Len Perry

Recollections of teenage life on the Home Front and service in the Navy.

Teenage years

Len Perry’s memories are intertwined with some of the major events of the war: the Blitz – the Russian convoys – the D-Day landings – the German Surrender of the Channel Islands. They also give us a vibrant account of the early years of war seen through the eyes of a teenager – “…no football…no cinema…no Boys Brigade…”  Len engagingly revisits his teenage years recalling a young man who was at times rebellious, at others frightened and sometimes downright excited.  Who else but a teenager would have relished in calling the air raid siren “Moaning Minnie”?  

The impact of witnessing a plane crash on Blackheath in South London stayed with Len who over the years has spent much time and effort piecing together the details of what happened.  Make no mistake though, Len does not seek to glorify the war, on the contrary he describes it as a privilege to have been involved.

Active service

Len has much to say of his experience of active service when he turned 18 and was called up for the Navy. We hear of the “absolute hell” of the Russian convoys and the intensity of the D-Day landings and the immediate aftermath as the Allies consolidated their advance. (Len’s ship picked up Reuters war correspondent Desmond Tighe and took him to observe the landing sites in the days after the landing.) And then on to the Channel Islands, where in 1945 the German surrender of Jersey was conducted on Len’s ship, the HMS Beagle.

Downloads

Letter written by Len Perry (9k)
To read more about Len's wartime experience in his own words please press the above link.

Interview with Len Perry (219k)
To read the full transcript of Len's interview please press the above link.

'We were in between' (71k)
Transcript of video clip with Len Perry.

Russian Convoys (79k)
Transcript of video clip with Len Perry.

D-Day (76k)
Transcript of video clip with Len Perry.