Alfred was mentioned on almost every page, so John transcribed Harold\u2019s shorthand notes and gave Maggie a copy of the memoir and the diaries. \u201cIt was astonishing to receive the diaries, but also very daunting. I was scared that I would discover something about my beloved dad that I didn\u2019t want to know.<\/p>
\u201cHowever, once I started to read them my initial fears soon gave way to huge delight. Harold described a day in the desert when trucks were abreast going into battle. He looked over at Alfie Brookes in the next vehicle who shouted, \u2018It\u2019s my 21st birthday today!\u2019 I could just see Dad as a handsome young man who was full of exhilaration.\u201d<\/p>
As the war progressed the memoir developed a darker register. In June 1942, Alfred and Harold were captured by the Germans near Tobruk in Libya. \u201cThe prisoners were kept in Benghazi for months, guarded by sadistic tribesmen. Harold remembered soldiers being hung up by their wrists with leather bands, and left in the desert heat.\u201d<\/p>
Alfred and Harold were later moved to a POW camp in northern Italy. After the Italians surrendered in 1943, the prisoners thought that the war was over. Several, including Harold and Alfred, escaped and hid in a barn roof for two days.<\/p>
\u201cThey were recaptured and Harold, Alfred and the other escapees were made to stand in front of a firing squad. But they were given a last-minute reprieve, and were instead beaten with sticks and rifle butts.\u201d<\/p>
Harold and Alfred\u2019s friendship sustained them through the horror, hunger and isolation of life as a POW. Both men survived the war, and were demobbed to London. Their friendship lasted a lifetime, and they were each best man at the other\u2019s wedding.<\/p> \u201cI was amazed that Dad had no bitterness in his heart. He used to call his former captors \u2018our German cousins\u2019, and hosted exchange students from Italy and Germany. He lived life to the full, enjoyed travel and had a rewarding career.\u201d Alfred passed away in 1996, aged 76.<\/p>![\"Harold](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2020\/06\/Harold-as-best-man-at-Joan-and-Alfreds-sept-1949-wedding-c69377a-scaled.jpg\" "\\"Harold")