Our very own Ray Palmer recently appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow to share his memories of being evacuated from home and of serving in Burma during the Second World War.
Now
aged 95, 15-year-old Ray was evacuated from Ilford to Ipswich in September
1939, right at the start of the war. After the evacuation of Dunkirk he was
sent to South Wales, where he remembers and attending school classes in a
chapel and the teacher throwing hymnbooks at those not paying attention!
“They were happy times and we enjoyed ourselves and we were of an age that it didn’t worry us,” he told presenter Fiona Bruce during a special 80th anniversary of the show, filmed at Dover Castle.
In
1942 Ray’s war started in earnest. He was called up, joining the Royal Corps of
Signals and was posted to Burma two years later. He entertained Fiona Bruce and
viewers with his stories, and put on the hat that he wore all those years ago
in the Burmese jungle.
Ray says: “I’m a fan of Antiques Roadshow and watch it every week. It was actually my daughter Carol who responded to an Antiques Roadshow appeal for people who’d been evacuated during the war to get in touch and talk about their experiences.
“I loved being on the show and meeting Fiona. A
picture of us appeared in the TV Times as well!” he adds.
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