Called up in 1942, Percy Hollins was enlisted into the First Buckinghamshire Battalion, where he would go on to experience the war in all of its ever-changing forms. 

As a Signaller, Percy spent a memorable 21st birthday camped out on the Scottish shore, battling the cold December weather and snow. In an act of kindness he would never forget, he was surprised when the Regimental Sergeant Major, having noticed his discomfort, requested to borrow his water bottle, only to find it half-full of neat rum when it was returned to him later in the day.

By the time D-Day arrived, Percy and his regiment had spent many months travelling around the coast and North Sea, before landing on the morning of the 6th June on Sword Beach, Normandy. Manned with a wireless set, the sight of dead bodies and burning tanks was unmistakable, and unluckily for Percy, he would also find himself caught in the chaos of the operation. 

Suffering a shrapnel injury to his foot, Percy was flown back to England for hospital treatment, returning back to mainland Europe several weeks later, only to be captured and taken prisoner by German paratroopers, alongside many other allied troops and one civilian. 

Held in a castle dungeon and subjected to daily interrogations, Percy feared he would be shot and killed, however with determination and witty-thinking was thankfully able to survive. Able to make out a map on the wall during his interrogations, it quickly became clear that the allies were getting closer, which for Percy was a much needed boost of morale.