apparently the Parisians were so thrilled and grateful that they kept climbing on to the tank, and several young women showed their gratitude by flinging themselves at the soldiers inside. But Uncle Roger missed out on this: he confided to my brother - not to me, of course! - that he couldn't join in the Bacchanal as he had to keep driving the tank!
Your grandfather had a good war too - it must have been horrifying being surrounded by starving people, but at least he was able to do what he could to help them. War, eh.
Kingsday sounds good fun. I can't imagine good King Charles encouraging anything like it. We are currently supposed to be celebrating VE day, but apart from newpaper front pages showing the royal family (again!) standing on a balcony watching planes fly past, there haven't been any mass celebrations, although there are probably street parties in some areas. Not in Brighton, of course.
But I am tempted to wear my grandgather's and my father's medals, just to show that I support our fighting men and women. My grandfather joined up before he was old enough - he was 16. He was a drummer boy in a regimental band. My father was in the Middle East in WW2, and I still have some mementos of his time there, including a dagger and two inlaid tables from Damascus, and his diary. His younger brother Vince was killed in the D-Day landings, sadly. My Uncle Roger drove a tank into Paris at the Liberation in 1944. And I'm proud of them all.
You're getting me going now. My Grandad was a scout attached to Canadian forces during the liberation of the Netherlands (apparently Canada didn't have enough people crazy enough to do the job...), and brought back a few mementos as well. After VE day, one of his jobs was commandeering stuff from Germany and distributing it to Dutch civilians who had literally nothing - no food in the cupboard, all their furniture burned to keep warm in the winter, etc. He came home with a couple of interesting bits and pieces - two vases - presumably, items there were no takers for.
Ah, so you’re also in the Netherlands! 🇳🇱 gezellig, he?
Innerdaad! Jammer dat wij geen Nederlandstalig clique had kunnen formeren afgelopen weekend, maar, ja … wij zijn vooral Engelstalig schrijvers…
I’m an American born and now Dutch person, dus… I write mostly in English. :)
Yes, Uncle Roger...
apparently the Parisians were so thrilled and grateful that they kept climbing on to the tank, and several young women showed their gratitude by flinging themselves at the soldiers inside. But Uncle Roger missed out on this: he confided to my brother - not to me, of course! - that he couldn't join in the Bacchanal as he had to keep driving the tank!
Your grandfather had a good war too - it must have been horrifying being surrounded by starving people, but at least he was able to do what he could to help them. War, eh.
Kingsday sounds good fun. I can't imagine good King Charles encouraging anything like it. We are currently supposed to be celebrating VE day, but apart from newpaper front pages showing the royal family (again!) standing on a balcony watching planes fly past, there haven't been any mass celebrations, although there are probably street parties in some areas. Not in Brighton, of course.
But I am tempted to wear my grandgather's and my father's medals, just to show that I support our fighting men and women. My grandfather joined up before he was old enough - he was 16. He was a drummer boy in a regimental band. My father was in the Middle East in WW2, and I still have some mementos of his time there, including a dagger and two inlaid tables from Damascus, and his diary. His younger brother Vince was killed in the D-Day landings, sadly. My Uncle Roger drove a tank into Paris at the Liberation in 1944. And I'm proud of them all.
You're getting me going now. My Grandad was a scout attached to Canadian forces during the liberation of the Netherlands (apparently Canada didn't have enough people crazy enough to do the job...), and brought back a few mementos as well. After VE day, one of his jobs was commandeering stuff from Germany and distributing it to Dutch civilians who had literally nothing - no food in the cupboard, all their furniture burned to keep warm in the winter, etc. He came home with a couple of interesting bits and pieces - two vases - presumably, items there were no takers for.
There's a novel in Uncle Roger's tank, surely...?