wilf shaw - World War 2 army soldier story - continued

Cyprus 1941 (I was in C Coy)

At the unveling of the Green Howards memorial Crepon

Farmhouse near Elst between Nijmegen and Arnhem. I stayed here during an action in this area.  I went back to Holland around 1994 and stayed with a family who lived at Horst. They took me to try and find the farm house without success.

Reverse of above -  Just as Fred Zilken says on the back of this photo, we got mortared a good deal - a bit nerve racking if you were out mending a broken line!

I was saying to a young lad using a mobile phone the other week, I said, "Would it surprise you if I said I had a mobile phone 70 years ago?" And he looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and amazement in his eyes, I said "It was a bit bigger than the one you've got there." He said "How big?" I demonstrated with my arms to approximately 16 inches wide by 2 feet high - I'm sure he didn't believe me, and who can blame him?!

Durban South Africa 1941 - Frank Lonsdale on the left, who observed, "Don't worry about the bloke between the shafts - he's on our side!"

Operating the Infantry 18 set when I was a signaller. I was stationed at Dhekeilia and Larnaca in the 6 months following the war, it was still 6th Green Howards but 98% of them were raw recruits and had never seen any action, all good lads though. I remember I felt very much out of place for a while, a strange feeling, I think someone recognised this in the end and they moved me to a signal outpost near Famagusta, where the photograph of me operating the 18set was taken.

The inauguration of the Green Howards memorial at Crepon, around 1996

Wilf's sister, Lily

Some of Signal Platoon 6th Green Howards on leave in Alexandria. This would have been after the battle of Wadi Akarit in Tunisia. We would shortly set off to invade Sicily. Approx June 43.

French and Dutch invasion currency

Training for the 880 - Wilf on the right

With Sir Maurice Sutherland, with whom I fought in the Green Howards from 1940-45. I met Maurice again about 15 years ago. He picked me up from Richmond after I had taken part in one of the "Richmond Sunday" weekends and took me to his home at Yarm, such a lovely place, I think it was a couple of years later that he died.

10th Manchesters 1937

French and Belgian invasion currency. June 6th 1944

A selection of Wilf's WW2 war photos

At the Green Howards reunion, 1996

The group invited to Venray, Holland, 1994, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Holland in WW2

Cyprus 1946 with Cypriot Mounted Policeman. Annotation says "The horse is the one in the middle" Wilf on the right.