IN MEMORY OF MY FATHER - A WORLD WAR TWO STORY - SMOKING CAN KILL

We have just celebrated the lives of the fallen heroes of the two world wars and other conflicts.

It reminded me of a story my dad told me about one of his experiences of the Second World War.

My father had served in the deserts of the Middle East and Cairo with the Royal Artillery, part of the Eighth Army, commanded by Montgomery and known as the Desert Rats.

Fighting in these dangerous locations, he regaled us with stories of near-death experiences.

One particular one he oft repeated was how having served his stint on guard duty, the next person to take up his position lit a cigarette and was promptly shot by a German sniper.

Even in those unenlightened times, cigarettes could serve to kill you. It highlighted a story that I had heard before.

It was a cautionary tale called Three On a Match (Unlucky Third Light). It is told of a superstition among soldiers from the Crimean War to World War II.

The superstition goes that if three soldiers lit their cigarettes from the same match, one of them would be killed or that the man who was third on the match would be shot.

The first light would alert the sniper; on the second light, he would take aim, and on the third light, he would fire the deadly round.

Since then, it has been considered bad luck for three people to share a light from the same match.

This superstition has become part of popular Western culture in films, novels and other art forms.

Thankfully, my dad returned from the war to his family unscathed, for had he not, I wouldn’t be here to tell this tale.

Extract taken from my book 𝐀 𝐕𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 https://lnkd.in/dj3ZvYP

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