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Anthony Nicholson
#1157 by son Rob
My Dad (like many
others) really didn't speak much about his experiences - by the time I
was old enough to have some understanding of his past (I was born in
1952) we were probably 15 years or more after the end of the war.
I seem to remember
being a bit embarrassed when one "friend" asked "can you still see the
marks where they put the bamboo shoots down his fingernails?"
I can imagine that
my Dad's past wasn't a prime topic for conversation and I suppose the
family was happy for it to be that way.
By this time he had
a new life and the one or two specific tales he told (see below) were
humorous or focused on the positives.
Incidentally, the
anecdote about him stealing drugs was never related at home. I only
found this a couple of years ago via Google. I even suspect my Mother
may not have known about it, as it was never mentioned, even after he
had died.
I've sort of taken
my Dad's attitude with me as I've explored a bit of his past - if he
didn't want to tell me about the horrors then I don't want to go digging
and find things I really don't want to know about - I much prefer to
remember my Dad as he was - enjoying his post war life.
Nevertheless from
time to time curiosity gets the better of you and with the advent of the
internet, information is much more readily available.
The Marmite (or
perhaps Bovril) in the Red Cross Parcels which he believed saved his
life.
(In case you haven't
heard of them - and apologies if you have - Marmite and Bovril are a bit
like Australian Vegemite, Beef or Yeast extracts - full of B vitamins
and good stuff!)
A fellow prisoner
who apparently made a "Bull Fiddle" (double bass) from the Red Cross
packing cases.
Finally, in the
winter, the ground was too hard to dig graves and so bodies were stored
in a shed with identification labels attached to their toes for burial
later in the year. Unfortunately, rats nibbled at the string and the
labels fell off! This was told with some humour and so may be
apocryphal.
Although I do know
that after the war his life was in turmoil for some years, he was a
kind, intellectual and caring soul whose demeanour belied his past. The
true nature of his experiences was never revealed - and that's how I
want to remember him.
Rob
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