Donald Madley comes from a military family. He was born at Woolwich Arsenal on 13 July 1927 and enlisted in the Royal Engineers at the age of 18 in the last year of the war. He was posted out to Gibraltar, where he remained for two years. He describes the routine and boredom of military life on the Rock, tensions and fights with visiting American military personnel. He recalls some of the work to extend the runway and tunnels and about the presence of German and Italian PoWs, waiting to go home. Interestingly, he describes how once he was involved in opening up a concealed chamber, inside the Rock, which he believes would have been used to hide important officials or as a spy place in case of invasion.
He also describes how he was glad to leave Gibraltar on de-mob, but how later he returned to live there for 5 years to be close to his son and local daughter in law, and how he found the locals exceptionally welcoming and friendly. Concluding, he and his wife speak fondly about Gibraltar.
AUDIO
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Track 1A (24 mins 44 secs)
Track 1B (29 mins 24 secs)
Track 2 (14 mins 35 secs)
Track 3 (12 mins 29 secs)
Track 4 (16 mins 55 secs)
