ever had to draw his weapon was to threaten an American serviceman with it.

 

Doing his bit for the "Special Relationship" there

[Izzy]

2 hours ago, Izzy said:

My Grandad serve with the Gurkha's in WW2.

 

He brought back a really cool Gurkha knife in a leather case which is sharp as fvck (wit two little knives in a pocket either side)

 

A bit like this:

 

Tried to edit the above to add more info but it won't let me...

 

Anyway, I never met my Grandad as he died two months before I was born sadly. My Gran re-married when I was about 10 years old to a chap called Tom. I didn't really like him and always found his a bit cold and stand-offish.

 

I remember my Dad telling me that Tom fought in the war and was part of the D-Day landings. I never really understood the significance as a kid, but I do recall that under no circumstances were we allowed to ask Tom about it because it was a 'taboo' subject.

 

Looking back now I can see why he didn't want to discuss it and I can't begin to imagine some of the horrors he saw. His funeral was about 15 years ago and turns out he was a proper war hero. I totally respect his decision and it just puts all our first world/modern day struggles into perspective..

[Saxondale]

Funny this topic has come up, because over the past few days I've been thinking about trying to piece together my late grandfather's service history in the RAF in WW2. He died in 2014. He would always talk about the war if asked - not about operations, but about where he was stationed etc. I'm really regretful that I didn't write down as much as I could before he died. My Nan is still alive and I hoping she may have kept some written records somewhere.

 

What I do know is:

• He was a navigator in Bomber Command.
• He primarily flew in the Vickers Wellington.
• He moved around lots of bases, but I do know he was based at Syerston (Notts) and Shawbury (Shropshire). There were others, but I just can't remember. 
• He flew Tiger Moths during basic training, which I think was up near Carlisle (Longton maybe?).
• He flew on mine-laying / bombing operations on German U-boat pens on the French coast, including St Nazaire.
• I'm sure he told me he was once involved in mass propaganda leaflet dropping, maybe in the occupied Netherlands?
• When I told him I was going to Cologne years back, he wryly joked "well, we tried our best to destroy it" - I don't know whether this was a specific or general reference.
• He later became a navigation instructor.
• He was sent to South Africa for a bit.
• Piecing the above two points together, there was a thing called the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, where pilots and crew were trained in the 'dominions', away from the main theatre of conflict. I'm sure he told me he was in Cape Town - turns out there was the '66 Air School' at Youngsfield, Cape Town, where navigation and bombing were taught.

My other grandfather was a metal turner by trade, so he spent the war making shell casings.

[What the Fuchs?]

4 hours ago, Parafox said:

My late dad was conscripted into the Romanian army as a way of being released from prison as a "political". He was 17 and was arrested with his mates messing about in a Romanian government building that had already been broken into by Legionnaires. Following his arrest he was chained and imprisoned. He couldn't remember how long for, but it was weeks His family were never told what had happened to him and for several months didn't know where he was.

Eventually he was taken from the prison and put in a platoon that were sent to fight the Russians. They were so disorganised that at some point my dad got separated from the rest but several days later, lost in an area he didn't know, he managed to locate a different group of soldiers and joined up with them until, again they got split up. He then decided he would try to make his way alone across to France somehow. Avoiding any military presence, he travelled from place to place, on foot mostly but also with help from sympathetic locals. He did favours in return and blagged his way as a handyman and a baker as well as a mechanic although he was no expert in any trade.

He finished up in Belgium and was ultimately given a choice of being ex-patriated to either Australia or England. He chose England and made a life here in Leicester where he was sent to work as a farm hand at Ingarsby Old Hall where he worked for several years until he got his own place to live and got married and then worked for Wadkins.

 

We have a very unique surname and there's only myself and my brother's family with this name in England.

Oddly enough, when I was researching our family name it turns out there's a family in Australia with the same surname!

 

There's lots more to his story and he has written his memoirs in a book for the family.

I for one would love to read them one day if you ever make them available ?. These stories are fascinating, it makes me wish I knew more about my own family's involvements.

 

My grandad did his national service around 1955/1956, and just as he was about to finish he was instructed that he was to go to Egypt as this was the height of the Suez Crisis. Obviously as a kid I had never heard of this and I asked if he had ever shot anyone as many 7/8 year olds might unthinkingly do. He would always change the subject as I could tell he didn't like talking about it, but my grandma told me that he had seen action, though I don't know exactly where. I spent a year studying the Suez Crisis at university to understand his experience, and it sounded like a disaster, the British being sent to take back the Suez Canal by pretending to defend it after colluding with the French and the Israelis, and lots of British soldiers kidnapped and killed by Egyptian nationalist guerillas. I would have been livid to have seen my friends killed in such a conflict.

 

After Suez, my grandad decided to stay in the army to become an officer instead of going back to his bank job, and was sent to training where he shared a hut with 5 or 6 other guys. One day on of his mates was fooling about and thought it would be funny to throw some live ammunition into the fire. Well you can imagine what happened, they destroyed the hut and were luckily unhurt, but despite the protest of the one responsible all of them were held responsible and kicked out of the army. My grandad was always slightly bitter about this, but he did get a letter from John Leyton, the guilty fella, afterwards apologising - he went on to have a music and acting career and was in the Great Escape.

Just checked and found that he's still around - I might see if I can contact him to ask him about it...

[Bellend Sebastian]

39 minutes ago, What the Fuchs? said:

I for one would love to read them one day if you ever make them available ?. These stories are fascinating, it makes me wish I knew more about my own family's involvements.

 

My grandad did his national service around 1955/1956, and just as he was about to finish he was instructed that he was to go to Egypt as this was the height of the Suez Crisis. Obviously as a kid I had never heard of this and I asked if he had ever shot anyone as many 7/8 year olds might unthinkingly do. He would always change the subject as I could tell he didn't like talking about it, but my grandma told me that he had seen action, though I don't know exactly where. I spent a year studying the Suez Crisis at university to understand his experience, and it sounded like a disaster, the British being sent to take back the Suez Canal by pretending to defend it after colluding with the French and the Israelis, and lots of British soldiers kidnapped and killed by Egyptian nationalist guerillas. I would have been livid to have seen my friends killed in such a conflict.

 

After Suez, my grandad decided to stay in the army to become an officer instead of going back to his bank job, and was sent to training where he shared a hut with 5 or 6 other guys. One day on of his mates was fooling about and thought it would be funny to throw some live ammunition into the fire. Well you can imagine what happened, they destroyed the hut and were luckily unhurt, but despite the protest of the one responsible all of them were held responsible and kicked out of the army. My grandad was always slightly bitter about this, but he did get a letter from John Leyton, the guilty fella, afterwards apologising - he went on to have a music and acting career and was in the Great Escape.

Just checked and found that he's still around - I might see if I can contact him to ask him about it...

Any excuse to post this:

 

 

You'd have to say, he does look the type to throw live ordnance into a bonfire for a laugh

[jonthefox]

My dad was born in 1934 and lived in Corby. Because of the steel works it became major target for the Luftwaffe. Unlike Londoners he was never evacuated and lived with nightly bombing campaigns. Being kids , one of their games was to listen to see if any planes had been shot down. One night one did , so him and his mates tried to get to the crash site before the military police could cordon off the area. He never made it in time and was ushered off , but on his way back he found an airman’s boot with his foot still in it. 

[What the Fuchs?]

18 minutes ago, jonthefox said:

My dad was born in 1934 and lived in Corby. Because of the steel works it became major target for the Luftwaffe. Unlike Londoners he was never evacuated and lived with nightly bombing campaigns. Being kids , one of their games was to listen to see if any planes had been shot down. One night one did , so him and his mates tried to get to the crash site before the military police could cordon off the area. He never made it in time and was ushered off , but on his way back he found an airman’s boot with his foot still in it. 

Wow. ? Did he ever keep any shrapnel or anything that he found? My grandad lived in Finchley in London and wasn't evacuated, so they had raids a lot (the V1s used to go over his neighbourhood) - though kids in those days weren't any way near as frightened as the adults were. My grandparents still have their ration books in the attic and some old coins and things, and probably lots of other stuff

 

In fact my grandma was evacuated outside London but after a short time in this house next door to the local air raid siren, they decided to just move back home ? They had a Morrison shelter, but apparently they sometimes just stayed in bed when the siren went as they thought the Morrison wouldn't do much!

 

[The Blur]

I learnt this from several deaf people-  during Blitz,  deaf people have the issue of not being able to hear the sirens.   This was not too much of a problem during daytime as deaf people can just see their hearing peers panicking and running to shelters.   However at nights,  some deaf people who live in deaf household would have to leave their doors unlocked for their neighbours to rouse them.  However for those with trust issues,  they would tie a string around their big toe before throwing the string out of the window for their neighbours to tug on!

 

I think the story above is reflective of the collective community spirit during the wars.  

[oxford blue]

This story from a US soldier - who has spoken about his experience on D-Day for the first time after 75 years - on PM today is captivating radio:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0005mr4

49 minutes in

[Vacamion]

 

 

My late paternal grandfather was in what was deemed to be in a reserved occupation in science and research. However he did some evening work as an ARP warden in Belfast. Whenever I read the words "Put that light out!" they come out in my head in a Belfast accent.    My uncles used to joke that he spent his time perving at canoodling couples. 

 

My late maternal grandfather was in the Military Police and at the end of the war he finished up in Berlin, and was a courier for the team guarding War Criminals.  He didn't get involved with the bigwigs (or if he did, he didn't talk about it).

 

Because I studied languages and had lived in Eastern Germany as a student, I visit Germany now and again. In the late 2000s, I mentioned I was going to Berlin and he told me about the street near Charlottenburg where he had lived 60 years previously, so I went and took some pictures of the area for him. 

 

He told me that he has never seen anything like the devastation he saw in Berlin just after the end of the war.  He was amazed that so many survived in the ruins.

 

He said the Russian soldiers there were really poor, too - thin, sickly and scruffy. And they stole anything you left out if you turned your back on them. 

[Dr The Singh]

Ancestry have been part of the Khalsa Fauj, my ancestry made swords for the fauj, the same anvil still exists.

 

Recent history includes many of my family In the Sikh Regiment and more recent.inthe British army.

 

Lots of stories,.my dad told.me about the 66 India Pakistan war, and my grandfather tools his tractor and sword and faught at the border.

 

On a personal note, I was in 1986 after operation bluestar, my dad's brother had died and we had to go to the Punjab, I remember we having to hide on our travels and take back routes and hide from security forces and police, as Sikhs were routinely killed in fake encounters.  I remember one encounter enroute to Delhi airport, we got stopped, my father hid under the suitcases, I had to untie my hair and look like a girl.  The police were ready to harm us, the only thing that saved us was our passports, they beat the driver, dragged my out of the car, and asked for 10,000 rupees or they would kill us.  One of the most scariest moments in my life, I remember crying in the back seat.  I remember never wanted to ever go back.

[Bellend Sebastian]

My Dad's family moved around the Southeast during the War, and his older sister remembers watching the Battle of Britain playing out in the skies overhead.

 

Got a bit too close for comfort on a couple of occasions - one of their houses was bomb damaged while they were out at the cinema, of all places, and someone in the family has got my Nan's blanket with bullet holes in from being on the washing line when an RAF fighter was pursuing a German aircraft at rooftop level.

 

My Great Uncle was incarcerated in Colditz, but how he ended up there I have literally no idea. He's long gone and I don't know his children but I hope that story's been passed on