Seventy-seven years ago my father was in Wismar, Germany. He was serving with 53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry) Air landing Light Regiment, Royal Artillery, which was part of 6th Airborne Division. They had arrived there on 2nd May 1945 … just ahead of the Russians. He was eighteen years old and had been called up on his birthday in 1944. He remained in the army after the war ended, serving in India and Burma before he was demobbed in 1947.
Thanks to my current medical problems, I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents over the past few weeks. Had they still been alive, my mother would have been ninety-four years old, and my father would have been ninety-five. In fact, he would have been ninety-six on 17th May.
Whatever my future holds, they gave me a great start in life. They both came from humble working-class areas of London (my mother came from Lambeth and my father cane from the East End), but they worked hard to give their children the best that they could. We were encouraged to be as successful as we could be in whatever fields our talents took us into. My brother and I went to the same secondary school (Palmers Endowed School for Boys, Grays, Essex) and both left with good qualifications that enabled us to choose the careers that we wanted to follow.
From my mother I inherited a creative streak (she was a very talented artist and worked for Warner Brothers as an airbrush artist) and from my father I inherited a love of mathematics, particularly geometry (he became a gunner because of his talent for trigonometry and geometry and became an accountant after leaving the army). Thanks to their nature and the nurture I received, I can look back on what I think was a successful career in education and forward to a career as a writer and wargame designer.
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BOB,
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you learnt from your Parents and hold them in very high regard. Sad to say that I learn't nothing from my Father - only how NOT to be like him. My Mother on the other hand taught me to be gentle and creative. Stay well there in London. Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI’m sorry to read that your relationship with your father wasn’t good, but it sounds as if your mother compensated for that.
I did inherit other traits from my parents, my mother’s temperament (which can best be described as feisty) and my father’s physical build. Sometimes this was a disadvantage as I ended up having quite a few fights when I was younger.
All the best,
Bob
My grandfather was drafted from his shoe sales job in November 1943, leaving behind my Dad who was seven months old at the time. He became a tanker in the 13th Armored Division, which luckily meant he saw little action as they arrived in France January 29, 1945.. (though he was particularly affected by the hard winter, and a visit to a liberated concentration camp.) He would have been near the border of Bavaria and Austria on VE Day.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed him once, inspired by my university internship working at a county archive. Never finished transcribing it - I must find it again. There was seriousness, but also laughter.
Thanks for inducing the memories...
Jennifer,
DeleteMy father remembered the Winter of 1944/45 as being the coldest he could recall. His unit was involved in the latter stages of the Battle of the Bulge, and he was slightly wounded when a German artillery shell air burst just above him. He only realised when the theodolite he was using fell over because shell fragments chopped through one of its legs!
I have recordings made by my father, but like you, I need to transcribe them.
All the best,
Bob
Sometimes its good to reflect on our pasts, and to see how they have helped mold us into the people we are today, and to learn from our mistakes. Hope you are on the mend and will be past your current trials soon.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteWe are all products of our upbringing and our ancestors. As the Jesuits say ‘Give me a child until the age of seven, and I will give you the man.’
As to my current medical situation … well, I have more tests booked in and I have another ten days of hormone treatment. After that … who knows?
All the best,
Bob
You are fortunate to have such good memories but always remember to stay positive about the future and what is yet to come. Regards.
ReplyDeleteTony Adams,
DeleteI try to be positive, but like most people, I sometimes find it difficult at 3.00am. When that happens, I try to read something that will take my mind off how I am feeling. It usually works.
All the best,
Bob