“DON’T MENTION THE WAR!”

This story was gathered, written and submitted to the BBc Peoples war by Stephen McConnell

“Don’t mention the war!” We can all associate the famous phrase with TV funnyman John Cleese as Basil Fawlty but for the people and families who lived and died through World War 2, this statement is all too painfully true.John Quinn was from Omagh. Like any other man of his age he had his family to support. Life was simple and fairly straightforward until the world at war would include him.John isn’t with us today to tell his story but his son Patrick still recalls this time of ‘change’. “I was quite young, my mother never actually told us where my father was going but we knew. We didn’t really was to ask because our neighbour’s father and brother had both gone to fight in the war and they had never returned.” said Patrick.
He doesn’t actually remember vividly the length of time his father was actually away but Patrick recalls the weekly routine carried out by himself and his mother.
“Every Monday we would have to line up outside the town hall for ages. We had a ration book, it was cream or a yellow colour, and in them days it was as valuable as any amount of money.” Because food and money was so scarce, Patrick remembers exactly what they got and just how they could get that little bit extra.
“We got a half pound bag of sugar, measured exactly to the grain, 4 oz’s of butter and three pints of milk. I always remember my mother making bread in the kitchen. She always made our rations stretch the week between herself and seven of us children”.
He continues “sometimes me and my brothers would go up to Joe Murphy’s back field and rob his apple orchard. He would always catch us and we’d have to run and try and keep as many apples as possible.”Once home Patrick would proudly present his mother with the forbidden fruit and his reward would be apple tart on Sunday for all the family. Patrick’s eyes begin to smile as he seems to fondly recalls his orchard robbing days.
One day that sticks out very clear for Patrick is when his mother broke the news of his fathers return. “She seemed relieved, she told us he was coming home but that he had his arm taken off in a fight. She made us all promise not to stare and not to ask questions about where he had been or what he had done.” Shortly after John returned Patrick recalls his father being very different, (.)his hair was all shaved, he only had one sleeve in all his jackets but because of the shortage of food it’s funny to hear the strongest memory of seeing his father for the first time in several years. “He walked in and my mum hugged him… he had always been a cross man before but I remember crying at the table because my brother got more dinner than me and my father never even said a word to me for crying.”Patrick never had a great relationship with his father after the war. He said his father was quiet and didn’t seem involved with anyone.Maybe unless you were actually in the war you will never know just what went on. One thing is for certain, we should treat these men with the respect they deserve and take Basil Fawlty’s advice and just “Don’t mention the war!”

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