On Friday the Royal Naval Association (RNA) had the honour to be invited to the VE80 event at Chiddingstone School in Edenbridge, Kent. This was a very special event as they had WWII Royal Naval veteran Eric Bateman, of nearby Edenbridge, as their special guest.
Eric attended a special Victory in Europe Day service at St Mary the Virgin Church, where a vignette of his life during wartime was played out by the children.
After this, there was a question and answer session, where the children, aged three to 11, asked questions of Eric about his wartime service.
Eric then unveiled a plaque at the school dedicated to himself and all those who served in WW2.
Eric had never seen the sea when he joined the Royal Navy in 1942.
“I joined the Home Guard when I was 15 and we had to go on Army camps for training. I didn’t like getting up early and shaving. And all the nice girls like a sailor, so I joined the Navy.”
Indeed, Eric’s plan was successful as he met his lovely wife, Pauline, in 1947.
Capt Bill Oliphant, Royal Naval Association General Secretary, presented Eric with Life Membership of the RNA and a bottle of rum (to make up for Eric being too young during his wartime service to qualify for the tot).
If you are from a Naval background and would like to join the Royal Naval Association go to: royal-naval-association.co.uk/join-us
You can contact the WW2 veteran co-ordinator on cml@rnassoc.org
