A bit late in the day ?

I am not a Telegraph reader, the Times being more my cup of tea, but someone has just drawn my notice to an article by Simon Heffer in today's paper.

In an article headed "Britain at War: Commemorating the Second World War " Mr.Heffer draws attention to a new Telegraph project that is appealing for relevant articles about WW2 to be sent in, either by ex-Servicemen themselves or from interested friends or relatives.

I am a trifle bemused that the Telegraph has waited until now to appeal for these stories..... can someone kindly tell them about, for instance, the BBC WW2 Archives that over three years ago sucessfully gathered in many thousands of tales (actually 45,000 stories and 15,000 photographs).
BBC - WW2 People's War - Ron Goldstein's War
let alone the excellent WW2 Forums such as the very one you are reading now ?

Is this an example of "better late than never" or is it just "Sorry mate, you've missed the boat"

Ron

ps
Went back to the BBC Archives and see that their final record of entries is given as follows:
The BBC asked the public to contribute their memories of World War Two to a website between June 2003 and January 2006. This archive of 47,000 stories and 15,000 images is the result.

 

Ron - while you have given your memories and memoirs freely - and all credit to you for that - you are a rare beast... a WW2 vet who is Net savvy! In my experience very few are (my father eg). And some have not wanted to discuss it all until recently; so the more appeals like this the better as it hopefully it stops the memories of what your generation did being forgotten.

 

I think it is FAR too late Ron, for example like researchers myself it was always a bit difficult to collect stories, the big newspapers should have done this many years ago. They had the money and were able to reach people far better, many of the people who were alive then have passed away.

 

Ron -
I too thought it a bit odd - but then the Telegraph appear to be a bit condesending at times so possibly they don't recognise anything the BBc had been doing for nearly four years with their War Series.

They do tend to hide things also - try finding their Football Rankings for example - to-day - which gives an excellent account of how each Premier League team had so many fouls for and against - shots on goal etc - goals for and against - sort of thing needed to clean up the game !
Cheers

 

Ron - while you have given your memories and memoirs freely - and all credit to you for that - you are a rare beast... a WW2 vet who is Net savvy! In my experience very few are (my father eg). And some have not wanted to discuss it all until recently; so the more appeals like this the better as it hopefully it stops the memories of what your generation did being forgotten.

I think Paul hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Far too many, including my late father never spoke much about their experiences.
It is really wonderful that the WW2 Veterans on this forum place their stories and experiences. This way the world can see how brave these men were and give them the credit that they deserve.

I think that it is a little late, but you know the saying, Better late than never!

Perhaps the Imperial War Museum should have started the ball rolling many years ago, but there again the cost rears its ugly head!

A National Archive of personal experiences on line sounds like a wonderful goal.

Tom

 

Ron - while you have given your memories and memoirs freely - and all credit to you for that - you are a rare beast... a WW2 vet who is Net savvy! In my experience very few are (my father eg). And some have not wanted to discuss it all until recently; so the more appeals like this the better as it hopefully it stops the memories of what your generation did being forgotten.

I agree. Any way these tales/stories/memories are told is for the greater good. I hope people come forward, it would be terrible not hear and learn people's history of a past era. If just one Vet came forward who had never told his side then it would be so worth it.

 

I think it is FAR too late Ron, for example like researchers myself it was always a bit difficult to collect stories, the big newspapers should have done this many years ago. They had the money and were able to reach people far better, many of the people who were alive then have passed away.

The only thing is that many WW2 vets had no interest in talking to anyone ten years ago, let alone further back than that.

 

I think that it is a little late, but you know the saying, Better late than never!



Couldn't agree more Tom.

The way I see it, there's a heap loads of people out there that know next to nothing about WW2. And if this newspaper article inspires a new generation of people like us, then I'm all for it.

 

Ron Agree mate.
The only reason why I am willing to talk and write about my war, is this.
An old Veteran told me many years ago, that the Veterans that had seen war, and had taken part in the greatest upheaval and invasion in our Countries history, had a duty to tell the younger generation of the events that took place.

That, he said, would serve two purposes. To make the younger generation realise the sacrifices that were made, so that they could enjoy the life that was gifted to them, by those that paid with their lives, and those that bore the pain of war for the rest of their lives.
He also said, that by making folks aware, that would also serve to keep the memory of those men that gave so much.... well and truly Alive.

That is what made me decide to talk, and write, about the earthshaking events that took place so many long years ago,. Years when the whole world changed. For Ever!

It certainly is not for any self aggrandisement. For that I do not give a toss....But for those that we left behind, and who I recall with great pride.

I am not sure that the way I did it, was what was required? But I did try.
Sapper

 

Brian - you have made a tremendous contribution, never forget that. And if this newspaper add brings out some - or just one - long forgotten or suppressed memories, like those you have so willingly shared, then that can only be a good thing.

 

Own -
after reading the various comments from others - I would have to agree that the Telegraph thing might be a good idea - as many have said - if only one new experience comes out to educate the unaware.

The next trip you think about organising for your young ones might start at Sicily then through to Ortona - Sangro -Termoli - Cassino - Anzio - Gothic Line to give them a sense of the utter futility of it all in such a beautiful place to-day !

When you think of the closeness of Ron - Niccar - Gerry and myself at some of those times - all doing our own bit in getting rid of the evil it is surprising that only Ron and I have ever met as far as I know - and that was in London in 2005

So fair warning that I hope to be in the Uk again in December having Lunch with Ron & Nita - my treat - and shall be spending two days in Bournemouth which is - as we all know - right next door to Sappers hideout in Poole !

Just missed meeting Gerry at Hyde Park Cavalry parade in May as the quacks kyboshed my trip for that !
Cheers

 

By the way,the Daily Telegraph project is to commemorate the Munich Agreement which has its 70th anniversary as now.I wonder if the Czechs will be invited to contribute.

We shall see if there is any reference to those who for want of another phrase were "Hitler lovers".These were the people who saw their status and position in life in prewar Great Britain being threatened from within rather than across the continental divide.

 

Harry

Thanks for reminding me that the Telegraph project is related to the anniversary of the Munich Declaration. With that in mind perhaps I will forgive them for coming in so late with a request for memories of that period.

Thinking again about the BBC WW2 Archives I wonder how many forum members have taken a look at the excellent TIMELINE facility on the archives site?
BBC - WW2 People's War - Timeline

I've attached an image below to show you what it looks like

Ron

 

I thought I would bring this thread uptodate by reporting on a test piece that I posted onto the Telegraph site.

After having posted an article it did not appear until between 12 & 15 hours later although I would guess that this was a security action for the site to control spam.

When it finally appeared I realised that the "search" facility was very poor and had to use CTRL F to find the article.

What one imediately realises is that there is no attempt to place articles into areas of interest and so everything is just lumped together, one article after another.

There appears to be no control whatsoever regarding the length of articles submitted and so, in some cases, some posters have decided to post the equivalent of "Gone with the Wind" life stories that take indefinite scrolling down to reach the next article.

There is no HELP box and certainly no FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section.

All in all I am NOT impressed with the Telegraph's efforts.

Any one else like to comment ?

Ron

 

Agree, that a good idea has not been thought out and the presentation of the information is poor. Nothing like the BBC site. Hope they back it all up, hard copy it and send the details to IWM?

 

I'm with Diane (dbf) on this. I had not heard of the BBC's Peoples War until joining this site. So anything new has to be a plus and YES the infrastructure can be sorted later.
Davwe