Milford Haven memories of VE Day and prisoner of war stories

Western Telegraph

04-05-2025

It was a beautiful, sunny, early summer's day, but I can't remember the thousands of townsfolk, service men and women laughing, cheering, shedding tears of joy as they danced in the streets and filled the pubs and clubs to overflowing.
I was probably asleep in my cot as the sun went down, when it was time for the Navies to join in the party, here described by the West Wales Guardian: "Sirens and hooters shrieked and blared out a constant morse -V for Victory and ships sent up a breath-taking non stop display of rockets of every colour, which went far into the darkness before bursting into a thousand coloured stars and slowly dropping onto the shining waters of the harbour.
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Kids in Glebelands in Second World War gear (Image: Jeff Dunn)
"Searchlights swung on to the sea front and caught hundreds of people arm-in-arm, singing patriotic songs and cheering wildly as the rockets burst above them.
"There was a stirring and sentimental moment when the town's air-raid sirens sounded the very last "All Clear" and the song of that title was emotionally sung by thousands of revellers."
The St Katharine Tennis Courts were transformed into a dancing area, and there were free cinema shows for schoolchildren.
For some reason I've always been fascinated by the Second World War, which is one of the reasons I wrote my first stage play, The Day War Broke Out, about a Milford family (based on my own) from 1939 to 1945.
One of the characters I wrote into the script was the late Royal Marine Tommy Thomas, 101, Charles Street, who was captured during the fall of Crete, incarcerated in Germany for four years, and whose daughter Ann
lent me a box full of letters that Tommy had written home throughout his captivity.
I thought it might be an appropriate time to include these few memories.
Firstly here is one of Tommy's last letters home, dated December 26, 1944: "Dear mother, I had to smile at your letter when you said 'it won't be long now, and 'keep your chin up'. You've been saying it for nearly four years, and my neck is getting a bit stiff keeping my chin up.
"We received a letter a few days ago from one of the lads who made it back to England.
"It was ever so funny, reading a letter from someone who, a short time ago, was here with us. He received a great welcome, as he says, he thought he'd won the war.
"He told us of the fine work the Red Cross and everyone at home are doing for us over here.
Waterloo Road end of Second World War party on the cockle bank (Image: Jeff Dunn)
"I'm spending my fourth birthday in this here dump.
"Dear God, I never thought it would have been so long.
"By your last letter you seem to be worrying a great deal about me, don't mam, I'll get along.
"Well this is Boxing Day again. We all had a holiday yesterday. We had a concert, and a sing-a-long in the evening. It wasn't too bad. I did think that we'd be together for this one, but I guess I built my castle too high. All I can say is, let's hope and pray that by this time next year we'll be together once more.
"Give my regards to Nora.
"Your loving son Tommy."
Here's what happened when the Tommy Thomas story, and his captivity, came to an end.
The prison camp had been quiet for two days, with no sign of their guards.
In fact, not a German was to be seen. All the prisoners were in a state of complete confusion.
They didn't know what was happening. Was it a trick? Or was the war over at last?
Would they be shot if they tried to make their escape?
On the third day, Tommy and three others couldn't wait any longer, so they ran into a nearby wood and spent the next 48 hours creeping away from their hell-hole of four years.
They were still half expecting to be halted in their tracks. Then they came across a convoy.
A Russian convoy!
Robert Street VE Day party (Image: Jeff Dunn)
They were taken and held for a week and were heading towards the border and undoubted internment again. One night, Tommy and his pals again slipped away and hid in the woods.
Before long, an American unit picked them up and after four years as a Prisoner of War, Tommy Thomas was heading home.
He had no desire for a huge welcome home party, so he'd sent no warning. When he got off the train at Milford station, no one was expecting him. His sister, Lily, was a Lister driver, and she was the first to see him as he slowly stepped down onto the platform. After her own tearful greeting, and fearing what a sudden shock might do, she ran home to warn her mother.
As she dashed into the house her mother was coming down the stairs carrying two slop buckets.
When Lily told her the news about Tommy she was immediately soaked by the two buckets her mother threw into the air.
To add some pictorial flavour to the celebrations, along with a snap of Tommy Thomas, here are snaps of VE Day parties in Robert Street, Waterloo Road and Glebelands.
That was 80 years ago, today, as we all know, terrible wars continue to rage around the world, so I leave you with these words from John Lennon: "All we are saying is, give peace a chance."
Take care, please stay safe.