Brothers in arms ready for 1940s celebration (From Warrington Guardian)

Brothers in arms ready for 1940s celebration

10:00am Thursday 18th October 2012 in News

BROTHERS in arms Ron and Stan Fisher are preparing for a family party to honour and celebrate two eventful lives.

Stan’s son and daughter-in-law Steve and Irena Fisher have arranged the 1940s theme party for the two ‘local heroes’ and Second World War veterans at the end of this month.

The couple have said it will be a special day as the party also marks Stan’s 88th birthday, from Latchford, and Ron’s 91st birthday, who has lived in Penketh all his life.

The decorated pair have many medals for their services as Ron was on HMS Suffolk, the first ship in the Arctic convoy to sight German battleship Bismarck, and Stan was a driver taking arms to the front.

Ron, who has been married to Phyl for 67 years, said: “The family were crying their eyes out when I had to leave for the war and Stan followed three years later when he turned 18.

“We never really corresponded because we were so far apart.

“I don’t like to talk about the war, especially on the Russian convoy and I still get tears in my eyes at times.

“I’ve got medals for the Atlantic, Burma and Pacific but they’re still trying to get a medal struck for Russia for us although there can’t be many of us left now.”

Stan, who joined the Army two weeks before Christmas, said he remembers being ‘bloody terrified’ landing on Normandy.

He said: “I was the driver bringing the supplies in and came off the ship hoping we didn’t hit a crater but we got away with it.

“I didn’t know where Ron was during the war and we never shared stories afterwards, we just kept ourselves to ourselves.”

Ron, whose white beret was awarded for his services in the Russian convoy, said the secret to their long lives is ‘hard work’ after his family used to keep pigs on Woodcroft Farm, Penketh.

He added: “I remember Burtonwood and Penketh when they were green fields and I moved into my house with a horse and cart in 1947.

“It’s changed massively for the worse now because there’s no green left.”