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This story has been contributed to the People’s War by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Learning Centre on behalf of Stanley Painter’s son Richard, with his permission.

My father was a tank commander with the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and spent much of the war in Suez, Egypt. He saw plenty of action and was awarded several medals.

Due to the trauma of seeing many of his mates killed and injured he never talked to me about his experiences.

The effect of seeing people killed and injured caused him to try and destroy his medals, but my mother retrieved them and kept them safe, and managed to obtain new ribbons for them.

These photographs were taken with his tank crew in 1944. My father died in 1976.

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