Proud To Be British

Hello Everybody I am back from my holiday in Spain
The opening Olympic ceremony for the London Olympics was absolutely first class. It is about time this great nation of ours showed the world what makes the British people great.
Back in September 1938, the then Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from meeting Hitler in Germany. He had in his hand a document signed by both men that the two countries would never go to war with each other and they would contribute to assure the peace of Europe. Within one year we were at war with Germany, just the same as all promises done by the infamous Hitler he was a complete liar. The British people had suffered many loss of life in the First World War as the many monuments in every City, Town and Village will testify. Following the war in the twenties, factories shut down and unemployment was rife, families throughout Britain suffered with poverty. During the thirties when the country was getting back to some normality, Hitler and his Nazi followers turned up.
In 1939 Great Britain was totally unprepared for war and by 1940 we stood alone in Europe. Hitler thought he would steam roll over the British people as he had done in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland and France. How wrong he was. I am not a conservative, but lucky for Great Britain we had a new Prime Minister in Winston Churchill. Like him or like him not he was the right man for the dark days that lay ahead for the British people. Obviously the services had to be brought up to strength and indeed they were. I am going to write about the British People who were on the home front
In May 1940 Anthony Eden broadcast to the nation for civilians not eligible for the military services to join the Local Defence Volunteers later called the Home Guard. Although unpaid, over one and a half million had joined by June. Throughout the country these men when they returned home from work on various nights and week-ends they were put through their paces by Regular soldiers. Soon they became quite capable of being a rear guard action group. The sitcom Dad’s Army, which is good to watch, makes the Home Guard out to be a load of idiots of which they were not. One has to remember the overwhelming majority of the Home Guard, including the Officers and NCOs had fought in the First World War and some were still in their early forties. These brave men had known what war was all about and passed their knowledge onto the others. Whatever anyone wants to think, these men would have laid down their lives for their country, that is for sure.
There were millions of men in the country who were in reserved occupations. That means they were exempt from call up, because of their employment in factories that were on strategic work such as Engineers, boilermakers, coalminers etc. Many of the men who were in reserved occupations wanted to join up in the services, but they were quickly shown the door. The work they did in the factories was just important as the men in uniform. All men who were exempt from the forces had to enrol for other duties when off work such as ARP Wardens, Fire Watchers, Observers, Ambulance Drivers, Civil Defence. The list is endless, but they had to do it and they were in big trouble if they did not turn up to do their duty.
Women worked also in many factories and did sterling work throughout the war. They also worked in their own time at various jobs in the Women’s Voluntary Services, Civil Defence and Hospitals etc. The British housewife no doubt had the hardest job of all, bringing up their children during the war years when all food was rationed. They queued for everything in all weathers so that they could put food on the table, probably going short themselves in doing this. Some of the women had their husbands in the forces, some were war widows, they were all in it together come what may. The British women all those years ago were true heroes. They struggled and suffered during those dark days, but what is paramount they survived and brought up a new generation, who enjoyed a free world.
The people I have mentioned above are only a few of the people who have put the Great in Great Britain. We are only small in comparison to other countries, but we have something they haven’t. We are British and proud of it.
Alan