Extraordinary True Stories About Ordinary People from World War 2

By Mark Mginternet Publishing

A group of stories from WW2, a personal account from friends, relatives and people whom the author has met during his life. An uncle in the aviation industry who met Hitler, personal stories from D-Day, Arnhem and more. Some sad, some inspirational, some emotional and some uplifting. The whole gamut of war is here but mainly from ordinary people and the experiences they had of that time.
Much has been written and analyzed about the leaders and generals of that war but these are accounts of the less famous, the ordinary people which are nevertheless just as fascinating. Written for posterity by the author so their stories don’t get lost with the passing of time.
Includes related reading information to the stories about D-Day, Market Garden, and Bergen Belsen etc.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9780244842130

Book preview

Extraordinary True Stories About Ordinary People from World War 2

Extraordinary True Stories About Ordinary People from World War 2

Introduction

A group of stories from WW2, a personal account from friends, relatives and people whom the author has met during his life. An uncle in the aviation industry who met Hitler, personal stories from D-Day, Arnhem and more. Some sad, some inspirational, some emotional and some uplifting. The whole gamut of war is here but mainly from ordinary people and the experiences they had of that time.

Much has been written and analyzed about the leaders and generals of that war but these are accounts of the less famous, the ordinary people which are nevertheless just as fascinating. Written for posterity by the author so their stories don’t get lost with the passing of time.

Includes related reading information to the stories about D-Day, Market Garden, and Bergen Belsen etc.

Published by Mginternet Publishing 2019

SIR SPENCER SPRIGGS and the HURRICANE FIGHTER PLANE

Sir Spencer Spriggs was in fact my uncle on my mum’s side and most of this story comes from her. He became the managing director of Hawker-Siddeley before the war and they were responsible for building the Hurricane fighter plane. He started out working in the aircraft industry as a tea boy and I imagine quite a resourceful man. This was in the early days of plane production and he used to push his trolley around the departments and learned as much as he could.  He was a young man then and must have been very keen; his job was an advantage as he could pick up things from all stages of production and administration throughout the factory. He started with Sopwith Aviation and he then joined Hawker Sidderly and slowly and he worked his way into the management of the company. He eventually became the Managing Director at some point; I am not sure of the dates but, what a rise for a young man from humble beginnings!

His position and reputation must have become well known in a burgeoning industry in the 1930s and he received an invitation to visit Germany by their aircraft industry to view their production and compare techniques and I would guess to pick his brains!  This was when Hitler had taken over Germany and building up his Luftwaffe. I can only guess the dates but I imagine it was around 1934-1936. My mum never elaborated much as she would tell me the story many years later so specific detail is missing. He was shown around by some very high ranking dignitaries in the industry and with some high ranking Nazis in attendance; he was chaperoned around and given the best treatment I imagine.

Eventually he got to meet Hitler himself at a private reception which must have been all part of the plan the Nazis had for him. My mum could never provide the details but I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at that meeting. After drinks and canapés Hitler came out with his true intent for all this lavish attention and asked him to come too Germany and work for him and help Germany to produce better planes. If he were to accept he would make him a very rich man, Hitler actually said this to him according to my Mum. Today we would call this head hunting and it was clear this was all set up by design from the beginning. Uncle Spriggs turned him down, exactly what was said I do not know but I have often wondered if he was tempted by this offer. He came from a poor background and must have been a very ambitious young man to have got where he was so I just wonder if was not a little bit tempted.  It sounds to me as if Hitler’s offer was a name your price and it is yours; for a man like him this must have been very tempting and aircraft production was his life. However, he had seen enough to realize that Germany was preparing for war and his decision as it transpired was crucial for Britain as the following events proved to be.

It may be best I tell the story as my mum used to relate it to me, unfortunately I was too young to appreciate the relevance of it all and press for more detail;  my mum was not one for fine detail  but it is all significant nevertheless:-

A few months after his visit to Germany they were all having a party and Uncle Spence as my mum always called him was there with family and friends.  At some point they found him in the kitchen crying just slumped on a chair, all he kept saying was there is going to be a terrible war, I know it over and over again. Of course all the relatives including my mum just kept trying to comfort him and saying he was wrong and