Thank you for listening to We Have Ways of Making You Talk. Sign up to our Patreon to receive bonus content, live streams and our weekly newsletter with money off books and museum visits as well. Plus early access to all live show tickets. That's patreon.com slash we have ways. Hello and welcome to our series of Family Stories, the podcast written by you, the listeners.

This week's Family Stories feature a bolting bronco in Burma, a promise to a friend, Hogan's Heroes,

an old Jerrycan, Chindit adventures,

and a married couple who may or may not have been a family of spies.

This week we're starting with the story from Norman Bell. My dad Les spent his 19th and 20th birthdays in Burma. He never spoke about his experiences,

with one exception and I never thought to ask before it was too late. The exception was a story about

he and two others

were detailed to exercise three horses. My dad's powers obviously knew which horse to avoid,

as when the horses turned for home, my dad's horse bolted with my dad clinging on for dear life.

The horse galloped back to camp, through the gates without stopping, leapt over the horse trough and into his

stall in the stable. Miraculously, my dad was still on board. Were you in charge of that horse?

bellowed the sergeant. No, I effing wasn't, dad answered. When my dad returned to the UK,

he brought with him a phobia about snakes and a hatred for the Japanese, both of which stayed

with him until the end. And that story was from Norman.

Our next story is from Peter Finch. David Roberts was a Capstone lathe operator, living in Black

and in Kent with his parents, Nora and Stanley, his brothers John and Thomas, and his sister

Joe, with whom he was very close. The family were originally from Camberwell, South London.

Stanley loved a flutter and won a fair few quid with the Derby forecast. Combined with a decent Pools win, Stanley was able to move the family in the early 30s to a brand

new semi-detached house in Kent.

At work, David became good friends with Des Finch, a lad from Bethnal Green.

David would bring Des home from time to time to enjoy his mum's cooking or some of Stanley's

cakes. He was a baker.

...