Arthur George Wells did not talk much about the war but did talk about the clogs. Hs daughter April was born in 1941 while Arthur was at war. She did not see him till 1945. They then lived in a nissan hut the family with 3 children till April was seven and a half. Then she got rheumatic fever and hospital would not discharge her till they got a proper home. That is when they got a council house. The clogs were on the mantle piece and April grew up with them. Dad would always tell the story of the clogs and believed most men on the ship got these as a gift from Holland. Her father was in the Royal Navy during WW2. He was a "mine sweeper" and travelling around the British Isles. On one trip they arrived in Holland to find the people starving. They pleaded with the sailors for food. The captain gave all the food he could spare and then decided to use his boat - which was an ex-fishing boat, to get food. He ordered the men to release fishing nets which had been stowed away. He said "We are going fishing!" which they did! They had a good catch and landed the fish on the shore. People appeared from every corner desperate for food which disappeared very quickly. Next morning a group of people arrived with presents for the sailors. These are the clogs my father was given and we the family treasure them. My father survived the war but like most veterans did not talk about it. He lost many comrades.