Reg Curtis

This is a story told through one man’s eyes. There are so many different memories held by others, but these are mine. In my 94th year they remain vivid and clear, often more so than recollections of more recent times. I suppose that’s the way it is when you have lived through war. This is a story that begins before the Second World War and runs through it—a time when everyone did their bit and I just played my part. I was already in the Grenadier Guards when war was declared with Germany in September 1939, and when Winston Churchill’s call to volunteer for commando and parachute training came in 1940 it was an easy one to answer. I was privileged to serve my country and am proud to have done so with other pioneers of the Parachute Regiment, whose memory and friendship I hold dear. I have no regrets. Between 1939 and 1945 we took part in the greatest conflict in human history. We won the war, of course, and back home in Britain have now had almost 70 years of peace, for which we can all be grateful. What a shame it is, though, that even the vast scale of suffering we went through was not enough to finally put an end to war itself. I don’t suppose there will ever be one way of agreeing about everything but I can’t help hoping that things will eventually get better for everyone, not just us.