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Location
Purley, Surrey
Age
22 Years

24th October 1945

Yesterday was really our day of departure from Paris. The previous day I cycled down the Champs-Élysées, round the Arc de Triomphe on and up to the Eiffel Tower. I went up to the second floor of this and obtained a fine view of the city.

We left Paris on a train which departed promptly at 0600. There were two American army nurses and one Red Cross worker in our compartment (shared by Don and Sandy). We were soon in conversation with these and had some great discussions on the age-old subject of America versus Britain. At Dieppe we were separated from them temporarily but met them again on the boat.

The crossing was pretty windy and nearly everyone was sick. There were only 10 passengers in for lunch – including the Old Man and I.

A WAAF was standing on the weather side soon after we left, and she managed to be sick. I caught the full force of all that she brought up!!

I helped her over to the leeside and eventually into a deck chair. She came from Mordon,  Surrey. She was really ill!

At Newhaven, I thought I would have difficulty in getting Molly through the customs, but all went smoothly. She behaved wonderfully. Our American friends reserved us our seats on the train up to London. Two of them came from Oregon, and one from California.

I went home from London and reached Purley at 2030, so the whole journey only took about 12 hours!

Today I have been up to London to sign off and have collected my pay. Mr. Salway of the “Waiwera” is working in the London depot now after a nervous breakdown. He is much thinner.

This marks the end of Len’s active service