Wigan Album

How young he is. My grandson is the same age it makes you realise how they had to grow up so quick. No college for them after leaving school. Straight into a man’s world! I’m glad he came home safely.

I agree. I went to work straight from school at easter, I was 15. You had to quickly become a man and lost your latter childhood/youth. I would have been devasted to have been called up to the army and to fight in a conflict at 17! This should be the start of the best years of young people's lives! Luckily my dad got through it without injury and lived to tell his story.

I agree Veronica they were tough times, and when you think there would have been horrific sights too, and not like seen in the films.

Yes, the films (or movies they call them these days) could never really depict what happened; many soldiers would never talk of it. My uncle was in Burma and it was a kind of secrecy that was agreed to never tell of how bad it was. My uncle never gave me an inkling of the conflict there despite my demands. He was a great guy but I expect the war got to him eventually and he really suffered mentally.

From books I’ve read about the POW camps it’s pitiful how the young men had to just get on with their lives in their own way. We had a relative as well who was a prisoner in the Far East. I don’t think much help was given to them really.