Four days leave
Soldiers could not spend week after week under fire or in the line. They needed to relax either back from the fighting in a rest camp or on a few days' leave in a major town or city. In rest camps soldiers could go to the cinema, drink, read, relax and sleep. In cities like Paris or Cairo there were other amusements soldiers could find.
Leslie Thornton
Leslie remembers going on leave in Cairo in early 1944.
Leslie Thornton's transcript (PDF) [107KB]
Fred Cottier
Fred Cottier's biography (PDF) [50KB]
Fred remembers relaxing out of the line during the Arakan campaign in 1943
Fred Cottier's transcript (PDF) [32KB]
Stanley Savin
Stanley Savin's biography (PDF) [48KB]
Stanley remembers a few days' rest after the fighting at Kohima in 1944
Stanley Savin's transcript (PDF) [48KB]
John Williams
John remembers visiting a brothel in France in 1940.
John Williams's transcript (PDF) [45KB]