Armoured Tanks and Other Things

I thought you might be interested to hear how people in other parts of the world were affected — I found this extract in memoirs written by my Aunt, Miss Muriel May Hardman. She and my grandmother were living at Park Cottage, Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia

“During the War (1939-1945) while Bob was in the Army, Mom and I entertained many young R.A.F. lads from England. Rev. Frank Mussel sometimes brought young fellows to us and asked us to look after them. We had ground staff, some training to be pilots, so we had them from the four camps round Bulawayo. On one occasion two lads were invited and came back after nine o’clock having had an experience of being given drink instead of food. We managed to get them sober to go back on the bus to camp but it taught them and others to be careful about invitations. Mr. & Mrs. Wreford also entertained many. We took them from the church and many joined in the church activities — organist, choir, Sunday School teachers and local preachers, also all joined our Young People’s Club which had been started before our lads went away. Some used to come and play tennis at the Park Cottage and others at Mr. & Mrs. Wreford’s home. At Christmas many church folk came and invited the lads so that Mom and I were on our own for Christmas. Rev. & Mrs. Anderson invited several to the Mission near Plumtree, their daughter Sheila was training as a nurse at the Bulawayo Hospital. Thora Kelly, Rose & Lily Kirby (Rev. & Mrs. Kirby — missionaries). Rose & Lily stayed at the Y.M.C.A. and several other girls helped to entertain. Saturday afternoon they played tennis, had dinner, which Mom cooked, played table games or danced on the verandah to gramophone music, until it was time to catch the buses back to camp about 11 o’clock.
They would all attend church on Sunday morning, lunch with Mom and me and go to the Park to listen to the R.A.F. Military Band for the afternoon. Some used to go to Bible class, back for dinner and off to church. There used to be tea and singing hymns until time to catch buses back to camp. After the war we met some of the young fellows who came to find work and live here. Some brought their families later.”

My father (Robert {Bob} Hardman) was in a tank corp that was involved in North Africa and Italy. I remember one of the stories he told us — He was a cook and one day they had bought some watermelons but one of them had a crack in it. They just cut that part out and served it anyway. Well! It resulted in a lot of the men getting diarrhoea, which held up the column — boy were they in hot water ! (No in-door plumbing in an armoured tank !)

Best wishes,
S.T.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.