Leslie Crouch, who grew up in Lenham, but was living in Maidstone when I met him, kept a brief diary of his wartime activities. What stands out is just how far the men had to march, once they arrived in France during the early days of the war.

The diary shows that his unit arrived in Cherbourg on April 5, 1940, and at first travelled by rail up to Contre. But on April 14 they undertook a 22-mile march as far as Molliens. Three days later came a relatively easy 18-mile march to Villiers Bocage. The next day it was 21 miles to Villiers Hospital. On April 19 they foot slogged the 22 miles to Erin. They were fortunate to be provided with motor vehicles to get up to the Belgian border, which they reached on May 10. But the diary records this was followed by a march of 60 miles, finally reaching the Belgian town of Oudenaarde on May 14.

“I was called up in July 1939 to what they called the First Militia,” he said. “I was expecting to do six-months’ training and then be demobbed. I ended up doing six and a half years.

“At first, I was paid 1s 6d a day (7.5 pence in today’s money). But the day war broke out this was increased to two-shillings. By then I had transferred to the Royal West Kents based at Maidstone Barracks.

“I was a carpenter before I was called up, so I was sent to a Pioneer Platoon, which was mostly made up of building workers.

“When we got to the Belgian border we stopped, because the Belgians wouldn’t let us in. But as soon as the Germans invaded Belgium we were in, travelling up to Oudenaarde. That’s where we first met the enemy.

“We were on one side of the canal that runs through Oudenaarde and the Germans were on the other. Our job was to defend the Battalion HQ so we weren’t as involved in the fighting as some of the rifle companies. We did exchange fire with the Germans but nothing major.

“We were there for about four days, and then we had to begin the retreat to Dunkirk. It took us two or three weeks to get back. We were marching most of the time because there was no transport. We had no food except a few scraps we could scavenge from abandoned lorries.

“The roads were packed with refugees. Local people were just scared.

“We didn’t see any German aircraft until we got to Dunkirk. I finished up on one of the beaches on May 29. There were crowds of soldiers waiting for a boat to take them home. I was there two days, part of a very long queue. I had eaten no food for days.

“Eventually I reached the water’s edge and waded up to my neck out to a boat. It was quite a big one because it had a gun on the deck. Men were behaving very well. There was no panicking, despite aircraft attacks. Fortunately, we weren’t hit.

“Somehow, I managed to clamber onto the boat, but I have no memory of that. We were sent below, and the next thing I knew I woke up off Margate. I was given something to eat at the railway station and then got onto a train. I finished up at Shrivenham, Dorset.