257956 Cpl. Dennis Cracknell British Army 2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment My father, Dennis Cracknell served as a Corporal with the 2nd Battalion Prince of Wales Own and saw action towards the later end of the 2nd World War.
He talked little of his experience of active duty. He did have some scarring on his leg from a chemical attack I believe and said that it took a long time before the hair started to grow back.
I know that he worked very closely with he local people whilst in the jungle and vaguely recollect him describing how they would feel for something unique around the collar/shoulder area to determine, in the dark, whether you were friend or foe. He never ate rice as the experience of eating it whilst in service put him off for life (let's say it was the added protein).
He fondly talked about the beauty of Pnang and Singapore and how when they began to demob at the end of the war, they would sit on the back of trucks drinking beer and just gaily toss the bottle over the side when they had finished.
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