I'm sure your right Nolic, I thought you might pick up on the thread when I posted again. I hope the new job is going OK. I am still on with my Uni course and have an assignment to complete and an exam on the horizon in about 3 weeks so I have to share the computer time between work and pleasure at the moment. I still have a couple of pictures to post and snippets from dads diary that give an insight into the day to day life of a soldier. One or two tales to tell yet. 

Here are some of my dads room mates, I don't know who took the photo, it could have been my dad as he's not in the shot. Looks like they are outside the Police Detention Room on camp.

Next photo shows them on a training excercise on Sandskeio Plain.

Edited by - panbiker on 31 May 2007 18:49:38

Like many people in the forces who served in a major war, he was very reluctant to talk about his experiences. However, he would never under any circumstances go camping for pleasure, saying he'd had enough of it in the army. He would also never eat a hard boiled egg after a nasty encounter with one in Burma. And once, a Japanese bullet whistled half an inch above his head, and he decided there WAS a God after all.

And that's basically all I could ever get out of him.

I don't for one moment suppose that any of the other guys in the photo will be identified - but OGFB never ceases to amaze me with what it tips up.

Staff Sgt Harry D. Sheldrick, Royal Engineers 1939-1946.

Good pictures Cally, any further information on you dad such as his regiment or anything else that may be relevant to the other guys in the photo. Like you say you never know what may turn up from the members of One Guy. My dad was just the same about his war service, never said a great deal at all, I just have snippets of info gleaned from his papers and the stuff he retained from his service years. He would not even discuss the B.E.M. that he was awarded. All he would say is that he was doing his job, anyone else would have done the same thing? The citation reads "For the hazardous handling of ammunition and explosives" He never explained the circumstances.

His service in the Army was planned to some degree as he joined the Territorials before war broke out, he always said that he thought that was the smart thing to do so that he was trained before war was declared. He kept a diary for 1940 and part of 1941 but I have no more info after that.

His story starts again after the war when he was discharged and after 18months on the dole (no trade) he was accepted on a government training scheme for the building trade. This consisted of building the Bracken Bank estate in Keighley. All the men on the scheme were trained in the various trades throughout the 3 year construction project. He emerged with skills of bricklaying, building and plastering which saw him through his entire working life and put bread on the table for mum and three kids.

I'm thinking of putting some of the snippets from his diary on the site, a fascinating insight into one guy from barlick's experiences in the Dukes in Iceland.

My mum was 16 when the war ended, and she also went to work there, in the office. Her boss was called Mr Ryecroft, and he told her not to get married till she'd met this nice young man who worked for him before the war. At the same time, he wrote to my dad and told him to wait till he got home before choosing a wife.

Although there was a 15-year age difference, sure enough they hit it off when they met up and were married in 1949.

After my dad died in 1983, mum was going through the few things he'd kept as mementos, including his service medals ... and Mr Ryecroft's letter to him in Burma.