VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Philip Banks · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 8:14 am Post subject: Wow - A century!

Late August 1914, Belgium. Monty, Bill and Wilf are waist deep in human waste, mud, water, rats and the corpses of men with whom they shared a cigarette and a tin mug of tea no more than a week ago. It was raining, the sun was shining and the accompanying rainbow simply made the ugliness of the battlefield look uglier. As men shot at each other, bombed each other and when all else failed gored each other with bayonets Mother Nature sent rainbows as if to thumb her nose at them.

“Sir? I’m doing this for my freedom aren’t I?” asked Wilf. Never once asking why he a 29 year old should address an 18 year old as Sir.

“Daft bugger!” snapped Monty, the young Sub Lieutenant. “We’re here because there weren’t enough Yorkshiremen in the Houses of Parliament to get a team together!” He fired 6 rounds from his Enfield rifle in the general direction of Germany. Germany returned the compliment by sending 120 rounds back from an assortment of locations.

“TEAM?” shouted Bill, the wheee of bullets passing far too close still ringing in his ears.

Monty sighed, a long sigh, an exasperated sigh.

“For a Cricket team. We would’ve challenged them to a Cricket match, winner take all …” he spotted something out of the corner of his eye “GRENADE!”

Monty was a Yorkshireman, good at Cricket and the safe end of an Enfield rifle could be used as a Cricket bat in an emergency. THWACK! The stock of the rifle makes contact with the grenade sending it back from whence it came. Luckily for the German “bowler” not quite all the way back. It landed with a splat in the effluent of no man’s land, this sound was followed by polite applause from the German trenches and the inevitable explosion.

Do you know how far half a ton of airborne…”don’t ask” can travel in a light westerly wind? Monty, Wilf and Bill do.

“Winner take all?” Wilf looked puzzled “you mean if they won some poor sod from Berlin would get The Red Lion pub near Hull station?” Monty nodded a resigned but affirmative nod. “Have you SEEN Brenda the barmaid in there? Face like Coalminer’s piles. Not much of an incentive is it?”

Silence.

“Will you look at the state of us” said Monty “when do we get a delivery of clean towels?”

All three thought for a moment and smiled

“October!”

The shit covered trio were expected to last 4 years of this type of treatment. Sadly, Wilf and Bill didn’t make through the next two weeks.
Monty eventually returned home to Leeds. Later in life he still remembered Wilf and Bill, was he ever likely to forget them? In 1960 Monty’s wife Barbara gave birth to a son, Philip.

On Saturday 19th July 2014 Philip will travel to London to pay a visit to the World War 1 exhibition at the Imperial War Museum and to privately do something to say thank you to a shit covered trio and countless other like them.

Daft buggers every single one but I could not be more proud of them.

todd ellis · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 8:19 am Post subject:

wonderful story. i envy your trip.
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 9:23 am Post subject:

Thank them for the rest of us, too.
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Bish · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 9:27 am Post subject:

Philip, you have a wonderful way with words (not just the speaking of them). The Imperial War Museum serves as a permanent reminder of, and tribute to those who fell.

Lest we forget.
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Bruce · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 9:37 am Post subject:

Searching Ancestry.com I found that one of my grandfathers served in the Army Air Force during the "Great War", but he never told us, and we never asked what he did during that war. I do know he managed a training air field in Arizona during WWII.

Lesson learned for the young: if they're not forthcoming ask your elder relatives what they did in their youth and early adult years. You might get some amazing stories, and maybe even inspiration.

B
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Stellarvoice · Joined: 25 Mar 2014 Posts: 23 Location: Dayton, OH

Great, evocative story, Philip. Soldiers are a rare breed, indeed. My dad was born in Belgium, grew up in Holland. Reading your story reminded me of my own father's story of how he, and his family were rescued from Nazi occupied Holland by U.S. soldiers at the end of WW II. They helped reunite him and his brother with the rest of their family. They don't call such brave folks the "greatest generation" over here for nothing. May such stories never cease!
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Jen Gosnell · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 11:38 am Post subject:

Good on you, Philip. I hope your visit to London met your expectations. Kiss

Yesterday and today have been my first time in the heart of London and it's rather staggering the historical sense that one gets even from just walking the streets. Contemplating the story you wrote alongside that brings another aspect to all of it. I am sure the exhibition you mention would be remarkable. If we weren't leaving in the morning, I'd seek it out myself.
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Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 2:39 am Post subject:

Flew down on Friday and as far as travel was concerned everything went badly. Finally arrived at my hotel in London's West End at 1.25 on Saturday morning.

11am Imperial War Museum. Nothing went as expected but it was not about me controlling the outcome. It certainly was about walking away at peace with a man who was married to my mother, lived in the same house as me for 16 years, was responsible for my being on this planet, my father - someone who I remember as a man I met and never really knew.

I walked around the museum and saw Monty's (my Father's) world from the trenches of the 1914-18 war; me, a casual observer of the 7 circles of Hell. In the exhibition "Secret War" I got some idea about the work of the Special Operations Executive during the 1939-45 war; no facts just clues.

Having done what I needed to do, specifically, share some of Monty's "war stuff" with the museum I left the building, sat on a wall for quite a while and took time to reflect.

Two world wars and the experiences of one man involved in both of them stole a huge chunk of my childhood, I honestly believe that and believe it without a hint of self pity.

Door closed. Lesson learned? Monty made a difference not by posting on an internet but by crawling into a Rat infested trench and staying there for 4 years being bombed and used as a target for German snipers. High price, isn't it?

From now I will never say anything I don't really mean especially, "I'm there for you" or "If there's anything I can do just ask" or "you have my full support". Above all else the word NO will appear more often in my vocabulary because sometimes NO can be the most helpful, the most supportive and the most positive thing you can say to someone.

Lest we forget the men and women who when asked the question "are you going to let them get away with this?" replied with a resounding NO!

Think about what that NO cost them. Today we would simply post "Philip likes this on Facetube"

Where were we? Oh yes. Flew down on Friday and as far as travel was concerned everything went badly. Finally arrived at my hotel in London's West End at 1.25 on Saturday morning. I was supposed to be taking a friend out for dinner, it was her birthday on Monday. Here is the response to my last text message giving a report on my progress, dinner opportunity long gone.

"I have a bottle of white wine on ice, do not stress"

I walked into the hotel and the Concierge shouted to someone in the lobby.

"Here he is, 1.25 just like I said" I looked in the direction of the shout and sitting on a comfy couch with two glasses and a bottle of chilled white was Karen. She could've posted on Facetube, regarding my travel plans and her birthday dinner going PHUT "Karen Doesn't LIKE this" and gone home.

The wine went on MY hotel bill. Unlike Monty and his Army chums she is NOT a daft bugger.

Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 2:43 am Post subject:

P.S

Took this photo of The Shard. I love it!

Bruce · Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 8:21 am Post subject:

Thank you for telling of your experiences. Powerful indeed.

B
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I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .