In the introduction to I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety: The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II I make the point that the majority of volunteers into the armed forces for the duration of WW2 had had little expectation of global travel prior to the war.
When he signed up for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy in 1943 my dad, Norman Buckle, had only ever been on holiday to a few seaside resorts such as Scarborough, Blackpool and Morecambe. He rarely went more than a few miles from home and usually this was on his bike.
His war-time experiences took him over 4,000 miles from South Yorkshire to the coast of West Africa and over 12,000 miles to the Pacific Island of Ponam via Sidney in Australia.
Norman was born in 1924 in Royston, a coal mining village in South Yorkshire. His mother's family (The Smiths) had moved to Royston in about 1880 and his father's family (The Buckles) had gone there in the late 1890s.
The Smiths came from Monk Bretton which is about 3 miles from Royston where they had lived for many years. The Buckles came from Harthill where they'd lived since the 1840s and which is about 25 miles from Royston. Not much action going on there then!
After he returned from his global trek Norman settled again into his parents' home in Royston but it wasn't long before he was on the move again: the first of several re-locations not only for himself but also for his wife and children.
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His war-time experiences took him over 4,000 miles from South Yorkshire to the coast of West Africa and over 12,000 miles to the Pacific Island of Ponam via Sidney in Australia.
Norman was born in 1924 in Royston, a coal mining village in South Yorkshire. His mother's family (The Smiths) had moved to Royston in about 1880 and his father's family (The Buckles) had gone there in the late 1890s.
The Smiths came from Monk Bretton which is about 3 miles from Royston where they had lived for many years. The Buckles came from Harthill where they'd lived since the 1840s and which is about 25 miles from Royston. Not much action going on there then!
After he returned from his global trek Norman settled again into his parents' home in Royston but it wasn't long before he was on the move again: the first of several re-locations not only for himself but also for his wife and children.
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