Walter (#9061),
... Although I was condemned to working hard on the railways, It's likely that I kept in better health than I would have been in the Stalag. However, I'd hate to do it all again...
I have read that the population of Britain were in better general health in the wartime years of rationing and privation than ever they have been since (in particular, obesity was very rare !)
You have the gifted raconteur's art of always leaving your listeners wanting to hear "further and better particulars". Now I'm all agog to know - Did the Germans manage to recapture you and if so were you on the "Long March" ? Or did you reach Allied (which ones ?) troops - or did they find you first ? (Must be patient, I suppose !)
Chugalug (#9062),
...I'd hate to do it all again!
What a refreshingly honest comment! I'm always suspicious of those who had "a good war". Even if you'd had a comfortable one, it would take an enormous lack of imagination not to dwell on the prodigious waste of life and the massive destruction being suffered by friend and foe alike...
Peccavi (I have sinned !) Although you could rightly describe my war as a "comfortable" one, and it was certainly a safe one ("the greatest danger on our 'ops' was of spraining your ankle, jumping down from the wing when you got back", we said). But then, although sympathising with the less fortunate, and the relatives of the dead, I'm sorry to say that we put them out of mind, and got on with whatever war we'd been given. It was a case of "Much as my heart bleeds for you, * Jack,
I am in the dinghy" (note *: this is sometimes expressed differently).
Mea Maxima Culpa ! - ♫ Lord, have mercy on such as we ♫
Cheers, both,
Danny.
PS: I've done my Penance already last night. Laboured for an hour on Notepad, putting names and other details to the pic on "Fly Past", polished it all up, nothing to do now but copy 'n paste onto PPRuNepad, eyesight not too good and very tired, did
something, beastly gremlin struck, all vanished. Panic - so instead of hitting Ctrl+Z, tried to fix myself, no joy. Went to bed.
All to do again now.
D.