War i have known... well tho others anyway
grandad was at Ypres, a cook with a cavilry "mob of toffs" who all got mown down so he eneded up in a trench. He remembered being snipped at as he had a shit once and claimed that his cap badge was bent from a bullet (tho they all claimed that). He laso rememberd the first few days the officers went "over the top" at the head of there men, but so many got shot from behind they they went after thier men shooting anyone who tried to go back.....
My other grandad spent days makeing Welligtons and Halifaxes and night times defending the factory on the roof "fire watching" armed with a bucket of water and one of sand. Standing right on the traget! He went on to build Victor bombers...
My auntie spend the war sleeping with yanks and retains ataste for sheep fur coats and nylons, married a chec eventuly.
My dad did national service in Egypt and took the safetly of fhis rifel once to shoot a "mad dog" which he thought ment a local "terrorist" call Mad dog but thurened out to be a real dag which someone eles shot anyway. Since then hes hated Abroad/Arabs and the military in all guises.
The wife bought her dads pay book back here. he was in korea, taught at Hong Kong army school, trying to get Americans not to march on sky lines and in one great big lump. He liked Americans individualy but said as a group they loose all inteligence. His best mate got killed by an american plane bombing the wrong hill. And once they left a hill in the charge of an Amrican company and returned next day to get shot at as they had abandoned it without telling anyone. He must have ben a good soldier tho, sargent three times (selling army stores, and then deserted in germany to live with a lady, got bored returned to glass house lol) corpral many times too...up and down like a fidlers elbow!
Had a mate who fought unheroicly up Italy WW2
Couple of stories he told me. Once they were held up in a farm house, it was night. Thier comanding officer was the type who came alive when danger was about ("pricked up his ears" he said) and they hear a Tiger tank startup...
"take that PAIT go upstairs and try to knock that tank out" throwing a piat to one of the guys...
"Fuck off.." was the answer and the pait thrown back and all the other lads leveling thier rifels at the officer.....
They had been in a village and one of the officers got killed, they ran and left his body behind. They asked for volenteers to get get the body and most of the lads hid till they stoped asking.
Once they were held up by a mad german who was in a church. Eventuly after some casulties they bought up mortars. Destroyed the church, and the German emerged haveing got most of his own men killed and a few of "ours" he was all white with plaster and started shouting about the Genevea convention....so they dragged him off down the hedge and "shoot his arse off"
sidecar jon, if you take my advice you are in deeper trouble than i thought.
