AS WE look to commemorate Armistice Day on November 11, 2022, Age Cymru Dyfed shares a very special film they co-produced with ITV Wales which provides an insightful exploration of the wartime memories of five WWII veterans living in Wales.
‘Greatest Generation’ draws out the fear, sadness, humour and even some of the romance experienced by people living through such a momentous time in European history.
Sid Dawe recalls insisting on waiting for the film to finish at his local cinema before venturing outside to find Cardiff ablaze from the intense Luftwaffe bombing. Sid later went on to serve in the Blackwatch and saw action in Belgium and Holland.
Denis Tidswell from Fforestfach in Swansea lied about his age to get into the RAF, serving as a radio operator during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 before spending almost three years under constant bombardment in Malta.
Today John and Adelaide Martin live near Cardigan and look back fondly upon their 79-year marriage which might not have happened if Adelaide, a WAAF Flight Mechanic, hadn’t waited 18 months for John after he had been shot down over Berlin becoming a prisoner of war.
Mary Bott served in the Women’s Land Army on no less than five farms in Ceredigion and recalls a very funny story about her encounter with a rather too eager Italian prisoner of war.
Veterans’ coordinator Hugh Morgan OBE says: “It’s crucial that we record the voices and experiences of the people who lived and fought during WWII. They are now well into their nineties with some now 100 years old and older and who may not be around much longer to provide us with their personal accounts of the 1939-45 World War.
“I invite all types of community groups, from all generations, to download the film and view and hear for themselves the first-hand experiences of those from our greatest generation.”
To download the 45-minute film, visit: Greatest Generation | Wales Programmes (itv.com)
For many other personal stories of military service, visit Age Cymru Dyfed’s award-winning West Wales Veterans Archive on The West Wales Veterans’ Archive | Peoples Collection Wales
