Prisoners of War

Towards the end of the war we had some German and Italian prisoners working on the numerous farms around us in Tattingstone and one day the bridle on the horse slipped off, with me with it, and straight into the arms of an Italian prisoner [Mary would of been in her early teens]. I was shocked but the crowd of Italians who were with him were very kind and gave me a cup of tea and sat me down on a fallen log. The mistress who was with me told me to come away from them and she did not half give me a thumping. The Italian who had broken my fall did not half tell her off. She then grabbed hold of me and put me back on the horse and got up behind me in a fine old stew!

The Germans were very clever as they made 'Jumping Jacks' out of wood of fallen trees and they were allowed.to sell them. When I was out on my cycle rides I often saw the German Prisoners, and used to watch them making these Jumping Jacks. If I had been seen talking to them Hell would have been let loose on me, but fortunately no-one found out. They were so kind and gentle, and even so there were many of our own people about to see that no-one came to any harm. One of them even was kind enough to give me one of these Jumping Jacks without any payment, he was rather a fatherly type of man.
Mary Adams - Those Lost Years