Show us thi medals, Dad

More stuff from Dad's.
All his army papers, records, release forms etc, plus any amount of badges and of course The Medals. When he was demobbed he received £72.11s.0d to start him off in civilian life. It had to last quite a while - with so many men returning and wanting jobs, competition was keen.

As kids, we always knew about Dad's war, he told us stories and we met his closest pals. We holidayed for many years with Nick who used to tell me with tears in his eyes that Dad had saved his life. They were the only two in the wash room where they were stationed on the south coast of England, when a bomb fell nearby. With the washroom partially demolished, Dad knew his pal Nick was buried under the rubble. The bath had been struck from the wall and hit Dad's knee, but he didn't notice and went for help to dig Nick out. Strangely no one believed Dad until he started removing rubble with his bare hands. Then he got help and Nick was saved, stunned and cut but no serious injury. It was at that point that Dad's leg gave way. He was in hospital weeks with his knee injury, and it let him down from time to time for the rest of his life, suddenly giving way. He always says it was worth it.

I took this photo to honour Dad and all the men like him who remain unsung heroes.