My Great-Grandfather Samuel's Story

My great-grandfather, Samuel Charles Clay was 40 years old when he joined the army to fight in the Second World War. The rules were that if you were over 40, you didn't have to fight as a soldier. However, my great-grandfather still wanted to volunteer to join the army and help out during these difficult times, because he strongly believed in the fight against Hitler.

My grandpa, Malcolm Clay, was a newborn baby when the Second World War began. So he grew up not being able to see his father until the war came to an end. He says that, when he was little, there was no fruit (unless you found apples fallen from a tree) and he did not see a fresh egg (only powdered egg) until he was seven or eight years old.

My great-grandfather, Samuel, lived with his family (my great-grandma, my grandpa, and my two great-aunts) in Crumpsall, Manchester before the war broke out.

Samuel served in the Royal Artillery between 1940 and 1944. This was a particularly hard job for him as he had to be separated from his wife and three very young children. His job was to work on the anti-aircraft guns on the south coast of England. They moved around, never staying in the same position so that they wouldn't be detected by the German aircraft. Their role was to gun down aircraft to stop the German bombs from entering London and other major cities in the UK.

One night (towards the end of the war in 1944), Samuel's unit was hit by a German bomb and all of his colleagues were killed. He was the only survivor, but he was severely injured. His back was broken and he was unconscious. Luckily, before it was too late, some American soldiers found him lying on the floor and realised he was still alive. Samuel was taken to an American field hospital, where he stayed for eight months. He was extremely lucky to survive, but he was left with a terrible condition called shell shock for the rest of his life.

In recognition of the service he'd given to his country, Samuel was awarded the King's Badge for loyal service. My grandpa, Malcolm Clay, still has his service badge and his dog tag (with his name and religion).

I have attached a picture of Samuel's dog tag (picture 1 - Clay, S C for Samuel Charles, CE), his King's badge (picture 2), and a photo of Samuel in active service in 1940 (he is on the left in picture 3). I have also provided a picture of my grandpa, Malcolm Clay, from 8 June 1946 at his primary school VE Day party (Crumpsall Lane Primary School, Manchester. He has dark hair and is holding a letter, second from the left, third row up from the bottom, picture 4).