Graham, the Tiggywinkles finally aroused my curiosity to the point where I Googled it - a worthy cause, it appears!

I'd love to bring the wife and visit the D-Day beaches. The battlefield reference got me to thinking of them. My father went through Africa and Sicily with the 145th Infantry division ( Thunderbirds). "Greatest Generation" is an appropriate title, I believe. When I enlisted in the Corps I asked him what he recalled from WWII, and his response was terse - "Mortars and wounded mules screaming. Keep down and avoid profiling yerself."

Sorry for the off-topic interruption. Carry on...

 

Tiggywinkles = hedgehogs = Hogs! As you say, a great institution. We've taken along a couple of hedgehogs from our garden over the years. Unless they reach a certain weight (around one pound IIRC) by winter they are unlikely to survive. One made it in their care, but the other didn't - sniff!

My father-in-law trod a similar route to your father, from North Africa chasing Rommel, then North through Italy. He was in anti-aircraft, by coincidence the same as my father, although Dad spent most of his War on these shores, defending the homeland. My Mum was in early warning, linked to the AA guns, which is how they met! So good things can come out of warfare.....

Northern France is a fascinating place and well worth visiting. As in most of Europe there is stacks of much older history, great scenery, wine and food, plus the two Wars to investigate. One of the big US cemeteries has a large rectangular pond as a central feature, which is itself very calming and reverential - then you realise there are squadrons of swallows whizzing over it, skimming the surface to drink, in flight, which gently brings back the now. Wonderful!

 

Just arrived in NZ ( after 40 hours of flying and airports :exhausted!: ) and Mum had some newly found letters from my Grandad ( Aussie Grandpa ) from the trenches in northern France... comparing some of his tales from there and other campaigns like Turkey etc was really interesting... they really had a different mentality then.