Wow, thanks for the response guys.
I came along really late in my parents lives so I was brought up in a family where WW2 was an experience they lived ( and fought ) through, while for other kids of my age it was in their grandparents time and a lot more remote.
My dad entered combat on D-Day and apart from a couple of weeks back in England recovering from a ( non combat ) injury went right through to VE Day.
I have never really figured out how someone could be so mentally tough to go through all that horror and come back home as a gentle and kind man.