h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dear Frank

Having read this remarkable and moving account of his father's service in the Argylls I must say that my contributions to this website are remarkably, pathetically trivial.

Harold Pollins

Dear Harold,
No postings to this site are pathetically trivial. As with all things in the historical field we need the full rounded picture.
The war was a large part of our lives, some would say overly large but they were not there to feel the intensity of every day living no matter whether you were a child or some one in the forces, a war worker doing their extra service after work as ARP, Firemen, Home Guard or any of the womens voluntary services, they were all part of that war.
The BBC have given us all the chance to clear the attic of those long ago memories that have been hidden all these years. Who cares how many times we hear similar stories about Bombing or evacuation the tin bath on a Friday night or the Infantry, Tanky, Sailor Airman at war. It was all part of a large kaleidoscope where the parts make the whole.
All of the stories are needed for some future Historian to write the definitive story of that war as seen through the eye of the people, the site heading is "The Peoples War" as that is what it was. Churchill my all time hero said that, and I believe meant what he said, so lets us have all the stories no matter how trivial the writer thinks they are. When they are eventually put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle we will have the full picture.
Keep Posting Harold and as you write imagine it as a part of a modern "Bayeux Tapestry" each story a thread woven into a carpet of an experience we hope never happens again
regards Frank.

Dear Frank

I knew you would have some sensible words for me and I thank you for them. But one thought occurs to me. While I agree about the jigsaw notion, and the bigger picture, would you not agree that some people's experiences were more important or more significant than others? Can one compare, say, a bomber crew's experience with that of say a Land Girl, no matter how useful and relevant her work was? [I just use these two as examples; I could have used others.]


Regards
Harold

Dear Harold,
Of course I agree with those sentiments but to use an allegory where would those bomber crews have been without the land army girl helping to grow the food to feed them. Then think of the people who had to build the planes they flew many brought back out of the forces because the work they did was more important than fighting.
We were always told it took 75 men to put 25 men into the front line and that was just the forces, we never worked out how many civilians were involved. If those people, who would still be in some danger did not do their jobs efficiently then the 25 in the front line may as well just surrender.
The whole of life is like that, without teachers we would not have the engineers etc; without the engineers we could not afford the teachers, who is to say which the more important, I would not have the temerity to choose.
All I am saying is some stories are like the shooting stars flashing across the skies in a blaze of light only the sky has to be there. Without the background of the whole panoply the shooting star in isolation gives a false picture.
All the stories large or small give a picture of how all the people lived through a bad time, the brave fighting men and women, the plodding every day man and woman at home doing the mundane things that kept the forces at the front. The one is as impotent as the other and at times each in as much danger as the other.
When you realise that Harold then you know each is a tiny particle in the atom of life it takes a lot of small bits to make the whole and therefore the full picture.
Regards Frank.