Instead of Hijacking Urban Sports' Thread
Discussion
WorAl said:
On guard duty again, in the desert, he spotted some of the men listening to the radio, he couldn't hear it but he could see the red light for the on/off. He marched over and told them to turn it off as it was highly visible. They point blank refused to believe that anyone could see the light, so wouldn't turn it off.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
Not so many heroic stories from my late Grandad, but one which always makes me smile.
My Grandad was a Royal Engineer ... well, actually he was a plumber but his regiment was the Engineers. During the Dunkirk evacuation, they were stationed too far away to get there, so they marched to Le Havre. As they arrived a Le Havre, the boat they were SUPPOSED to be on was leaving, so they were billeted on another ship. They watched their intended ship blow up and sink.
They were told to go down below, my Grandad decided he'd rather spend his time on deck, so found himself a cubby hole and bedded down there for the trip. They were at sea for 8 days - where they went he had no idea, but they were out for a long time for what was quite a short journey in a straight line. As they approached land (he could see the shoreline of Liverpool) he thought he should get himself prepared, so (being a plumber, and having his tools in his pack) he found a hot water pipe and tapped off enough to fill his billy can. He had a wash and a shave in piping hot water, then got some more hot water to wash his hair and some of his clothes. The ship docked in Liverpool, and the rest of the passengers came out of the hold, blinking in the sun, unwashed, with 8 days of beard growth. He looked as though he'd come straight out of "Dapper Dan's Tonsorialist".
He also spent a lot of time in Gibraltar, apparently he's one of the reasons why they rock is honeycombed with big holes.
My Grandad was a Royal Engineer ... well, actually he was a plumber but his regiment was the Engineers. During the Dunkirk evacuation, they were stationed too far away to get there, so they marched to Le Havre. As they arrived a Le Havre, the boat they were SUPPOSED to be on was leaving, so they were billeted on another ship. They watched their intended ship blow up and sink.
They were told to go down below, my Grandad decided he'd rather spend his time on deck, so found himself a cubby hole and bedded down there for the trip. They were at sea for 8 days - where they went he had no idea, but they were out for a long time for what was quite a short journey in a straight line. As they approached land (he could see the shoreline of Liverpool) he thought he should get himself prepared, so (being a plumber, and having his tools in his pack) he found a hot water pipe and tapped off enough to fill his billy can. He had a wash and a shave in piping hot water, then got some more hot water to wash his hair and some of his clothes. The ship docked in Liverpool, and the rest of the passengers came out of the hold, blinking in the sun, unwashed, with 8 days of beard growth. He looked as though he'd come straight out of "Dapper Dan's Tonsorialist".
He also spent a lot of time in Gibraltar, apparently he's one of the reasons why they rock is honeycombed with big holes.
Edited by aclivity on Thursday 11th February 17:05
WorAl said:
On guard duty again, in the desert, he spotted some of the men listening to the radio, he couldn't hear it but he could see the red light for the on/off. He marched over and told them to turn it off as it was highly visible. They point blank refused to believe that anyone could see the light, so wouldn't turn it off.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
Would the noise of the bullet not have given their position away a little more than the radio light?He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
Edited by 10JH on Thursday 1st April 01:01
TEKNOPUG said:
WorAl said:
On guard duty again, in the desert, he spotted some of the men listening to the radio, he couldn't hear it but he could see the red light for the on/off. He marched over and told them to turn it off as it was highly visible. They point blank refused to believe that anyone could see the light, so wouldn't turn it off.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
Edited by 911motorsport on Thursday 1st April 15:01
Nothing quite as heroic, but I was quite intrigued to find out what my grandfathers had done.
On my dad's side my grandfather was originally involved trained for airbourne assault - I think he may have been training as a glider pilot but I'm not sure - before they had a shortage of engineers and he got transferred to the REME. He was heavily involved in the Mulberry Harbour project and went ashore the day after D-Day. Once into Europe he was involved in building bridges, but also taking them down. Two of his recollections stand out. The first was directing what's thought to be the British Army's last ever 'core shoot', were all the guns in the area were directed on one target. The second was being crouched behind a bank within site of German troops as a pair of Mosquitos came in at about 50ft altitude and took a bridge out for them. After the war he was involved in the reconstruction, during which time he lived on a canal boat on the Rhine - half of which was submerged having been bombed!
We know a lot less about my grandfather on my mum's side. Despite being around until I was about 9 he never really spoke of what he did during the war. We know he volunteered for the BEF in 1939, got taken off the beach at Dunkirk and subsequently ended up in Africa. After he died it turned out he had a stack of medals - he'd kept them hidden and my grandmother never thought to mention it.
On my dad's side my grandfather was originally involved trained for airbourne assault - I think he may have been training as a glider pilot but I'm not sure - before they had a shortage of engineers and he got transferred to the REME. He was heavily involved in the Mulberry Harbour project and went ashore the day after D-Day. Once into Europe he was involved in building bridges, but also taking them down. Two of his recollections stand out. The first was directing what's thought to be the British Army's last ever 'core shoot', were all the guns in the area were directed on one target. The second was being crouched behind a bank within site of German troops as a pair of Mosquitos came in at about 50ft altitude and took a bridge out for them. After the war he was involved in the reconstruction, during which time he lived on a canal boat on the Rhine - half of which was submerged having been bombed!
We know a lot less about my grandfather on my mum's side. Despite being around until I was about 9 he never really spoke of what he did during the war. We know he volunteered for the BEF in 1939, got taken off the beach at Dunkirk and subsequently ended up in Africa. After he died it turned out he had a stack of medals - he'd kept them hidden and my grandmother never thought to mention it.
911motorsport said:
TEKNOPUG said:
WorAl said:
On guard duty again, in the desert, he spotted some of the men listening to the radio, he couldn't hear it but he could see the red light for the on/off. He marched over and told them to turn it off as it was highly visible. They point blank refused to believe that anyone could see the light, so wouldn't turn it off.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
Edited by 911motorsport on Thursday 1st April 15:01
10JH said:
WorAl said:
On guard duty again, in the desert, he spotted some of the men listening to the radio, he couldn't hear it but he could see the red light for the on/off. He marched over and told them to turn it off as it was highly visible. They point blank refused to believe that anyone could see the light, so wouldn't turn it off.
He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
Would the noise of the bullet not have given their position away a little more than the radio light?He said that if he could see it from that mound over there, pointing to a mound about 300 yards away, they will find out. Off he marched into the dark, reached the mound turned and put a bullet straight through the light and the radio.
Edited by 10JH on Thursday 1st April 01:01
to you.In WW2,my Dad was in the Royal Berkshire regiment, with the Gurkhas in Burma.
Although my Dad was modest about his abilities, by all accounts, he was a bit special about looking after himself.
I.E around 200 amateur boxing matches, and won "about 90% of them," or the three guys who tried to mug him.
Two got knocked out, and one "wouldn't walk straight" for a week.
Although we often asked about the war, he only ever told us the funny parts. One day though, he was at my Brother's house, and his Grandson and a friend were there.
The conversation went like this:
Grandson's Friend: "I heard that you were supposed to be hard when you were younger,but I reckon that I could have taken you out"
My Dad: "How old are you son?"
GF: "18"
My Dad: "When I wasn't much older than you, I had to kill a Japanese soldier WITH MY BARE HANDS."
Silence!
Tim
Although my Dad was modest about his abilities, by all accounts, he was a bit special about looking after himself.
I.E around 200 amateur boxing matches, and won "about 90% of them," or the three guys who tried to mug him.
Two got knocked out, and one "wouldn't walk straight" for a week.
Although we often asked about the war, he only ever told us the funny parts. One day though, he was at my Brother's house, and his Grandson and a friend were there.
The conversation went like this:
Grandson's Friend: "I heard that you were supposed to be hard when you were younger,but I reckon that I could have taken you out"
My Dad: "How old are you son?"
GF: "18"
My Dad: "When I wasn't much older than you, I had to kill a Japanese soldier WITH MY BARE HANDS."
Silence!
Tim
catman said:
Although we often asked about the war, he only ever told us the funny parts.
My grandad was much the same. Though a week or so before he died he came out with some shocking stuff, don't remember most of it as he was crying and I was more concerned about that.There were some photographs to go with what he was telling me.
One I remember, was of a German Paratrooper lying on the floor absolutely covered with bullet holes and I really mean full of them, hundreds. Obviously at the time it must have been one of his/their kills and they took a photograph of him to celebrate or whatever. From what I remember of the picture it seemed to be a desert sort of floor, bare and sandy/stoney so I'm presuming it was after they had become hardened to killing people.
Anyway, on the back of the picture was written "A German Paratrooper who didn't quite make it" I presume Grandad shot him as he cried about that for hours after showing me.
There was another story of him and a friend guarding a huge heap of Italian Grenades, known to everyone as butterfly grenades, see pic below. Not sure where it happened exactly but there was an Arab chap playing with them, his friend nudged him and said "Jim, look at him, doesn't know what they are". So they stood back and watched as the chap pulled the "wings" off (this being the same as removing a pin from a normal grenade) stood looking at it.......then it blew him up.
WorAl said:
There was another story of him and a friend guarding a huge heap of Italian Grenades, known to everyone as butterfly grenades, see pic below. Not sure where it happened exactly but there was an Arab chap playing with them, his friend nudged him and said "Jim, look at him, doesn't know what they are". So they stood back and watched as the chap pulled the "wings" off (this being the same as removing a pin from a normal grenade) stood looking at it.......then it blew him up.
I think you're getting confused.That's a rifle launched grenade, the rod was inserted into the rifle and it was fired at the enemy, the fins are to help it's flight, it's detonated by an inertia switch.
Silent1 said:
WorAl said:
There was another story of him and a friend guarding a huge heap of Italian Grenades, known to everyone as butterfly grenades, see pic below. Not sure where it happened exactly but there was an Arab chap playing with them, his friend nudged him and said "Jim, look at him, doesn't know what they are". So they stood back and watched as the chap pulled the "wings" off (this being the same as removing a pin from a normal grenade) stood looking at it.......then it blew him up.
I think you're getting confused.That's a rifle launched grenade, the rod was inserted into the rifle and it was fired at the enemy, the fins are to help it's flight, it's detonated by an inertia switch.
edit: think that's it above
Edited by WorAl on Sunday 4th April 20:45
My grandad, (mum's dad), only talked to me about his experiences once - unfortunately being a brat of a 5-year old I was more interested in watching the tv and can't remember what he said. After he died and we were packing away his stuff we found loads of interesting things from the war, one being a very rough-looking SAS badge that had the "Who dares, wins" motto hand-stitched onto it. It turns out that he was a colour-sergeant in the Argyl & Sutherland Highlanders, (even though he was from Lancashire - for some reason a lot of them ended up in that regiment), and knew David Stirling very well having been one of his instructors, (cross-regimental training).
On forming the SAS Stirling personally wrote to grandad's OC asking for him to be transfered and he was, joining the SAS right near the start. I know he fought in the desert, France & Germany but know nothing else.
I wish I'd paid more attention to him now when he tried to talk to me about it as I'm sure he had many fascinating stories to tell
Sadly all I remember of him is a very quiet, gentle man who would help anyone out who needed it and was inconsolable when his dog died.
On forming the SAS Stirling personally wrote to grandad's OC asking for him to be transfered and he was, joining the SAS right near the start. I know he fought in the desert, France & Germany but know nothing else.
I wish I'd paid more attention to him now when he tried to talk to me about it as I'm sure he had many fascinating stories to tell
Sadly all I remember of him is a very quiet, gentle man who would help anyone out who needed it and was inconsolable when his dog died.
We're reasonably sure that I had great-grandfathers on opposite sides of a very very big barbed-wire fence in WW1.
Unfortunately my grandpa Stewart died when my dad was a teenager so I never got any of the stories first-hand... his wife, my Grandma Jean worked for the civil service during WW2 and then did a few weeks as a 'land girl' during which she learned to drive a tractor.
Maternal Grandpa was only *just* old enough to see active service and was, I think, a military policeman of some sort as I know he used to be the chap they handcuffed deserters to (being as he was very 'powerfully built' as a young man and gentle as a lamb with it) - he died a couple of years ago but had Alzheimer's disease, never seemed to want to talk about his wartime experiences... and my Granny is/was a Holocaust refugee but was only 3 when she got to the UK, so no stories there either.
Unfortunately my grandpa Stewart died when my dad was a teenager so I never got any of the stories first-hand... his wife, my Grandma Jean worked for the civil service during WW2 and then did a few weeks as a 'land girl' during which she learned to drive a tractor.
Maternal Grandpa was only *just* old enough to see active service and was, I think, a military policeman of some sort as I know he used to be the chap they handcuffed deserters to (being as he was very 'powerfully built' as a young man and gentle as a lamb with it) - he died a couple of years ago but had Alzheimer's disease, never seemed to want to talk about his wartime experiences... and my Granny is/was a Holocaust refugee but was only 3 when she got to the UK, so no stories there either.
Some fascinating tales in this thread.
A couple from me to keep it going - hope it reaches a healthy page number!
My maternal grandad was a submariner in WW2. One of his duties was to man the hydrophone when they were getting depth-charged, and count how many went into the water.
I asked him how he kept count of how many were launched at them. 'Easy' he said, 'just count how many lumps of s
t you've got in your pants...'
Less amusing was the story he told, just once, about being ordered to seal one of the internal doors (hatches?) when the boat had been hit and was taking on water fast. He had to do this knowing that a number of his crewmates were on the other side of it and would certainly drown.
I hope I never have to experience that kind of situation. These guys are all fking incredible in my book - we all owe them an awful lot, more then we will ever fully appreciate.
Keep 'em coming chaps...
ETA - and chapettes... sorry BvD
A couple from me to keep it going - hope it reaches a healthy page number!
My maternal grandad was a submariner in WW2. One of his duties was to man the hydrophone when they were getting depth-charged, and count how many went into the water.
I asked him how he kept count of how many were launched at them. 'Easy' he said, 'just count how many lumps of s
t you've got in your pants...'Less amusing was the story he told, just once, about being ordered to seal one of the internal doors (hatches?) when the boat had been hit and was taking on water fast. He had to do this knowing that a number of his crewmates were on the other side of it and would certainly drown.
I hope I never have to experience that kind of situation. These guys are all f
king incredible in my book - we all owe them an awful lot, more then we will ever fully appreciate. Keep 'em coming chaps...
ETA - and chapettes... sorry BvD
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