| My
Dad and WWII
videos
Jim and Kay
Lennon 2008
Poster
Reunites old soldier pals
Jim Lennon
Sniper
Burma, 1945. Jim Lennon, one of the famous 12-Mile Snipers, is with his
Regiment, sweating it out and being eaten alive by mosquitoes deep in the
jungle. Japanese troops are waiting in their thousands. Jim knows it will
be a fight to the death. No one is expected to walk out of that jungle
alive.
But Jim does. Yet his hardest battle lies ahead. Today, the onset of
osteoporosis has compromised Jim's mobility. He needed help and we were
proud and honoured to give it. The Legion provided him with a mobility
scooter. Now he finds it so much easier to care for his housebound wife
and get around.
My
Dad, James Lennon was 'called up' on Friday 25th August, 1939, he had to
report at Dunmore at 3.00pm and he got home again at 5.30pm.
He
sailed for England, from Northern Ireland on the 6th November, 1939 and
went to France on the 19th December, 1939, he ended up in Burma for 3
years with no leave !
This
is his story.................
"We were all fighting in the
same war but each person lived it differently".
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, above Frank Novins fish shop on the
Old Park Road, which his father managed, Arthur and Mary Anne welcomed
the birth of their first son on the 19th of October 1919, their next son
Arthur Linton died shortly after birth. Jim grew up in Belfast, attending
first Alexandra PE in Alexandra Park, he remembers his first day at
school, age five, "Tommy Foster (10) a neighbour took me by the hand
to school on my first day, there was only one long room with a fireplace
and benches tiered on three walls with the oldest students on the back
benches." After that they moved from the Old Park Road to 50
Mountcollier Street, then to Rosapena Street which were Council owned
houses, this was at the time of the depression when people were
committing suicide because of the debts they owed and couldn't pay, his
father couldn't pay the rates, Jim and his mother Mary then moved to 9
Evolina Street to live with Mary's parents and Aunt, while his father was
living in derelict houses and avoiding the police but he eventually had
to serve six months in prison as did many others at that time. While
living at Evolina Street, Jim attended Hillman Street school, although
not too often he tells me, "Things were just too crazy then, it was
a bad time."
After that they moved to Carnmoney
where they lived in old Nissan huts, tin corrugated huts and Jim attended
Carnmoney PE or Ballyduff PE, he's not sure which it was called, they
then moved to 33 Ritchie Street which is where they still were when Jim
was 'called up' to serve in WWII, when I say 'called up', I mean
volunteered as the men from Northern Ireland were all voluntary soldiers.
some day there will be more.........
Fergal
Keane - 26th September 2010
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