Wales Maindy Barracks (3)

>> Right, my name is Emmett Smith. My date of birth is the 21st of August, 1933. At the age of 18, I joined the Welsh Regiment in Cardiff. This is the barracks I joined at. I went to Hong Kong to ship me to Korea, but while in Hong Kong, I was transferred to the King's Regiment, King's Liverpool, and I went into Korea in September, 1952, and on April the 13th, I was killed in Korea. There's a story behind that. I was blown up with mines. It was in an attack, and we were blown up with mines. Anyway, I went into hospital, and I always wrote home every week. I wrote to my mother that I have twisted my knee, so I've got to go into a hospital, but I had shrapnel went straight through my thigh, and the surgeon come to my bed, and he said, "I'm going to take your leg off," so I said, "If that's what you got to do, sir, you've got to do it," and they had an operation then. They'd quoted 11 in the morning, and I came to at 10 past 5, and he come to my bed, and he said, "I saved it by 1/8 of an inch," so the shrapnel, as I say, went straight through my leg. Have you ever seen shrapnel? No, I've got a piece of shrapnel. That's a piece of shrapnel, and this is not the one that went through my leg, but this is one that I was in the trench and a bomb come in and landed within 2 feet of me, and the trains collapsed, and I was buried in the trench, so I got a little piece of shrapnel [INAUDIBLE], and that's my story, but I'm not dead. I assure you, but I wrote him, as I said, to say that I had injured my knee. At the same time, my mother [INAUDIBLE] I was dead, but what had happened, they'd mixed the reports up. The ones who got killed, they told them they wrote injured, and the ones that were injured, they said they were dead. >> Wow. >> And I was there until the end of the war, which was in 27th. It was July, as I said, and on the 28th of July, [INAUDIBLE] there, the Chinese, and they was calling us down, so off the hill. It was no-man's-land, and he was handing me with that, if you can see. It says, "Life exists once for all value and love it," and that is from the Chinese volunteers in 1953. >> That's the original? >> He hung it around my neck. >> That's the original? >> Yes, yes, yes. >> Wow. >> "Life exists once for all value and love it." >> Wow. So you remember July 27th well? >> Yes, yes. >> What were you doing? >> [INAUDIBLE] the night before. The Armistice was signed at 10 o'clock in the morning, but it didn't come until 10 o'clock. It had to be 12 hours, so everyone knew before it began, so I was on patrol that night, and at 10 past 10, we asked over our radio, "Can we come back now the war is over?" and the North Koreans answered, and they said, "All over and out. Go home," but talking about North Koreans and Chinese, the Chinese again, I was on the patrol Christmas Eve [INAUDIBLE] 3 foot of snow [INAUDIBLE] he come on, "What are you boys doing here on Christmas Eve? Why aren't you at home with your wife or girlfriend [Indistinct] fire. Come to think of it, who is on the [INAUDIBLE] with your wife or girlfriend?" making your mind sick. Have you been back? >> No, no. >> I would like to go back now, but at the time I said, "No," but as I say, fortunately, I've got my leg, and I'm still alive. >> Exactly, God has spared you. >> Yeah. >> God really did. >> Yeah. >> This is ... I can't believe they sent this. >> Nice of them. >> Yes. I don't think I've ever met anybody close to ... >> Yeah, hung it around me, five officers. There was a doctor amongst them. >> Amazing. >> And I went through ... >> And you came back to Wales after? >> Yeah, yeah, and there were headlines in the local paper, "Dead Man Returns Home From Korea." >> Really? Because everybody presumed ... It was reported you were dead. >> But my mother knew before then, of course, my mother and father, but ... >> What was your full name game again. >> [INAUDIBLE]. >> Can you spell that? >> Pardon? >> Can you spell that? >> B, R, I, N, L, E, Y. >> Brinley, uh-huh. >> [INAUDIBLE], but everyone says Bryn, B, R, Y, N. >> B, R, Y, N? >> B, R, Y, N, Bryn. It's only if I've done anything wrong as a child. >> L, E, Y. >> L, E, Y. >> Smith. >> Smith, yeah. >> And your birthday is el >> 21st of the 8th, 1933. >> 21st ... >> 86 years tomorrow. >> 1933, and you were born in ... >> Pontypool. P, O, N, T, Y, P, double O, L. >> Ponty ... >> Yeah, pool. >> P, O, N ... >> And it's in Wales, right? >> Yeah, in Wales, yeah. >> And you were part of the Welsh Regiment and the King's Regiment. >> What is the difference? >> Well, the Welsh Regiment ... Excuse me. The Welsh Regiment was coming out to Korea. Excuse me. The King's Regiment was going in, so they said, better transfer to the King's and serve the full 12 months because they're serving only 2 months. >> So the King's Regiment was the rest of the British? >> Yes, yes, and they've all been issued with a badge last year. >> Got it. >> Yeah. It's a peace medal. It's a peace medal. >> Yes. >> Well, thank you so much. >> Thank you very much.