John Love (1930-). British Army, Ammanford

Description

John Love was born and grew up in Carmarthenshire in the decade before the Second World War; Leaving school in 1944 at the age of 14yrs he worked in a Butcher’s shop before being conscripted into the British Army in 1947. As a member of the Welsh Regiment he was posted on a temporary basis to the London Docklands to off-load supplies from Cargo ships during the Dockyard strike of 1947. The Regiment was then posted to Germany where John found himself in the very unusual position of guarding Rudolf Hess, in Spandau Prison located on the outskirts of Berlin. This was not long after Hitler’ deputy had been sentenced to imprisonment in the Nuremburg Trials. John elected to remain in Germany after his period of conscription had ended, joining the Welsh Regiment’s Catering Corps, before returning home to civilian working life. Today, John Love lives in retirement in Ammanford. In his audio recording John describes his childhood in South Wales and service in the British Army shortly after the end of WW2.