Bill's Story

Ukraine was under Poland in1939. I was 14 when the Russians came, communists who took over from Poland. Life wasn’t easy if you went against the regime, off to Siberia, along with your family you were taken. About twelve families from our village went. My brother was old enough to be taken to their army.
When the Russians came, when any resistance, the women were raped; most women hid away.
The Russians were in the Ukraine for about 2 years when war broke out between Germany and Russia, and then the Germans took over. That’s when the youth were taken. Even those who hid away for a few months. They promised reprisals with families, so we were taken to youth labour camp to work, repairing damage to roads and railways which had been bombed. Then the Germans had to retreat so we were taken as a Ukrainian division fighting the Communists in the German army. We were training without proper weapons, with the Russians coming with tanks, so we had to retreat. Along with us were thousands of civilians trying to get away. We were put on trains, first to Poland, then to Yugoslavia, to fight Tito’s partisans. We didn’t see any although they were in that area. We were in the mountains with no food, just some beans that farmers gave us, which we cooked in ammunition tins, and melted snow for water.
We were then sent to Czechoslovakia, still after Communists. From there we were sent to Austria on the Russian front. We had to retreat into the woods as we had nothing to fight with and thousands advancing on us and men dying off around us.0ne had half his face missing, begging me to kill him, but of course I took him instead to the medics, but whether he lived, I will never know.
Next day, still in Austria, we were told war was over so our officers us to carry what arms we had got over the Alps on to the Austrian-Italian border, to surrender to the British, to help to fight the Communists, as at that time, we thought that was going to happen.
Instead they destroyed our arms, taking us to Rimini in Italy as prisoners of war. We were there about 2 years, the Russian officers trying to get us to go back. Those that did were never seen again. We heard this once we got to England, by letters. The first news of home and what happened came via America, as nothing was allowed from England.
So now, landing in Scotland we were brought into England, working on farms, living in hostels, first in Braintree, Essex, then to Langham in Lincolnshire, then into Leicestershire at Billsdon, still farming. Then I went to Sutton Cheney where I was a cook in a kitchen and from where I was released, still having to report to police. I was working in Frog Island hosiery wool spinning on night shift and living in lodgings with a Ukrainian family in Chepstow Road, but when I met Enid I was visiting Ukrainian friends in a hostel in Sapcote, at the local wakes fair in September 1950.
I was still living and working in Leicester, but came to Sapcote to live with Enid’s parents, as Enid’s uncle Billy got me a job in Eatough’s Earl Shilton boot and shoe. We were married in 1953, still having to report to the police. We lived in Spring Gardens till our first child was born in 1955. When we moved to Earl Shilton, we started buying our first home, where we stayed for 18 months before moving back to Cook’s Lane no 11, where we stayed for 38 years. There our son was born in 1959.
Our home now is a bungalow in Livesey Drive. We have celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary; have 5 grandchildren, (4 grandsons and 1 granddaughter) 3 of whom live in Germany with our son.

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