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Sunday was to be very reminiscent of the very
valuable Free Sunday, that rare occasion
early in our training when we were allowed out of camp for a whole day. A
time when we could spend a few very precious hours with our family and
friends away from the rigours of army life.
This time it was a chance to think back on the
reunion which I had just attended. No doubt it means different things to
different people. The main factor is the chance to meet with old friends
with whom we shared the Arborfield experience. What happened to, where did
he go, have you had any contact with, did you know, all questions heard
repeatedly throughout the past two days. And yet for me, a great part of
the experience is just to be back on home ground for a little while. No, I
didn’t really enjoy my time there and took great steps to ensure that I
spent as much time out of the camp, legally and illegally, as I did inside
the fence. But there was a comradeship which could never be found later in
civilian life and that is something to be treasured. I have been lucky
enough to meet up with a good number of the lads I met on my first day in
the camp, and indeed, shared room F6 with. The friendships resumed from the
point we said goodbye after we passed out, and it is as if we have just
been away on leave for a while.
This reunion weekend was spent at the home of friends
from more than fifty five years ago, friends who welcomed us into their
home with open arms. That has been a really heartwarming experience.
If there is to be just one more reunion back in
Arborfield then I hope that I will be there. If we move to a new location,
as would seem inevitable, then for me it will be solely with the intention
of meeting, greeting and keeping old friends, and the grounds of Arborfield
will become just a memory.
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