What Grandad did in the War.......

gubble

I've deliberately separated this post from my other one as it's not about my grandparents and represents a very different side of the war.

My neighbours growing up were an older Polish couple. Very nice people. They'd both lived through WW2 and having got together after the war they moved to England and settled down.

He was born into what appears to have been a very well to do family in Poland. He was conscripted into the army and having not a single hair on his head (no eyebrows, eyelashes the guy looked like uncle fester) the CO was worried he'd be an easy target so ordered him to wear a wig. Not sure what he did after the polish defeat however back home his family consisting of father, mother, brothers and sisters (he was the eldest child) were forced out of their home one day, walked into the woods and then executed by the Germans. Quite how this man went on to lead such a 'normal' life after this I don't understand.

His wife (who I'm sure is still alive) was rounded up by the Germans. She was marched through the night to a concentration camp where she somehow managed to survive the duration of the war.

duotone

My Grandad spent his time Training troops in Nigeria/Africa, then went onto India then Burma. 

Got a couple of photos & his machete from that time.  Unfortunately he is no longer around. 

Moominpapa

Never had any contact with one grandfather (some bad blood in the family) and the other died before I was born. I know my dad was an engineer in the Royal Navy during WW2 and served on HMS Brocklesby, but he died when I was fairly young and I've always regretted that I never got chance to talk to him about his service.

EricTheWeary

Did my paternal grandad story earlier but we've got an ivory chess set he brought back from Burma - seem to have been a lot on this Discussion who went to Burma and it reminded me of this. His medals got lost somewhere unfortunately. 

My maternal grandfather was something to do with food supplies, my father in law did national service in the RAF and my father had a reserved occupation as a draughtsman for Beans Industries ( which eventually became part of Triumph and then British Leyland). 

My paternal grandmother also worked for Beans during the war using a fly press to stamp out parts for military trucks. Because there were no safety shields she was notable for being good enough at it to not lose any digits, her sister Mary had the same job and lost her thumb. 

slacker

My paternal Grandfather was a lorry driver and served in (then) Palestine and Italy. He never told me much even though as a little kid was obsessed by the war. He did admit to using a machine gun but wouldnt tell anymore. He died in 1989. My Maternal Grandfather was too old to serve and worked as a mechanic for the PO and was in the Home Guard. He died in 1965. 

ESBlonde

My paternal Grandfather was a farmer with his two school aged sons so reserved occupation. My Paternal Granfather was more of a characture. He had two Birthdays because his drunkard father forgot to register his birth in time and also spelt his surname wrong on the form so he had a slightly different name!
He ran away from home to join up under age in the first world war, he trained as a Lewis machine gunner. He was wounded in the leg (3 bullet holes) near Ypres and shipped back home and excused further front line service so trained other gunners. He was older and Married when WWII came along but scrawled "gone to join up" in lipstick on the mirror rather than face my grandmother. Being unfit through the earlier service wound he was shipped to Canada for training as an expert on the Lewis gun, after the war he returned and tried to persued my grandmother to emigrate to Canada, but instead he stayed where the family had been evacuated to in Norfolk near the broads. Here he met a factory owner on vacation and 'fixed' his ailing motor launch. He was offered a job in Leicester sorting out the looms and the family joined him there. A few years later my mother met my father in Leicester and I'm one of the products.

HAL9000

Being too young, my paternal grandfather lied about his age so that he could enlist in WW1. He was posted to the Dardanelles. His father, being too old, also lied about his age so that he could enlist. Bizarrely, he was also posted to the Dardanelles. As far as I know they didn't bump into each other, but I like the fact that it was even a possibility.

mudslide73

Tanker mechanic in Egypt then North Africa and the other was Home Guard. Sadly never got to meet either of them. 

dano

I never met either of my granddad's so this is all family word of mouth.

My mother's dad  was a copper in Liverpool during WW2 and spent most of the war on the docks keeping order and stopping thieves and smugglers. He also spent a lot of time rescuing people after the bombings. Liverpool was bombed  to shit so it was a fairly horrific job.


My dad's dad was in the signals. Spent a lot of time in the far east. Was one of the few to escape Singapore and spent most of 41-43 in the jungles of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand engagement in guerilla activities. i believe he then went to India  about 43/44 as there was a threatened Japanese invasion of India but I'm unable to find much history of that. 

If anyone knows about a potential Japanese invasion of India WW2 I'd be interested to know.

skunkwerx

Its terrible war. But I have a feeling me old Great Grandad is up there smiling to himself that 70 odd years after the event, a group of guitar nuts have come together to share stories and admiration for his generation. 

My thanks go out to all our relatives! 

holnrew

Got shot in Sicily

HAL9000

My uncle was awarded a DFC for continuing a bombing run despite a having a badly damaged and barely flyable Lancaster. He was something like seventeen. Would I have been so brave? I doubt it.

My grandad lied about his age during the first war so that he could join up. His father also lied about his age, but in the opposite direction, so that he could join up. They both got posted to the Dardanelles (although as far as is known they didn’t meet up).

Musicwolf

My Grandad brought down a German plane.  He didn't get a medal or anything.

Mind you, this was in 1972.

crunchman

My paternal grandfather was a farmer so a reserved occupation.  He did tell some stories about the prisoners of war he got sent to help on the farm.  Apparently the German one worked really hard, and the Italians were lazy.

My maternal grandfather injured his leg very badly in a motorbike accident.  It was never right the rest of his life, and he wasn't fit enough to be called up.  I think he just worked through the war in his normal job.

One of my great grandfathers fought in World War 1.  We think he lied about his age to join up, as he would only have been 15 or 16 at the start of the war.  He never talked about it at all.

EricTheWeary

EricTheWeary said:

I've mentioned it a few times on here. It wasn't a thing I knew about for a long time and I'm fairly sure my grandad never mentioned it but he was one of the survivors of the RMS Lancastria. Churchill banned press coverage of it during the war  and the incident has never been officially been recognised by Westminster ( although it has by the Scottish parliament and there is a memorial to it in St Nazaire in France).
The Dunkirk evacuation only took some of the British troops out of France. There was a second go (operation Ariel I think) to take the remainder and the former cruise ship Lancastria was sent to pick people up. No one knows an exact figure or anything like but around 5000 people were killed when it was bombed setting sail out of St Nazaire making it the greatest British naval disaster of all time. 
He still had to go back in the army after all that, ended up as gun instructor I think. Very hard, difficult man after the war but knowing something of what he went through does explain some of that. 

I wrote that in Feb 2017! In 2018 on our holiday we went to St Nazaire for the day. Slightly grim seaport but we saw the memorial to the Lancastria and had a look at the remaining U Boat pens ( there is an actual U Boat in one of them as well). Several war memorials up and down the beach road. 

Not everyone’s idea of a fun day out but I thought it was interesting. 

https://i.imgur.com/wjjkwt5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lBpz5ZW.jpg

strtdv

My great grandfather was killed at the Somme in 1916. He'd emigrated from Ireland to Canada but then signed up with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
We did a family holiday touring Northern France and Belgium, mainly sites of battles, memorials and museums, and visited his grave when we were there.
The people responsible for the upkeep of the war graves do a first class job.

EricTheWeary

strtdv said:

My great grandfather was killed at the Somme in 1916. He'd emigrated from Ireland to Canada but then signed up with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
We did a family holiday touring Northern France and Belgium, mainly sites of battles, memorials and museums, and visited his grave when we were there.
The people responsible for the upkeep of the war graves do a first class job.

We’ve been to Ypres and it’s Menin Gate which is the huge WWI  memorial where they play the Last Post every night. Lovely town as well, beautifully restored old buildings. 

We’ve been twice, last time there was a vintage car rally driving through the memorial:

https://i.imgur.com/bAbWfY7.jpg

I haven’t particularly gone to look at war graves but there are several around there, one almost in the centre of the town and, as you say, immaculately kept. 

TheOtherDennis

Musicwolf said:

My Grandad brought down a German plane.  He didn't get a medal or anything.

Mind you, this was in 1972.

I went to recordings of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue in Nottingham a couple of times, and in their infamous introductions they had this (not verbatim, as I'm dredging this from a 20 year oldish memory) - 

"Nottingham is also the home of [whoever he was], who was one of the leading Spitfire pilots of the RAF, shooting down over 30 German planes before he was finally banned from East Midlands Airport."

Philly_Q

My paternal grandfather was in the Merchant Navy during the war.  I'm only learning this now from Google, but he was the captain of a ship called the MV Guernsey Queen and was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross - to be honest I don't know how significant an award that is.  I wish I knew more.

My maternal grandfather was in the Home Guard in Mumbles.

blobb

Philly_Q said:

...I don't know how significant an award that is.  I wish I knew more.

My maternal grandfather was in the Home Guard in Mumbles.

Pretty significant. Third highest order, VC being #1.