Being a man of a certain age, I have always been a great admirer of the generation ahead of me and there resoluteness in the face of adversity.
Their resilience and fortitude during the Second World
War when ordinary men and women donned the many and various uniforms of the
armed forces and stood up to be counted.
In the beginning it was a voluntary system, and you
had some level of choice as to what arm of the forces you wanted to go into but
once you chose your preferred service there was no guarantee that you would get
it and once in you had no control as to what you would end up doing.
Now obviously some roles were more dangerous than
others but nonetheless I still think they were very brave.
There wasn’t really a cushy number to be had you were
all in the firing line to some degree.
And it wasn’t just those in military uniform who
risked their lives.
Police, Firemen, ARP, fire watchers, Observers and the
merchant marine were just as brave.
If it were me joining up back, then I’m not sure which
service I would have preferred.
But whatever service you ended up with or the role
within it there were some more hazardous than others.
Some so hazardous that it was like wearing a target
along with the uniform.
The peril that some of them placed themselves under
was truly astonishing and there are a number who deserve special mention, so I
have picked one example from each service and one civilian occupation to
illustrate the courage that was commonplace.
Submariners
Unlike the other branches my candidate for the Navy
was a no brainer there can be no braver section of the Senior Service than the
Submariners.
Most Navy men devote all their collective effort to
keep their vessel afloat, but the submariners deliberately submerge themselves.
Even sailing in a submerged boat during peacetime was
a dangerous occupation.
But in wartime it was necessary to spent prolonged
periods under water and for that you have to be a special type of person.
At the dangers were many, Enemy Cruisers spewing depth
charges, Submarine hunting aircraft, strong currents, minefields, and submerged
hazards.
And should any one of those result in damage to the
sub no one was going to come and find you.
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