Parents' Wartime Involvement

[Hoddy]

Health was also taken into consideration Idun. My father was 39 in 1939 and was medically unfit.

Perhaps there was some sort of sliding scale.

[Patf]

Gardengirl - re homing pigeons - there's a whole room devoted to homing pigeons at Bletchley Park.

On the WW2Talk forum I mentioned above I had some contact with someone in USA who asked me to translate messages in french that she'd found, which had been sent and received via these clever birds to resistance workers in France. Which I did for a while.

They must have saved many lives.

[Pommier]

Department71, My Dad was in the same sort of areas as yours. He went to North Africa, then Sicily, then to Anzio in Italy and up through Italy I think to Rome.

My uncle was a fire watcher in Birmingham and was killed in 1942 whilst fire watching.

[Hoddy]

Pommier that has just reminded me of something that happened to OH and me. At a family 'do' we were chatting about a holiday we'd had which included a visit to Salerno. OH's uncle said quietly, "I've been to Salerno. I just approached it from a different direction from you." Once they were installed he'd enjoyed roaming around Pompeii at will.

[Gardengirl]

Ah, yes, Idun & Hoddy, he would have been 33, but in the family it was always said he was too old; in fact, he had rheumatic heart disease, which I had forgotten about, as he hadn't liked it to be thought he had wriggled out of war service somehow.

Funny how the brain gets used to a particular version of events. He had started out in the coal mine when too young to go underground, but was banned from mine work after his rheumatic fever.

Patf, that sounds fascinating, I hadn't heard about that. I'm planning to take my husband there for his birthday in May, so I'll be sure to see the homing pigeon room. Thank you for that information.

[Cendrillon]

Guardian, the Imperial War museum would be interested to see your dad's wartime diary

[Department71]

[quote user="Pommier"]Department71, My Dad was in the same sort of areas as yours. He went to North Africa, then Sicily, then to Anzio in Italy and up through Italy I think to Rome. [/quote]

Pommier, have just spent a couple of hours going through dads records. It seems he embarked from the Uk 20/3.41 and disembarked  Egypt 9.05.41. I know he mentioned Tobruk and Tripoli but in what context I can't remember, more then likely some kind of disturbance from the Germans. He did say once he was behind enemy lines on some kind of operation with an officer.

Can't make out when he sailed to Italy as most of the records used abbreviations for locations, he was also in the push up through Italy as your dad, I have a copy of a message from the "army commander" Monty? regarding the good work dads unit did to get through the Argenta position on the way up through Italy, yes my dad did make it to Rome and  further as Argenta is in northern Italy but from there I don't know.

When you are young its not the first thing you think about talking about its only when its too late it springs to mind.

[Chancer]

Aint that the truth [:(]

 

Probably the only downside I have experienced of having older parents and not ever having had an old head on my shoulders, now that there is so much that I would like to know it is way too late to ever learn.

[Patf]

It's not too late, Chancer.

There's a whole lot on the WW2Talk forum I mentioned above about the Italy campaign, some people even visit the places and trace their ancestors progress (or not.) Lots of photographs etc.

My Dad was in one the ships that supported the landings.

That campaign was one of the main turning points in the war. We need to remember them, especially as it puts into perspective some of the current troubles.

[Chancer]

PatF

 

I welcome hundreds of guests a year who are visiting the graves and/or battlefields of where their ancestors fought or fell.

 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them