"Colchester' is a bit vague."
Yes, I'd heard that's true, but not as bad as Jaywick apparently.
My father-in-law was a petty officer on the Warspite during the battle for Monte Cassino serving on the flagship under the Rear Admiral, being the admirals runner and butler he saw the reports of devistation caused during the drive north by the Africar Corp and Allies. Unbenown to him, at the time, two of his own brother were in North Africa and had been sent to Italy and fought in the capture of Monte Cassino too. One lost a leg in the last day of Monte Cassino but survived courtesy of a German Surgeon. His other two brothers were part of the D-Day landings.
I'm inclined to think that they would, though not perhaps in such large numbers. We have less of a feeling for 'king and country'. It is also a mistake to think that the wartime population were all equally resilient, and morale was reported as having broken down on occasion. Without wishing to be controversial, I also think that immigrants are as likely to join in the fray as older natives. I am drawn to this conclusion by hearing about the way immigrants in the US contributed to the last war, including many Japanese.
