British Soldier Survives Dunkirk With His Wife In His Pocket
A British soldier who survived the Battle of Dunkirk in WW2, did so with a picture of his new bride in his pocket.
After the horror of Dunkirk saw the allies having to retreat along the beaches of Belgium and northern France, brave Norman Johnson swam through the waters to the safety of a boat, the image of his young sweetheart wrapped in a 100,000 Deutsche Mark for protection.
Norman, 97, was conscripted into the army during WW2 and was sent to France. He said the image of his wife Joyce helped get him through the dark days of his deployment.
The couple, from Sheffield, UK, lived in the same area growing up and met in their early teenage years.
Joyce said: “I took a fancy to him. He was going to night school so I decided to go as well and do dressmaking.
“We used to walk home together and we got to go steady. He couldn’t escape me.”
A hasty wedding was organised when Norman was given leave and was celebrated in a local pub.
Joyce recalled: “We got married when he was on 48-hour leave.
Norman said: “I can honestly say we’ve never fallen out. He added that the secret to a long and happy marriage was ‘being easy going with each other’.
In July 2015, the devoted couple celebrated 75 years of marriage with their diamond wedding anniversary.
They have seven grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren and Norman still has the photo complete with a salt stain from the sea and the German banknote it was wrapped in.
