The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

lost my dad when i was 17 taught me to fix things, to keep calm , decorate and have a go at things

he was a pow with the japs but even said there was good and bad in them.

lost him 33 years ago and miss him loads

My father is still around but he's suffering now due to the amount of injuries he's gotten over the years. That and his heavy smoking.

I can honestly say that i hated his guts when a kid. I especially hated him after he returned from the Falklands. His lessons in life were strict, demanding and usually harsh. He taught me to fight - first boxing and then streetfighting from an early age. I never backed away from a fight nor walked away because i knew how he'd judge me. He taught me to swim by taking me out on a row boat and tied a rope round my waist before throwing me in.

He would usually take me away to the wilderness for about a week, a few days after he'd come back home. This is when he taught me to fish, hunt, climb, survive, etc

It wasn't until after i'd grown up and joined the army that i realised how his strict upbringing made life so much easier. I just didn't go through all the weaknesses, the emotional crap and all the whining others did when first moving away from home.

Due to not being around much i learned values from my grandfather who was every bit as tough but was more caring. The weird thing was that he was every bit as tough with my father as my father was with me. Now i watch my father who dotes on my daughter.

I'm alot more caring with my daughter.

Scotsgun wrote: Due to not being around much i learned values from my grandfather who was every bit as tough but was more caring. The weird thing was that he was every bit as tough with my father as my father was with me. Now i watch my father who dotes on my daughter.

Age can soften the toughest of men.