My Dad, 1917-1984
Hello Everyone,
I decided as it was Remembrance Sunday that I would write about my Dad, BSM William R. Smith who served with the Royal Artillery, firstly and very briefly in France, then in Burma and India until the end of WWII.
Dad was in the Terrotorial Army originally but found himself in the regular army when war was declared in 1939. He was just 22. I was going to relate one or two of the stories that he told me but I find I just can`t tell anyone, they are far too personal and they were his memories, not mine. I feel like it would be breaking a confidence. What I will say though, is that he would never watch the film, Bridge Over The River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness. One day he was visiting us in the house where we used to live, that film came on and he put down his cup of tea, made his excuses and walked out of the door without another word. I knew better than to call him back, even if it were to tell him that we switched the TV off. There was obviously much that he hadn`t told me, things that obviously troubled him deep down.
My Dad was just an ordinary man, one of many, who spent six years of his youth fighting for the freedom thart we all take for granted . He was one of the lucky ones, he came home. But he never forgot the ones who didn`t.
18 comments:
My dad was like that, he would never talk about the war. He was such a quiet peace loving man that having to go to North Africa in the Desert Rats must have had such a profound effect on him. I couldn't imagine the horrors they saw and there was none of the counselling afterwards, they were just expected to go back to their families and start earning a living again as if nothing had happened, I know a lot had problems as their children hadn't seen them for so long they were like strangers in their own homes. It must have been a nightmare. Jeannette xx
Very nice tribute to your Dad Sandra.
Great photo too, I can see you in your Dad's face!
Sara x
Sandra, my dad was William H Smith (1913-1990) (I think we're related somehow) he also served in WWII in North Africa, France, Italy and Sicily. I wonder if he knew Jeannette's dad in No Africa ? He too was quiet about what happened over there, only related just a few stories and after he came home, couldn' even butcher a chicken for our dinner. He always said he'd seen enough killing to last a lifetime. And he didn't serve in combat, he was with the Military Railroad Service as a train dispatcher. Bless all of them for their service...Linda in Washington (I wonder if we are related ????)
Thank you for sharing your tribute to your Father. Thank him for his service. My Dad was in Europe during the War. He was in the infantry until he lost a lot of his hearing. Then became a driver for some General. He talked about that but never much about his fighting days. War changes a man I think.
Hope you had a lovely Sunday.
Barb
A lovely and well deserved tribute to your Dad Sandra. God bless him and all the other men who went through hell for us. I am a resullt of the war...one of the many war babies who never knew their dad...I was told he died in Africa before I was born. Bless him who ever he was. Eve x
A very loving tribute Sandra. Helen
Sandra they were such brave men forced to go to war ~ we may never know what they had to face ~ because a lot of them never wanted to talk about their experiences ~ my Dad used to tell us stories about his time in the army but as you say they were his memories and mine to treasure as I am sure you treasure yours ~ Ally
Bless your father's memory. My father served in the U.S. Army Air Corp. in Burma for 3 years. His unit was just being readied to go to Chino to invade Japan when the war ended. I wonder if their pathes ever crossed? Wouldn't that have been remarkable? My father has only recently talked about some of the things that happened while he was there. The lived in miserable conditions. I am so proud of his service as I am sure you are of your father's. They were remarkable men.
Hugs, Kathy
What a lovely looking man your Dad was ,see where his Daughter gets her looks ,a great entry in tribute to a very special man ,.,.,love Jan xx
A lovely tribute to your Dad Sandra, you look a lot like him. My father was also in the Royal Artillery as was my brother so we share a bond there. Very few of the men would talk about their experiences, war scars them forever. Thank you for sharing him with us.
Very nice tribute, lovely entry.
Have a grand week.
Sugar
You are the spitting image of your brave father and i thank you for this loving tribute to him.
XO lisa
Very nice Tribute and you are so much like your Father.Take care.
Astoriasand http://journals.aol.co.uk/astoriasand/MYSIMPLERHYMES
A lovely tribute to you Dad. I have a picture of my Dad almost the same. Strange we watched that film Sunday afternoon. Love Joan.
What a handsome man your father was! I love how his hat was set at a rakish angle. Your father's part in the war was just as important as Winston Churchill's. Just because he wasn't famous doesn't mean that his part in the war wasn't as powerful.
My ex-father-in-law was stationed in Burma and there are alot of things that he just won't talk about concerning his stay there. I remember him being so upset after seeing Saving Private Ryan, that he couldn't sleep that night. He said it hit just a little bit too close to home.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's a beautiful entry that honours your father to a tee!
Love,
Susie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/susanebunn/ItAllStartsAfter50/
He was a handsome man. I think there's something comforting about a man who feels something so deeply about a memory of war that is too painfull for him to bear. Gives me hope for mankind. It's the man that feels nothing when he remembers a carnage that I find troubling.
Fred
He looks like a handsome devil :-) I don't blame you for not sharing the stories that he told you ~ you need to keep a piece that is just for your memories. Thank you for telling us about him anyway
Jen xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/jmoqueen/MyLife
Now I know where you get your good looks from. . . wow. . hes a handsome man. Those that saw things during the war never speak about it do they. . but its always there with them.There must have been something in the film that triggered some bad memories.To BSM William R. Smith . . . .thank you.. . .and God Bless you.
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