Abandoning our ex forces

[Boggle4137]

On 19/10/2018 at 07:47, MattyF said:

When I was in my early twenty’s and bored of tree work , we used to do a lot of council work in old people’s homes , one old fella who was always out side digging over flower beds or cutting hedges , just doing his own thing away from the other old folk sitting in the tv room,I would always have a chat with , he seemed very stable and not hysterical when dealing with trees ...he had briefly mentioned some thing about the desert rats and North Africa... any ways a few months later I was back on the site clearing some ivy blown tree and I stop to have are usual chat about trees and stuff and I tell him about an interview with the tank corps as I’m thinking about joining .... he looks at me , starts crying and tells me not to do it nothing for him will ever get rid of the memories of seeing young men, his friends in Bren carriers being cut to pieces by machine guns in El Alamein pass or blown to to bits in hedge rows.. i realises then why this guy was always out side by himself and keeping himself busy as he was being constantly haunted ..it did start quite a morbid obsession for me to find out more about what the dude had seen but put me off joining the militarmilitar

That's a shame it out you off. When all is said and done the army did a tremendous amount for me, I went to this of places around the world, went sky diving, worked with prince harry, bungie jumped and a ton of other things that I could not have done with any company or firm in the UK. I also made friends for life. It's not all doom and gloom being in the army, I'm sure guys on here will tell you the same.

[Rich Rule]

On 19/10/2018 at 08:47, MattyF said:

When I was in my early twenty’s and bored of tree work , we used to do a lot of council work in old people’s homes , one old fella who was always out side digging over flower beds or cutting hedges , just doing his own thing away from the other old folk sitting in the tv room,I would always have a chat with , he seemed very stable and not hysterical when dealing with trees ...he had briefly mentioned some thing about the desert rats and North Africa... any ways a few months later I was back on the site clearing some ivy blown tree and I stop to have are usual chat about trees and stuff and I tell him about an interview with the tank corps as I’m thinking about joining .... he looks at me , starts crying and tells me not to do it nothing for him will ever get rid of the memories of seeing young men, his friends in Bren carriers being cut to pieces by machine guns in El Alamein pass or blown to to bits in hedge rows.. i realises then why this guy was always out side by himself and keeping himself busy as he was being constantly haunted ..it did start quite a morbid obsession for me to find out more about what the dude had seen but put me off joining the military.

I had a similar experience whilst doing my secondary school education.  We were doing poetry bay the war poets in GCSE English.  At the end we had to write and essay after interviewing someone who served in the war.

 

When I was a kid, an old couple over the road used to look after me.  So I went round to interview my uncle Joe as my mam mentioned he had served.

 

I sat down with him and asked him about his time.  He just looked at a wall and slowly started to cry.  Sat there for 5 minutes, crying and not saying a word.  He then just got up and walked out the room.  

 

He was in a Prisoner of War camp in Burma and just the thought of the atrocities he had witnessed at the hands of the Japanese was too much.

 

I felt terrible.

 

Was he making it up Vesp?

[stihlmadasever]

1 hour ago, Boggle4137 said:

It's not all doom and gloom being in the army, I'm sure guys on here will tell you the same.

Absolutley!

Its a bond that never diminishes.

I can meet up with some of the lads

(Havent done in some years now)

and we click back into how we always are with each other.Everyones a wanker and your a puff if you get pissed after 4 pints(me!)

?

Edited October 20, 2018 by stihlmadasever

[stihlmadasever]

Some of the older generation who fought in conflicts across the globe have had to deal with the aftermath of witnessing horrors first hand in ww2 and all our unknown wars since.

My own grampa was a para in ww2 and i knew he saw action but it was never spoke about in the family.

Only at his funeral did i hear he fought in normandy,holland and his section helped liberate a detention camp in germany.I cant imagine the horrors he and his mates saw in that camp and the preceeding hard fighting to get to germany.He was such a character,always laughing,even with a rollie hanging out his gob.

Never mentioned war,never even mentioned it to my mother when i joined up....

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by stihlmadasever

[Rich Rule]

The older generation...

 

One of my good friends in Manchester found out after his great Uncles funeral, via the Jewish chronicle, that he was one of the Brigand of Nazi Hunters.  A group of Jewish soldiers took it upon them selves to track down and kill Nazis.  The film Inglorious Bastards is based on their exploits.  

 

The point I am trying to make, he was a hero within the Jewish community yet nobody, or very few, including his family knew anything about it.  

 

My mate was immensly proud when the article paid tribute to his great uncle.

[felixthelogchopper]

2 hours ago, Rich Rule said:

The older generation...

 

One of my good friends in Manchester found out after his great Uncles funeral, via the Jewish chronicle, that he was one of the Brigand of Nazi Hunters.  A group of Jewish soldiers took it upon them selves to track down and kill Nazis.  The film Inglorious Bastards is based on their exploits.  

 

The point I am trying to make, he was a hero within the Jewish community yet nobody, or very few, including his family knew anything about it.  

 

My mate was immensly proud when the article paid tribute to his great uncle.

The SAS and SOE also had an unofficial hunting team when the war in Europe finished and the SAS had officially been disbanded there. They were looking for those responsible for the deaths of agents and the murders under Hitler's infamous Commando order of SAS personnel. Google a guy called Prince Yurka Galitzine for an interesting subject. You can do the same for Major Bill Barkworth, SAS, and Vera Atkins who worked in the French section of SOE. Vera was particularly interested in the disappearance of 4 female SOE operatives, including Noor Inayat Khan, at Struthof Natzweiler. They had some interesting techniques, including the use of a Ouija board.

[Rough Hewn]

The SAS and SOE also had an unofficial hunting team when the war in Europe finished and the SAS had officially been disbanded there. They were looking for those responsible for the deaths of agents and the murders under Hitler's infamous Commando order of SAS personnel. Google a guy called Prince Yurka Galitzine for an interesting subject. You can do the same for Major Bill Barkworth, SAS, and Vera Atkins who worked in the French section of SOE. Vera was particularly interested in the disappearance of 4 female SOE operatives, including Noor Inayat Khan, at Struthof Natzweiler. They had some interesting techniques, including the use of a Ouija board.

My grandmother was in SOE from 41/42 til the end of the war in Europe.
My mum contacted MI6 to try to find out more history.
Got the usual reply. Unheaded letter.
We cannot confirm nor deny....
That was a few years ago, apparently Kew archives have just started to release files from the war.

[felixthelogchopper]

9 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

My grandmother was in SOE from 41/42 til the end of the war in Europe.
My mum contacted MI6 to try to find out more history.
Got the usual reply. Unheaded letter.
We cannot confirm nor deny....
That was a few years ago, apparently Kew archives have just started to release files from the war.

My Dad was an evacuee in Salcombe during WW2 and remembered seeing fishing boats coming up the creek that were flying the Tricolore. He used to be out at odd times with the lovely family who took him in, hunting rabbits and the like. It wasn't until a few years ago that we found out that the fishing boats were part of SOE.

[mawsonarb]

I did 13 years multiple tours... i did my time i recived a brilliant amount of resettlement... Its alot about what type of soldier you were in my opinion.. If you could adapt and overcome in... And in the most extreme circumstances whilst in theatre then why cant you apply that in civi street? I miss being on tour.. It was brilliant.. Did i see some bad things.. Yes i did but should you use it as an excuse out here... No i dont think so... I think the help we recive now is pretty dam good... Ex blokes need to just get on with it sometimes and stop self pittying... In my opinion.. Is there some blokes that get out with issues yes do they need help.. Yes.. But there are alot of excuse makers too..

[VTS]

On 17/10/2018 at 22:09, Mark Wileman said:

God I miss Larium!

larium dreams