The bravest man...

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Pat’s daughter (Rachel Irven), a volunteer from Three Counties Action, on behalf of Pat, and has been added to the site with her permission. Pat fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

You learn a lot from people of opposing views, and it cannot have been easy to be a pacifist at the beginning of the war. Most of us felt the Nazis must be opposed.
Donald D was one who stuck to his belief that man should not take up arms against man. He and his family must have felt very alienated from their friends — but they stuck to their Christian belief.
Donald and his friend, a minister, did not go to war at first — they believed it was wrong, but eventually (as war crimes began to be more obvious and the atrocities against civilian populations, gipsies, Jewish communities and the mentally handicapped became known about), their views changed and, greatly against their faith, they both joined the RAF.
The minister left his library of religious books , Hebrew and philosophy, at our house — because we had a big room where they could be stored. “I’ll come and get them when I come home,” he said — and happily he did return.
Donald was not so lucky. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese, and died, we believe, on the notorious railway between Burma and Thailand.
I shall never forget Donald. He was probably the bravest man I’ve known — he stuck to his principles and must have suffered agony of mind when he decided to eventually join up.
Life is so unpredictable — but it teaches us not to be narrow — minded and bigoted.
Lord knows, we need this teaching, even more today than ever.

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