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Friend or Foe!
Bob revisits an old war friend after sixty years
The bus stopped, and Bob Clement stepped off and acknowledged the driver, who drove away, leaving him in a light breeze under the bright sun and cloudless sky.
He was in unfamiliar territory, so he needed to figure out where to go first and thought he would find a local pub, as the locals there might know where to find who he was looking for.
After around ten minutes, he was sat inside a pub with a glass of ale in the village of East Haven, between Carnoustie and Arbroath on the North Sea Coast. He took from his inside pocket a letter that had brought him here.
He’d already read it many times and had virtually memorised every word. He reread it, not knowing why, perhaps to confirm he was in the right place or a simple desire to reread his old friend’s words.
Dear Bob, I was saddened to hear you were being posted to another division up in Arnhem to help repel the German advance. I never struck up a friendship similar to the one I had with you in Normandy, and as you know, the war ended four months later.
Thomas signed it on 7th February 1946.
When Bob first received the letter, having returned home to Plymouth all those years ago, he told himself he would travel to Scotland to visit his…
