- Contributed by
- Martin Burgess
- People in story:
- Kenneth Burgess, My Dad
- Location of story:
- South Godstone, Surrey
- Background to story:
- Civilian Force
- Article ID:
- A4917468
- Contributed on:
- 10 August 2005
The day Dad shot the Post Office.
Whilst waiting for his acceptance into the Royal Air Force, Dad, who always had a very strong sense of duty, fulfilled this responsibility by joining the Home Guard.
On one memorable night Dad, having completed his stint ‘on guard’ went back to his muster point, right outside the Post Office. Here he went through the usual routine of emptying his 303 magazine of the 5 rounds it contained. He pulled the bolt back five times, as he always did, but on this particular night he made not one but two of the cardinal sins of handling a rifle:
One, he forgot to check that he had five rounds on the floor and none in the rifle.
Two, instead of pointing the rifle at the ground before pulling the trigger he pointed it squarely at the Post Office.
You can guess the next bit! Instead of a sharp little click there was a somewhat louder BANG! Out of that rifle shot one of his majesties own. It went straight through the Post Office Plate glass window, though the counter, through the wall into the draper’s shop adjoining. There it reduced a large mirror to so much glittering rubble and ended up in a bolt of the draper’s cloth.
This was not going to be a happy time for the family finances!
All was not lost!
The following night One of Uncle Adolf’s flew over the village and dropped the only stick of bombs our village saw throughout the entire war. We always thought it must have been a lost aircraft jettisoning his load on the way home as I don’t think our rural little village posed any great threat to Adolf’s plans, but on reflection, I’m not so sure. Six bombs were dropped that night. No-one was killed or even injured. In fact five of them dropped in the mud. The sixth hit the only unoccupied building in the whole village, the draper’s shop! It also blew out every window in the street. The family finances were saved and I wonder to this day, just how Dad arranged that one!
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