I am the last of member of my family to be born in the first quarter of the 20th century, 24/02/1921 to be precise. I was born Sheffield and apart from the war years, have lived all my life there.
The seven war years formed the most interesting part of my life, the description of which has given me pleasure, some of which, I hope, will not be lost on a possible reader. The 48 Chapters of my memories cover the period 1938 to 1946 in chronological order and cover my time in Royal Artillery Light Anti-Aircraft Regiments and from D Day the 53rd Welsh Divisional Head Quarters group.
May I point out that this is not a history of WW2, or of the Welsh Division, but my personal experiences in the context of WW2, written purely for the benefit or embarrassment of my descendants. Even so, I have committed my story to the admirable BBC Peoples War Archive. I hope by doing this that veterans now mostly in their mid eighties or more, or their relatives, may come across these notes and recognise and recall similar places and people with whom they have rubbed shoulders during those momentous years. Perhaps they may get in touch to compare notes or to correct my inaccuracies.
I have often wondered what the intervening years have brought to my old comrades and would love to get in touch.
Finally, I also feel that the letter from Donald Crane, reproduced in Chapter 42, which vividly describes what an occupying force can do to your country, is deserving of permanent record even if a lot of my own writings are not.
Frank Yates 09.12.2005
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