I’ve called him Mr Pebble Pockets because if I don’t make a joke out of it I’ll cry. It was about 10:30pm, I’d just got back to the boat from a late shift and I was waiting for my Deliveroo. He was standing a little further down the towpath and staring at the water. The night was clear and crisp and there was enough moonlight to see the shape of him: he was tall, late twenties and had a powerful sporty look to him. He wasn’t crying, but he was shaking and he stood crooked. Well, it doesn’t take a genius, does it? I only came out to wait for a bloody curry. Mother Florence bloody Teresa Nightingale springing into action, hungry and as tired as fuck and now having to stop this guy from jumping into the canal with an anchor for a coat. I know now that the best thing to do was offer him a cigarette. I don’t know why I didn’t. I had the packet and the lighter in my hand. ‘Excuse me,’ I said. ‘Are you my Deliveroo?’ He turned slowly. ‘Who?’ ‘I’m waiting for a chi
Fascinating stuff, Tom! Was your grandfather in the Glosters? Were the Hiroshima pictures his own and, if so, did he serve in WWII also?
ReplyDeleteI used to know an ex-Major ( sadly gone now ) who fought at the Battle Of Imjin River in Korea, where the Gloucester Regiment made a brave stand against overwhelming Chinese forces. He was captured and tortured but still maintained his enthusiasm for the army in the years after his military service. They were made of strong stuff in those days!
Hi Simon. No one really knows much about his time in Korea. It obviously had a great impact on him as he promised to name his first son Kim after (it is assumed) someone he met out there. His first son was my dad. Granddad was too young to serve in WWII so, again, I assume the photos that appear in his scrap book were given to him by fellow soldiers who had. Apparently he was part of The Welch Regiment rather than The Royal Welch Fusiliers, two army regiments posted there. A grainy picture of my Granddad's cap badge in one of the pictures would seem to corroborate this.
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