The train pulled into the station in a hiss of steam, all those around me grabbed their bags excitedly and hurried to get off, I could hear the cheers of the waiting crowds, they weren't for me though, they were waiting for their warriors, their heroes, I was neither.It took about ten minutes before the guard came in checking the carriages."We stop here sir," he said kindly, "You have to leave.""Yes," I said and smiled we...

"Good morning madam." the receptionist looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, a beautiful girl who was immaculately turned out in a short white smock coat which displayed a generous cleavage as she bent to check my name on her register."Ah yes," she smiled, "If you'd care to take a seat, I'll call for a girl now."I sat and leafed through one of the mildly pornographic magazines I found on a low coffee table until anothe...

It was my best friend who first noticed what I'd thought for years. We were both sixteen and she was all excited about going out that night with a guy from school; she'd tried to get me yet another date with his friend, but I'd demurred as I always did."You're gay, aren't you?"I nodded by way of responding and felt just as miserable, as I'd always done when I watched her dressing for him; she always wore such pretty under...

A hand delivered letter was waiting for me when I got home on the day the company broke up for the annual summer holiday. “I don’t believe this shit,” I looked again, but I’d read it right, I’d been made redundant.Without speaking I handed it to Wendy my wife.  “Oh for God’s sake,” she raged, “The bastards, the absolute bloody bastards.”“Everyone’s out,” I said, “They’ve shut the bloody place down.”“The house,” she gasped...

We spent the rest of the day calling on old friends; it wasn't just emotional, it was heart wrenching. Many of my old mates hadn't made it and were buried in some foreign field, if they were lucky, others were damaged, some very badly or mentally scarred.I'd been told by my boss in Berlin that I could commandeer a jeep to get around in from the local battalion, so I took advantage of his kind offer and did so, petrol was...

Gradually over the next few weeks tensions eased a bit, the fraternization rules were relaxed and Germany became a much better place.The rubble clearing still went on though, it had to, the building work was moving on quicker than most of us had anticipated.I'd met Eva's younger brother Manfred and I'd managed to get him a job on our building gang as a tea boy and general labourer, he still did a bit of black market wheel...

I was sixteen when I first met her at our local youth club and she was fifteen. She wore a yellow pleated skirt with a white blouse, and I thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world.  In those days, tights, (pantyhose) hadn't yet been invented and if a teenage boy caught a glimpse of stocking top, it was a case of an instant hard on!I was more than surprised when I asked her for a date and she agreed. I was prac...

I was among the first of our soldiers to march into Berlin, I didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms, but what we were greeted with was worse, far worse.It was total apathy; these people had endured everything over twelve years of tyranny, twelve years of being careful of what they said or who they said it to!Occasionally, we saw bodies still hanging from lampposts where the last few fanatical S.S. men had hanged the...