Page 64 Daily Mail, Thursday, August 1, 2019
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LETTERS
Catapulted back
to the PoW camp
B
ACK in 1952 I was
18 and in the Royal
Engineers, doing
my national service
in Berlin.
We were called up to serve two
years, and went reluctantly. We
complained continuously but,
looking back, we didn’t realise
or appreciate the fact that we
were super fit and that we were
having a darn good time.
I was posted to the hotel that
the 1936 Olympic athletes had
been housed in — it was superb.
We had two magnificent
swimming pools — one inside
and one outside — along with
lots of sporting equipment.
One day I boarded a packed
underground train and stood
face to face with a German
man of about 40. After a while,
he said: ‘I was in England.’
I asked where, and he said:
‘You would not know.’
‘Try me,’ I said. ‘Horsham,’ hereplied. I knew the Sussex
town very well.
‘You must have been a
prisoner of war in the camp in
St Leonard’s Road,’ I said.
His face was a picture. I went
on to say that, as young boys,
we used to spend our money
on cigarettes to trade with the
prisoners for wooden toys they
had carved.
I remember once trading five
cigarettes for a catapult. He
was stunned.
Many years later I was telling
my aunt of my encounter with
this German former prisoner
of war. She had lived in St
Leonard’s Road and asked
who he was — ‘We knew them
all, they were lovely boys,’ she
explained. But it had been too
long — I couldn’t remember.
I so regret not asking him
where he was captured and
what his story was.
Pete Foskett,
Billingshurst, W. Sussex.Sign language
Today’s poem
Out of the mouths of babes
DYLAn, aged three, was
listening in on a conversation
his mum and dad were
having about the merits of a
separate dining room.Listening intently, he
pronounced: ‘Grandma has
got a dying room.’
not yet, I hope!
Susan Robinson, York.Picture that! Wordy Wise
NO HEX PLEASE, WE’RE BRITISH —
we don’t like being cursed.
THE SHERRY ORCHARD — area of
fruit trees where people
congregate to tipple.
LITHE SPIRIT — supple, flexible
ghost.
SHE SWOOPS TO CONQUER —
action of a female eagle
spotting prey.
BLOOD BOTHERS — it does those
who can’t stand the sight of it.
CHICARGO — goods shipped to
The Windy City.
MAMA MOA — mother flightless
bird.
PAINT YOUR WIGON — apply
emulsion to scalp as disguise
for hair loss.
Dave Cullen, Alwoodley, Leeds.Anagram
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson
=
He’d axed personnel in raffle of jobs
Mike Mesterton-Gibbons,
Tallahassee, Florida.THE MOONLIGHT FLIT
What fools we were.
We should have taken
rental in advance.
But they looked
innocent enough;
A nice young couple. So we
took a chance.
It was unfurnished.
They spent several days
moving their stuff;
Just a few sticks
of furniture.
In fact, it all looked
pretty rough.
It must be said,
They started on a family
with indecent haste;
Almost as though their time
was running out
And much too valuable
to waste.
Then, one fine day,
I noticed there was nobody
at home.
They’d done a moonlight flit.
Our birds had flown.
Ruth Twyman Lockyer,
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.Limerick
Said Boris to Trump: ‘We’re
great guys,
‘But they all think I’m you
in disguise,
‘So let’s make a pact
‘Form our own double act,
‘I’ll be Morecambe to your
Ernie Wise.’
I. G. Fenner,
New Milton, Hants.Soliloquy For
Our Times
Will he prorogue, or won’t
he prorogue?
That is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler to
suffer a No Deal Brexit
Or revoke Article 50 and
just go down the pub,
Only time will tell.
Or, likely, Boris Johnson.
Doug Jennings,
Mickleton, Glos.NUTTY BUT NICE: I didn’t
have the heart to crack open
this cute coconut, bought
from my local supermarket.
Karen Tootle,
Skelmersdale, Lancs.BOW-OW-OW! Spotted in the window of a local veterinary
practice by Richard Kay of South Croydon, Surrey.Write to: Daily Mail Letters,
2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT
email: [email protected]PETERBOROUGH
email: [email protected]
We need more police
WHAT is the point of Boris Johnson
recruiting 20,000 police officers if the
powers that run the force (sorry,
service) don’t appear interested in
crime prevention and detection?
College of Policing chief executive
Mike Cunningham dismissed the
plan as unworkable because of cuts.
We used to be a country of doers, not
defeatists. Why doesn’t Mr Cunning-
ham just do his best and he may be
surprised by what he can achieve.
DAVID WHITE, Basingstoke, Hants.
IT’S not just a lack of lockers for the
new police officers (Mail). As a
retired officer, I can say there won’t
be enough police stations because so
many have been sold off.
M. WISE, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
IT DIDn’T take long for the new
Prime Minister’s call to recruit 20,000
police officers to be criticised. We’ve
been told so many police stations
have been closed down that there
won’t be anywhere to accommodate
the new recruits.
Why not bring back police stations
to our High Streets by using the
buildings abandoned by the banks.
They have a high level of security
and are ideally located to ensure
police visibility.
ROY DILCOCK, Leeds.My inspirational women
I CAn’T believe the women chosen
as inspirational by the Duchess of
Sussex in Vogue magazine.
In no particular order, here is my
selection. The Queen, Princess Anne,
Princess Diana, Mother Theresa,
nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai,
nancy Astor, the first woman MP to
take her seat, and Carole Middleton,
who came from humble stock to be
grandmother of a future king.
I had hoped for so much more from
the Duchess, but instead it appears
that all she can do is voice meaning-
less platitudes, promote trendy
causes and make a show of being on
the side of the poor and downtrod-
den while wearing designer outfits.
She should look to the women and
men that her husband supports
via his Invictus Games, who are
truly inspirational.
CHRISTIANA LEWIS,
Milton Keynes, Bucks.
IF THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex
want privacy, let them have it. This
will do them a favour as they would
not be portrayed as over-privileged,
over-sensitive people who want the
trappings, but not the duties, of
being part of the Royal Family. I say
this as a Royalist.
With a break from public scrutiny,
they can take a long look at them-
selves and their role in The Firm.
CHRIS SHARP, Leeds.Do or die Boris
I’VE seen some grabby governments,
and Mrs May’s awful tenure took us
to new lows in stupidity, dishonesty,
incompetence and arrogance.
But now we have ‘do or die’ Boris
Johnson who has appointed aForeign Secretary who doesn’t know
where Dover is; a Home Secretary
who once supported capital punish-
ment; a Heath Minister who wants to
curb abortion rights; and a leader of
the House of Commons who is acting
like a Victorian schoolmaster.
It’s the most extreme, Right-wing,
undemocratic and unrepresentative
government I can remember.
But the alternative is fumbling,
Sixties nostalgic Jeremy Corbyn and
another bunch of political gamesters.
Britain has no chance.
GARTH GROOMBRIDGE,
Southampton.
BORIS JOHnSOn’S confidence and
optimism is a breath of fresh air. I
wish him every success.
I have been disillusioned for so long
with the Labour Party running down
our country with all their doom and
gloom and weak decision-making
about Brexit.
R. MERCER, Liverpool.GPs in crisis
IT’S a struggle to get an appoint-
ment with your doctor (Mail). My
neighbour had a cancerous mole
removed from her face. She was told
to go to the doctor to have the
stitches removed after seven days.
At the surgery, she was told there
were no appointments with a nurse
or doctor. She was advised to go to
A&E and wait to be seen.
The local council has granted
planning permission for blocks of
flats to meet London Mayor Sadiq
Khan’s demand for thousands of new
homes. If the doctors can’t cope now,
where will these new residents get
medical care?
Mrs A. SMITH, Croydon, Surrey.Time to cancel HS2
BORIS JOHnSOn has intimated
that he might cancel HS2. What is he
waiting for?
With the estimated cost rising by
£1 billion per month, he could use the
£50 billion and counting to fund all
the projects he is promising: 20,000
new police officers, improving
hospitals and schools, and new rail
lines for the north.
There would be enough left over to
re-introduce free TV licences for theHAVE you lost a relative or
friend in recent months whose
life you’d like to celebrate? Our
column on Friday’s letters page
tells the stories of ordinary
people who lived extraordinary
lives. Email a 350-word tribute
to: [email protected] or
write to: Extraordinary Lives,
Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street,
London W8 5TT. Please include a
contact phone number.CELEBRATE LIFE
OF A LOVED ONE
Wedding dresses that say I do, I do, I do
LEOnA LEWIS is not
the only bride to
decide to have three
wedding dresses to
make her big day
extra special (Mail).
When my daughter,
Laura, got married in
2012, she wore a £650,
knee-length, vintage
lace Sixties wedding
dress for the
ceremony and official
photos (right).
For the reception, she
changed into my
wedding dress
(centre), which had
cost £30 in 1977.
And for the evening
celebration, she worea £100 dress modelled
on the iconic frock
made famous by
Marilyn Monroe inThe Seven Year Itch
(far right).
JANE PARRY,
Caterham, Surrey.Joke
DID you hear about the angry
composer?
Apparently, his Bach was
worse than his bite.
Glyn Owen, Cardiff.