Being frightened of what you do in war

[marcus69x]

Brilliant Brian. :-) cheers mate.

[Tom Canning]

Sapper -
Know the feeling at airports - they search and search - and find nothing and reluctently pass on !!!

Had both hip joints replaced in 2006 - the older surgeon and his apprentice were looking at the x rays and the young man was asking what all the white spots
were - "possible faulty film? " he asked whereupon the older one looked - then looked at me - then said " if we dig those out - we can send them all back to the Volkswagen people - they can make a bumper out of that lot !"

All I really lost was my hearing and a chunk of my left leg but the hearing is annoying as I can't hear all the notes in Beethoven's creations...but then at 84 - I can't hear all the commercials which is a blessing !

Cheers - and stay out of that pub on Wallisdown Road !

[Tom Canning]

Ron asks - "what were your feelings ?"

strangely - calmness no panic - just a sense of care for the other members of the crew. On getting out of the starboard side where we were hit by the 88mm - and missing the next shot - I ran around to the port side to check on the driver and co-driver - they were long gone...then to the rear where I found the Commander and gunner - who should have also been long gone - then we were hit by a rain of nebelwerfers and scattered - I took off and was hit again - then fell down - was joined by a reinforcement called Dave Gear whom I gave instructions as to where to head - then I was hit again - finally joined up with my gunner who was in very bad way - so treated him and tried to hide behind a one inch thick grapevine from some clown with a spandau !

That was around 2:30 on a boiling hot day - finally picked up at around 11pm - in the CCS by dawn ! Feelings ? - a bit of wonderment I suppose.....
Cheers

[marcus69x]

Absolutely amazing Tom. As I've said before, you just don't get these type of accounts from books or documentarys. We're sooo lucky to have guys like you to share your memories like that.

Cheers mate.

[sapper]

Makes me smile Tom. It has a familiar ring about it. In one case we were moved by our CRE right up under the noses of the German Paras, on the side of the hill facing them. Give them their fair due. They waited until we were all sittings ducks before opening a barrage like the end of the world. Our Colonel wanted us to stay right up the front at all times, so that we could get into action faster. Silly prat.

One of the lads told him. OK if you can tolerate the casualties. While on that hill we came under fire from railway gun at VIre. You could hear the bloody shell wobbling through the air long before it hit us, each time the the shell landed on that bloody hill great big lumps of it erupted.
After a few hours we were withdrawn/
By the way the man that invented your hip joints was my Surgeon, and and I helped to make his equipment, while he was at Shaftesbury Military hospital as a Major in the Medical. Eccentric... saved me from amputation. He did a bone graft on a goat
It worked, so they did it on me on VE day. Only trouble, I have no hips, so my bloody trousers fall down unless I grab them....I am also a very funny shape...Very funny.
Major John Charnley. later Sir John. Lady Jill Charnley sent me an autographed book on his life. The Major gave me photos from an old camera of gear we made Lost them... Ah Tom and Ron the days of our youth. What we had of it? In passing, I have to say that in recent years the war pensions have improved. being very severely war disabled I am looked after quite well.
sapper

[Smudger Jnr]

Sapper and Trooper Tom,

Thankyou for sharing that information with us all, absolutely stunning to read.

To me you are all heroes to a man. I just wish my late father could have shared more with me about his experiences in Italy.

Regards

Tom

[Tom Canning]

Sapper -
your surgeon was a brilliant man and his hip joints have saved me endless hours of pain - started 25 years ago when we lived in Highcliffe - knees were bad - uric acid swelling the area around the joints - " why can't you suck that stuff out" I asked - as usual no answers from the medics...finally diagnosed in B.C when we returned to Canada - then a medic told me - in ten years time you will need new hips ! He was right but they didn't operate for 14 years - magically the thigh bone was returned to where it should be easing the pressure on the knees - result NO pain anywhere and I can walk upright once more ! Now after two years - that swelling again around my left thumb - more pain !...... heigh Ho

Youth ? - yes - that was a fantastic two weeks !

Glad to hear that you are looked after on the pension end of things - some of the horror stories about the pensions to-day are worrying until you see the one time payments before the regular pension kicks in...just shake my head as I was laughed at after being rejected for Korea - took the Canadian Veterans dept to squeeze it out of the British Govt - in 1992 - without me even asking !
Cheers

[sapper]

Some years ago, the old war injuries started to create blood clots, They finished up in my lungs with what is known as.... Multiple Pulmonary embolism. Hundreds if blood clots in the lungs. Nearly died, had a near death experience.

I need a new hip, but got no chance. Would never survive it. Been on anticoagulant treatment (warfarin) Rat poison! for 36 years. Will stay on it until I pop my clogs!

The war may have done many years ago, the effects last much longer.

[Tom Canning]

Sapper - the operation on my right hip was easy - heard the surgeon cracking jokes to the nurses and thumping in the replacement woke up on the way out of the theatre - the left was a bit more bother - sitting waiting for the surgeon who came in and asked " how are you to-day" - so I replied "100% less seniors discount" - he then said that he would soon fix that -and he did - took me hours to wake up but then same again - no pain - bit of discomfort that was all even when the young Filopino nurse tried to give me a new anus - was released from Hospital next day - walking !

Then for a month had daily visits from nurses - physio's et al with walking - walking - walking - even the dog walked slowly with me !!

I chucked the warfarin years ago - touched off psoriasis - not good !
Cheers

[sapper]

Had the same lots of skin troubles. but the alternative for me? So I put up with it.
I look at it like this. For all the side effects, the pain and discomfort. I am still here and making a fist of it.
Cheers Tom... Though sometimes when I look at the world. I wonder...I wonder. For all the lads we left behind such a long time ago. I wonder what Ron thinks of it?
Cheers