"In the mean-time I had a Brother working in London in fact two, one for the City Corporation and the other in the London Fire Brigade."
These memories were transcribed by Toni Arthur-Hay from a diary of a Northwold man who died in 1994.
His family requested his anonymity.

Continued from April issue…
Well back to my life now, on my return to Dover and waiting to see where we were going as it was late in the year now, and all the talk of the war with Germany was coming to a close. The Germans were beaten. Well, that was good news for every-body. I think every body had had enough of wars. Well sure enough it did happen the war was over with Germany and we were out on a route march between Dover and Folkestone and when the guns started firing it was the sign we had waited for we knew it was over. It was also the sign that we were to about turn and marched back to Barracks. When we arrived every-body seem to go mad, and of cause that finished our duty for the day. Now all we have to do is wait for the next orders, as we nearly all had signed to serve for the duration of the war. Now the war have finished are we going back to France or be demobbed. Well, we didn't have to wait long before we knew what was to happen we were booked for Ireland. Get you kit packed and we were soon on the train for Fishguard and we had a terrible crossing. I think every one was sea-sick, by the time we got to County Cork we had all had enough. Well we

are in a different country with lots of different duties, and every body knew there was plenty of trouble going on but you have to take things as they come in the army. All I was looking for was to get out of it, as army life didn't suit me. I was never born to be a soldier any-way my time had come and I was demobilized Xmas 1919 with three of the lads that I joined up with. We went to Dublin and from there Holyhead and on the Ripon where we were discharged. And it would not have come at a better time, as my brother that had been serving in the far East was demobilize the same week, so it was a Happy Xmas for all the family.
Well Xmas is over and the money all gone we have got to look for a job with hardly any hopes at all. So we have to sign on at the labour exchange and they were likes of us had little hopes of sending us to a job. We had to sign on three times each week. We did some times get odd days work, such as what they called brushing, that was during the pheasant shooting season. The head keeper would perhaps want twenty men but that didn't come very often. My Brother was more lucky than me, he had a regular job in the

gardens before he joined up, and after a few months he was able to get back there again. I had nearly two years waiting to get settled down doing some thing and getting fed up with running up and down to the labour exchange it was not fair to my parents they had to keep me, as that £1 - 7 - 6 that I drew from the exchange did not keep me, and I had seen enough of poverty in my younger days. One thing that did stick out in my mind was in 1921 we had a very hot summer, and at that time all drinking water had to come from wells as there wasn't any piped water and quite a lot of the wells dried up. But we were