Would like my DAD to hold a Lee Enfield No.4Mk1(T) after 70 years

[enfield303t]

Cass and I visited Sandy again today and as usual his recollection of events was amazing.

We talked about some of his experiences during WWII and i asked him about the one he thought was the most dangerous. Cass is going to see if he can find out more details on that incident so will write about it in a later post.

Sandy told us about a time he was fishing and could not see if there was a trout as the glare on the water was too bright so he crossed the creek to get the sun at his back. Said he spotted a big trout so threw in his line and low and behold the fish took the bait. Now Sandy was "liberating" this trout from it's habitat when on the opposite side of the creek a Mason John Johnson came along. Sandy said he spotted him and ducked down, holding onto the line and the fish was thrashing in the water. Mr Johnson saw this and being somewhat bewildered remarked out loud " I have never seen this happen before", obviously not realizing Sandy had hooked it and was hiding on the other side. After Mr. Johnson left Sandy landed the fish and proceeded to catch another one in the same spot. I presume that poaching was fairly common in those days. ( I know Sandy is protected by the Statute of Limitations"...LOL)

After our last visit Cass did some research on Sandy's best friend Jimmy Proudfoot. Jimmy was killed by a parachute mine at Theydon Bois in 1940 and Sandy described Jimmy as his shadow and he was Jimmy's. I believe there were never two better friends and to this day Jimmy is sorely missed.

About 10 days before the declaration of war a policeman told Sandy to go get Jimmy as they had been called up. Jimmy was working about 4 miles out of town so Sandy took his motorcycle ( Raleigh 2 3/4 HP) and went off for him. Said he got to where Jimmy was and took him back to Newcastleton and that was the last time he saw him. Sandy was in the south of England when he was told of Jimmy's death, he went to his CO who told him to take all the time he needed to go to the funeral. The explosion was so violent pennies in the men's pockets were found bent and misshapen.

Cass hooked up his computer thru his cell phone and showed Sandy some pictures of where Jimmy is burried in Castleton Cemetery near Newcastleton. There was also a picture of a plaque in St. Mary's Church (the church had its stained glass windows blown out by the explosion which were replaced by plain glass which remains to this day) in Theydon Bois that commemorates Jimmy and the 29 other soldiers that lost their lives that day. The plaque was put in St. Mary's in 1998. We all had a few tears at this time and Sandy was comforted when Cass told him people still care about his friend Jimmy and all who gave their lives so he (Cass) has the freedoms he does today.

Sandy then told us how he and Jimmy built a "saw mill" when younger. Guess Jimmy was very smart mechanically and they got a heavy plank table from the local joiner. They mounted a saw blade and shaft on it and then needed a motor to power it. A old motorcycle was in the yard of someone they knew, over grown with bushes so the owner gave it to them. Jimmy proceeded to tear down the motor and rebuild it and on the second try it started and ran beautifully. They attached it to the blade, put wheels on the table and then went around town offering to cut long wood slabs into shorter pieces for 6P. It was obvious from Sandy's expression how proud both of them were they did this.

Without a doubt we have been beyond fortunate to be able to spend time with such a wonder humble man. When we left we told him that close to 6,000 people have viewed this thread and he had a real smile. This thread has come so far from the original request and has a long way to go, Cass and I look forward to our next visit which will be very soon, we are hoping in two weeks.