I noticed every day that um every
morning you wake up and you go under the
street you see a different face you know
color person uh a black person I should
say they just started coming in coming
in you know and I thought to myself
these people must dropping out of
Disguise because every morning you get
up and you go down the street they're
black
people
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when I got here I I really was
disillusion I'll tell the honest
truth
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I came here in the winter time and it
was very very very cold it was a shock
to my system very foggy lots of fog you
know you couldn't even see your hand in
front of your face you know
so sort of had to get used to it
this area brings back a lot of memories
to me I don't live far from me at the
moment but um I more or less finish my
growing up in this area you know used to
go into the park here play cricket kick
football it helped me with my
sanity growing
up we started to roam the streets
together you know not not not in a bad
way
we had to be very careful how we walk
the streets in those days cuz it were
the teddy boys that we had to contend
with you know they were aware of um
black people coming into the city you
know and I don't I don't think they
liked it they formed themselves into
groups to combat it you know whether it
be with violence well it was with
violence CU used to beat up a lot of the
guys got beat up I know that for a fact
but if if if they walked in gangs the
black guys they never troubled them I
was very fortunate because the leader of
the Teddy Boys his girlfriend used to
live next door to me and I got to meet
him I didn't know that he was the leader
of the teddy boys till one night I went
to
a a young people's dance you
know
they were all there and they rushed me
they ganged around me in and I was in
the circle on my
own and I saw this guy push his way
through you know and he said to me um he
said to the guys um oh I know this guy I
know this guy you know so leave him
alone you know and they just just left
me
alone when I got posted to um to Germany
I end up in uh Berlin
and we were stationed at um spand bars
and right next door to spand Barracks we
used to have to do the guard duties
there you know and uh when I got there I
was assigned to do my duty as a a guard
you know on the prison and uh we had um
political prisoners there you
know one of them I remember clearly was
um Rudolph H he was second come on
behind
Hitler when he first saw me he didn't
like it you know he said in broken
English you know look what I come to now
black man he guard
me at the time it it it it it didn't
really
register being a young person I was only
17 and a half then I didn't realize that
who he actually was it only after when
he start um talking about the war and
everything I I realized who who do H was
it was an honor you know uh to to to be
able to guard such one so important you
know at the time but me and him became
very very good friends it's funny cuz
when when I was off duty I used to go
back into the prison me and him used to
play
cards you
know I I I didn't realiz realized that
um there was so much of a color issue
throughout the world at that time you
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know I talk to him mostly because I
didn't like his first remark look what I
come to black man guard me
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now it wasn't just a German issue it was
a world issue you know
they always seem to be resentment
against black people you
know we have to accept each other
because we all want people God's
people