My parents met on a cruise ship in 1962, sailing home to England from Canada. They were seated at the same table for dinner, and the story in my home growing up was that their first words to one another were, “Please pass the salt”.
I don’t know who said what to whom, if that’s what actually happened, or if it was an inside joke of theirs, but I do know they fell in love on that voyage. It was to be the love of each of their lives, their last love, til death they did part.
Dad was born in Bromley, Mom in Birkenhead. He fought Hitler’s Nazis, she was bombed by them. They each lived a life I can only begin to imagine. My goal is one of personal discovery and also to honor the struggles and triumphs of their generation.
I’ve been wanting to tell their story for a long, long time. Next month, in April 2022, I will at last make my first journey to England, and begin walking the path my father took as best I can reconstruct it. Starting out with another dream of mine, and that is to meet my older brother and sister, the children of my father’s first marriage.
The love that created my two older siblings began when a young man joined the British Army, was assigned to the 24th Royal Lancers, and sent out to the moors near Whitby, to learn how to drive a tank. Here, he would meet his first wife and eventually they would set up as a married couple in Robin Hood’s Bay.
My father was quite camera shy so it’s been tough finding photos of him especially during the early part of his life. He also did not like talking about the War, so I have only very few personal stories to go off of. I have to thank WWII historians everywhere, and online amateur genealogists, who have helped me to piece together quite a lot of information about Dad’s early years.
It’s going to take me a while to get through all of this. My father’s path alone is rather convoluted and fraught with heartache and loss. My mother grew up on the other side of the country, in Wallasey. One of many a destination for future trips.
Multiple posts will follow, but I wanted to get started with this. As a writer who makes her living working full time day job, I squeeze in writing time whenever I can and whenever the bug gets into me to start a project, I start it.
More info: iwm.org.uk
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