Curio Corner

The narrator is recalling part of his early training days :- " One night at the Club, I ended up drinking with our boxing instructor, who had the odd name of Reggie Minnie,. He was only one of our teachers that we found impressive. The verdict of our training group had soon gone around: good men in the Agency were too valuable to use for teaching. We received the culls, Minnie, however, was special. He fought in a stand-up classic stance, and had been a Navy boxing champ during the war. He had also been married to an English girl who was killed in a car accident, a fact to mention because he was the driver. His sorrow was complete; it was as if he had been dipped into a tragic rue. This loss permeated every pore and organ cell, left him , indeed, a complete man, all of one piece, one whole tincture of loss. He spoke in a gentle voice and listened to every word that everyone said, as if words were as much of a comfort as warm clothing .............I complained about my ineptitude at defence as if it were a peculiar phenomenon, some hopeless relative to my body. He then made a remark I never forgot. 'You have to learn how to hit,' he said. 'It'll give you more of a sense of when the punch is coming at you.' This reference supplied by Glenys P. Brazell (Minney) Perth, Australia

And from the Glamorgan Police at War archives; "...air raid duties were a crucial part of police duty. The police were responsible for sounding the air raid siren, known as a “moaning minny” because of its distinctive whining sound, to warn of impending attack. Any police not on duty would report for duty immediately, ensuring that the Blackout was being implemented, evacuating dangerous areas and guiding the general public towards their nearest air raid shelter.