My History

Written as I enter the evening of my life.

Forgive any errors- it's just "old timers disease".

5 to 7 years | 7 to 11 | 11 to 14 | 14 to 16

|17 to 20 |21 to 30

    On January 4th.just three months before my birth my father was very seriously burned while trying to save a driver of a lorry that overturned and caught fire, which must have been a very hard time for my mother.They lived at 14 Beresford Road at the time but mother moved to Belmont Road to be near her mother before I was born.More of this can be found by following this link :-.My Parents

My early childhood memories.> 5yrs.to 7yrs

   My grandmother East,Elderly Photo my mothers mother,lived in Dallow Road , with son Jack.( I was told my grandfather East was dead. but did not discover he was alive and living not far from Luton until about 1999 when one of his daughters contacted me.) Just around the corner from my birth address so most of my early memories concern her and where she lived. I guess my mother returned to work sewing bands to be inserted into hats ( Luton was the centre of the hat manufacturing trade Photo }while I was very young because my father was in hospital and the only monies coming in were from a Public fund, causing grandma to look after me most of the time .

 Grandma's back yard ran up to the railing fence bordering a Cocoa Factory, to this day I can still remember the aroma of cocoa which I am sure made me love chocolate. My mother's youngest brother Jack lived with grandma and I have memories of him frying eggs and bacon, he loved them well done, eggs turned over and bacon crispy, just the way I like them too. Uncle Jack had a beautiful Alsatian dog named Trixie which I used to have rides on her back, still my favorite kind of dog.

A painful memory I have is having wood splinters removed by grandma from my rear end after sliding down a plank, I did not do that again !.

  I have vague memories of going to a private house in Dallow Road which a lady ran a pre-school kindergarten, which I suspect my age then would have been about 4 yrs.Also of riding on a Tram which stopped running in 1932. Photo

When I was between 4 and 5 we moved house to 45 Runley Road  which would have been all new houses at that time. Grandma East also moved into next door at # 43 along with son Jack. Runley Road was a great place to spend my early childhood, our backyards run to the base of a line a low chalk hills  which ran around  Luton effectively putting the town in a valley.  Nearer to town were the excavation for chalk done years before, a great place to dig caves, but a dangerous practice as they were prone to collapsing.

You could walk over the hills ( an area made for a lot of fun & games,  plenty of large bushes to play under , they  made great indian teepees. )  to the village of Caddington where my sister resided in later life, also you could walk along the base of the hills all the way to Dunstable. My uncle Jack owned and raced a greyhound which we often walked for exercise towards Dunstable. I remember one occasion when we passed a field of corn being mowed and there were quite a few men surrounding what remained left to cut, hoping to catch any rabbits that remained inside the small circle of corn left standing, when one run out in our direction so uncle released his dog which took off after it, but it managed to elude him.  On the way there we used to stop at group of trees we called a spinney to collect wild bluebell flowers in in the spring, if lucky you could also find crocuses also. Collecting blackberries in season was looked forward to also holly at Christmas time.

  I remember the Rag & Bone cart coming around with a chap yelling out Rag-a-Bone, if you took him old clothes he would give you such things as goldfish in a jar or cheap toys. From time to time a band of Gypsies would camp in fields nearby, they would go from door to door selling hand mad cloths pegs. While they were in the district my mother was always afraid to leave clothes on the line for fear the ' gypos ' would pinch them, they were not liked and the police would move them on if they outstayed their welcome.

Then there were Indian chaps that came around selling ties etc out of a suitcase and the Spaniards selling onions slung in net bags from a pole carried across the shoulder. Another memory is of my mother going out onto the road with a bucket and shovel to collect any horse dung left there for the garden, mentioning garden, reminded me of when uncle jack was digging in grandma's garden next door when he unearthed a field mice nest with about four babies which he called me over to see, but then he killed them all with the back of his spade causing me to to have a crying fit as I wanted to take them home.

There was the Walls Ice cream tricycles going around selling their delicious products,calling out " Stop Me and Buy One ". Photo You could still find an occasional Horse Trough in the streets where horses could get a drink of waterP.hoto Some streets were still illuminated by Gaslights which required someone to light them at dusk and extinguish when daylight Photo Then you had to have the chimney swept free from soot from time to time as it blocked up and caused smoke to come back down into the room, this was a very dirty job and if not done properly caused a nasty mess for mother to clean up. Lighting the fire in the open grate in winter could be tricky if you did not have dry kindling wood, we used to roll up some newspaper and lay that first with small bits of coal on top. After setting it alight you placed a sheet of newspaper over the outside of the grate to draw a draught and encourage the ignition of the coal but watch, out if you were not careful and let it catch alight. Coal was stored in an shed built into the outside of the house and delivered in cwt.(112lb ) sacks which the coalman tipped into the shed. This was another dirty job that my father did for a time when I was about 12 or 13yrs.

To the east of Kingsway there was vacant ground on which Thurstons Fair & Carnival used to used from time to time., I loved the large Merry-go-Round with it's steam driven organ playing as you when around. Photo Grandma used to take in Boarders so she had a card placed in the window of a shop that was on the corner of Dallow And Runley Roads offering Full or Casual board. One day I came home off the hills and being summer grandma had her casement windows open and I jumped into her lounge room through the open window and got a big scare, as there was this very little old man sitting in a child's feeder chair. He was from one of the side shows at the fair where they had all sorts of weird people and things in the side shows.

Another memory is of my father driving buses, he wore a white smock with his Transport license dangling from the breast pocket. I think his depot was in Castle Street. His conductor's surname was Onions, which seemed funny to me at the time.

With both parents working even through the depression and being the only child I was spoiled both by my mother & grandma East ( when she made pastry I always had some with sugar inside baked for me), I was ever taught to eat good wholesome food, but filled up with the sweet things I liked, which has been a problem all my life .Mother brought me home some thing every week, like lead soldiers, pieces for a farmyard I was building up or a Dinkey toy car so I had quite a collection. Occasionally I would go to the hat making premises where mother worked and be given a chocolate Crunchier bar from an biscuit tin where one of the women kept a supply of various chocolates which I suppose she sold to other employees for a profit. ( Still enjoy them! )

Old fashioned remedies for what ailed you were practiced in our house, like flannel squares filled with powdered mustard and worn back & front next to your skin for bad chesty colds. Camphor bags slung around your neck to keep your nose clear. Spoonfuls of Brimstone & Treacle, which was flowers of sulphur mixed with golden syrup. Can not remember what that was supposed to do for you. Epsons Salts to relieve constipation, this vile tasting stuff was placed in a saucer with warm tea to dissolve it, then swallowed quickly before downing some tea to wash away the taste from your mouth.

My Grandmother Warren lived with my father's sister & her family in Windmill Road. Grandfather Warren died in 1906 in an accident at the local Brewery where he worked as a drayman, he was pinned against a wall by a dray trying to stop the horses. We used to walk to visit her from time to time. On the way we often passed by the Fire Station and my father would lift me up so I could see the fire engines inside Photo of it from St. Mary's church tower or I was taken down Park St. to walk along a path past the bus depot where there were old trams stored Photo so I could be lifted up to see them. The path led to Windmill Road. View of path by bus depot. I remember that Aunty Olive ( Dad's sister ) always had a jar of sweets to give out when we visited, my oldest cousin was artistic and can remember her making sillottes & pictures from black paper as well as coloured silver paper. Uncle Tom had a small holding which was like a miniature farm, this kept his family well supplied with produce over the years.

 I started school at Dallow Road School but have next to no memories of my time there, I guess I did not like going much, but I gained two friends there. A Colin Glover who lived in the Kingsway and Derek Barnes who lived further up Runley road, I am very pleased to say that I am still in contact with Derek who now lives in Scotland.

Colin and I had three wheeled bicycles which we had great fun on. One occasion with the three wheeler that remains very clear to this day, the three of us and the two bikes were in the Kingsway recreation ground which had a path from the entrance that turned a corner as it rose up quite a slope to the level playing field area. Well Colin & I would ride down this path around the bend at what to us was breakneck speed but when Derek borrowed Colin's to do the same, he somehow did not turn around the bend, instead hit the grass verge and lost the bike and hit his forehead on the iron railing that marked the perimeter of the park. The result was a nasty, bloody cut, luckily someone picked him up and transported him home by car. Colin grabbed his bike and shot off home leaving me to peddle to Derek's home to receive a good telling off by his mother. ( It's always my fault it seems ). Derek & I had a laugh about this when we last met as he remembers it well.

When King George V died in 1936 and Edward the V111 was crowned, all children at school received a commemorative mug. My sister Pamela was born in October of the same year. I received a two wheeled bicycle for Xmas that was made to size for me by a brother of grandma East. He owned a cycle shop where he made and sold "Holly Cycles".

1937 saw my family move to a bungalow situated in the premises of a haulage firm my father worked for at the corner of Beechwood Ave. and Dunstable Rd..

The company had contracts to collect boxed hats from various factories around Luton, they were then sorted into piles for delivery to different places in London. Drivers like my father would start early in the day so as to start delivering in London as soon as the premises open and then be empty in time to return to Luton to do the collection run before they closed. The sorting was done after the evening meal and usually finished by about 10.00pm. A long day.   The hat trade spurned the design of the Luton Body for cartage vehicles which saw the loading area extended over the drivers cabin to give greater cartage capacity.

Not long after we moved Derek's family purchased a house not far away in Chester Close so we still spend a lot of time together. Derek went to Beechwood Road school but I attended the one in Beech Hill. We were not long in Beechwood Road before my parents purchased a newly constructed house at 36 Grosvenor Road Limbury, Photo which was some distance away. Derek & I kept in touch as we were within about a half hours walking distance away of each other.

back to top

7 to 11 Years

Grosvenor Road was the last road built in the estate prior to the second world war, the houses on the opposite side of the road backed on to fields at one end on onto a unused sand pit at the other. One end of the road ran into Birdsfoot Lane which in those days was just that a unmade lane that ran all the way up to the Luton to Bedford Road, with hedge rows on either side. The old Roman Icknield Way ran quite close by, there were quite a few Roman coins found by people living near where it ran.

I soon made friends with other lads of my age who lived in the street as we all went to Norton Road School which was about 15 minutes walk away. One special friend was Peter Darton whom I have remained in contact with over the years. More about Peter later. School days at Norton Road were happy ones for me, things I remember about them were playing marbles at playtime, I had a shoe box with squares cut out that were just wide enough for a marble to get through with numbers over each cutout which played out that number of marbles to anyone rolling their marble though. I gathered a load this way ! Another game was Conkers which entailed gathering the seeds of the Horse Chestnut tree, drying them to make them as hard as possible, boring a hole through the centre through which a piece of string was threaded and knotted at one end so it would not slip off. With this done you challenged others to a contest which consisted of swing your conker against his until one one of the shattered. If yours remained whole after the first contest it was called a onecer and if it survived the next round it was a twoer and so on, there was real prestige in beating one that had accumulated many victories.

I was quite a good sprinter at school and was picked to represent the school at a sports meeting. My mother was a keen sports fan so she took to training me when she had time at the nearest recreation ground, but I never ran a place.

One teacher we all liked and remembered was a Mr Bowman who was a dedicated educator, during the war when Peter and I were both in the army and happened to be home on leave at the same time we visited him at the school before he retired.

After seeing the film Stagecoach we used a billy cart as the stagecoach with one steering another pushing it around the paths in the fields at the back of the houses, while others would hide, then spring up and hold up the coach or waylay it as Indians. Good exercise when it was your turn to be the pusher.

Us lads got into trouble once through climbing on to a haystack and sliding down the roof part causing what the farmer regarded a damage, anyway he reported us to the local policeman who visited our parents any made to promise we would not damage anyone's property in the future. Boy was I scared !!

Back to top

11 to 14 Years

After I was 11yrs. old I had to change schools to Denbigh Road Elementary which was further away from my home, so most times, when the weather allowed I used to roller skate there and back. See Photo

The school had an orchestra which I decided to join but the only instrument available was a violin, after a few lessons I found that it was not for me. A couple of years later I had the urge to learn to play the trumpet, having lessons from a member of the Luton Town Band of an evening. This did not turn out to be a good arrangement as he had to work back and often he would not be home to give me tuition so the trumpet went the way of the violin. Mind you my father was pleased, as he said the noise I made with it was like a dog howling.

By this time my father was driving heavy lorries for a Scottish firm that had an agent living in Kingsway, he off loaded those loaded in Scotland & loaded it for transport back. The respective lorries would be exchanged in Yorkshire and driven back to to be unloaded & loaded again at each end. I was taken with him a couple of times during school holidays, and have memories of the Pub where the drivers stayed serving up large yorkshire puddings that were plain at one end, served with the main meal and with currents in at the other to be served as a desert.

I was an avid cyclist and went touring around with a girl Peggy who lived next door, she was a bit older than me. We were just good friends who both enjoyed being out on our cycles. During the war Peg as we called her joined the Auxiliary Fire Service or AFS as it was known, we managed to meet up a few time while I was on leave from the army but she moved away later and never contacted.

I must have liked the idea of being in uniform as I joined the Church Lads Brigade at nearby Biscot Mill Church, not that I was religious or liked church. It did not last long !

The Second World War broke out in September of my 11th year which was exiting to us young lads. My father joined the local LDV ( Local Defense Volunteers ) which was later changed to the Home Guard, there was no weapons or uniforms issued at first, members just wore an armband with LDV on it. Most streets appointed Voluntary Air Raid Wardens and Fire watchers, the Wardens were responsible for ensuring that the Blackout regulations were strictly adhered to and the Fire watchers were to extinguish any fires caused by incendiary bombs with buckets of sand or water using a stirrup pump.hoto Gas masks were issued to everyone but luckily were never needed. You were required to carry them with you everywhere but this practice slowly dropped off as the were awkward to carry around .Photo

Some wartime memories are :- getting up early on a Saturday morning to queue to buy Faggots & Pease Pudding and if you were early enough get some dripping, rationing with books Photo of coupons Photo, Children being evacuated away from large cities & towns. Photo There was a scheme for children to go to Canada & Australia for the duration, I wanted to go to Canada but was offered passage to Australia right away or wait for the more popular Canada, so I waited but one of the ships carrying children there, was torpedoed and mother said I could not go. Little did I know that I would land up in Australia later in life. The butcher only having tinned Bully Beef to supply as your meat ration when the German submarines had reduced the flow of proper meat into the country.

To learn more about wartime rationing etc .Click Here

At the rear of the houses on our side of the street was a strip of land approx 50m deep which householders were encouraged to use to grow produce. My father dug our strip and planted vegetables like potatoes,bean,peas & cabbages.

We were supplied with an Anderson Shelter See photo which my father had to assemble and sink into the ground, then cover it with earth .Photo2 He built steps down into it to gain access, built some wooden benches inside that we could lay on if an air raid caused us to be confined there for hours on end. When the air raid Warning siren sounded we were to spend the time until the All clear sounded in the shelter but after the first few alarms proved to be false we only sheltered if it was obvious that bombs were falling. The ringing of church bells was the signal that an Invasion had started, I recall one night they sounded and Dad put us in the shelter and stood guard outside with his Home Guard issued rifle, luckily it turned out to be a false alarm also .Inside Shelter Where people could not have their own shelters the local councils built street shelters. Photo

We lived on the outskirts of town so did not experience any bombing closer than about a mile away in Limbury Road photo but it was always a race to any bomb site to see if you could find any fragments to show off to your friends. Luton was bombed on March 30th.1940 aiming for the Vauxhall works which was producing trucks & tanks for the army,20 enemy aircraft dropped 194 bombs which killed 59, seriously wounded 60 and further injuring another 81 people..Raid Photos Some fell on a factory close to Windmill Road where Grandma Warren & family lived but luckily never exploded, the nearest damage was to the Bus Depot.. They tried to bomb Vauxhall several times at night but could not locate it, mainly due to the fact that Luton lay in a valley which blanketed in fog or by smoke generated on purpose from smoke generated by devices that burned old sump oil, which were located on the high parts surrounding the town. Photo When London was heavily bombed with incendiaries causing massive fires across the city we could see the reflected red glow in the sky from outside our house.

Peter & I joined the Army Cadets as we were both mad keen about the Army but I can not recall how old we were, I think we would have been around 14yrs. They had a bugle& drum band which I joined, as the were no instruments available except cymbals so I bashed those until a bugle became free.By this time Peter was attending the technical school in town. I think reading some pictorial books on the Boar War that Grandma East had started me wanting to join the Army. We used to march to church parades on Sundays and joined several marches through the main streets of town.

Grandma East moved to Summerset Ave in Round Green near to two of her daughters, Aunty Doll & Aunty Sis. Aunty Sis died while I was away in the army but Aunty Doll survived into her 92nd year .Uncle Jack was still single & living with Grandma East, he was employed at the Vauxhall works which was not that far away.

Memories of Derek's family at this time are of his mother, a very small lady who always made me welcome, his father, a very good carpenter ( who passed on his skills and handy craft to his only child Derek ) who worked at Vauxhall and was a sergeant in the Home Guard. They had an aviary of budgerigars which led me to admiring the breed and breeding my own later in life. Derek was very keen on aircraft on built many models, some of which were displayed at one time as part of the war effort. His interest led him to join the RAAF when he was old enough.

During my last year at school I was excused most of the maths classes, ( Hopeless Scholar ) so I could spend more time learning carpentry skills in the woodwork room which they obviously thought would do me more good out in the working world. A local boot repairer required a lad to transport goods between their two shops which were about 2 ks apart after school hours and I was accepted for the job. I had to ride a large cycle with a big basket on the front laded with boots& shoes, Photo that took some managing as I was fairly small for my age. One shop did all the actual sole & heel replacements and the other did the finishing so they had to be transported between the two and the complete jobs had to land back where they were deposited.

back to top

14 to 16 yrs

I left school when I turned 14 and started as an apprentice carpenter with a firm that did general building work as well as being undertakers in Duke St. off Hightown Road. One task a carpenter & I had was to make the nisson huts used by the personal responsible for lighting the smoke generators mentioned earlier,light proof at night. So they did not issue any light from inside when entered or exited. This involve carting the material needed by bicycle to the sites, mostly resting it on a pedal and pushing it along. One day I was on my way back to the firm, pushing my cycle up the hill in Midland road, when a group of people were pointing up into the sky a speck which looked as if it might be a plane. As I neared the top there was an almighty crash as a bomb aimed at the railway station close by hit some houses further along Midland Road over the crest of the hill. Luckily I was protected from the blast by the crest taking it over my head and was just far enough away from the shops that lined High Town Road ahead to miss all the shattered glass that littered the road. (Bad man that Hitler) .

I was taught how to repair the old fashioned sash windows, which were controlled by weights hidden inside the frame, attached to the sash by sash cord and also to replace the glass.As the firms owner possessed quite a few houses this was often my job to do this plus repairing/replacing locks, some of the them were rented by Jewish families and I discovered that despite their reputation they nearly always gave me a tip which was much appreciated.

When I was working at the workshop, my lunch times were spent at a nearby Billiard Hall, where I was introduced to milkshakes and snooker both of which I can still enjoy. (Used to love watching Pot Black on the TV, wish they would bring it back.)

There were still plenty of horse transportation around at this time because of the shortage & rationing of petrol . Being undertakers the firm still maintained an old glass hearse drawn by two large black horses stabled nearby . I had not been employed there very long when I was taken to see the horses and being a horse lover, it did not take long before I was asked if I would like to get up on one. Well being young and ripe for a prank, I jumped at the chance, you can guess what happened !! It did not appreciated me on it's back and started to jump around with me hanging on to it's maine for grim death until the chap who looked after them settled it down enough for me to slip off .I did not fall for being sent out to buy some bent nails, though . Horse troughs could still be seen around at this time so they could get a drink of water .Photo

I had to assist the painter on a job that entailed working off a triple extension ladder re-decorating a service station. The painter was not to keen on heights so guess who did the high parts !. As I enjoyed learning how to Paint & Wallpaper the painter kept me with him whenever he could and I have put the knowledge to good use over the years.

When we were both 15 years old Peter & I both volunteered to join the Army which has always had young soldiers. I sat an exam for the Army Apprentice School & Peter sat for General Duties, I failed but Peter passed. Peter's father refused to let Peter join unless he learned a trade, so he applied for the Apprentice School which he passed and was called up after a short time as an Apprentice Armourer. I tried the General Duties exam, passed, but had to wait until 26th,May 1944 before I joined Boy's Battery Royal Artillery Badge it Woolwhich near London. I guess our parents were not too keen on the idea but they did not prevent us from doing what we always wanted to do. ( Young & silly ? ) The terms of enlistment were for twelve years, eight full service & four in reserve. Peter went on to make a career in the army, obtaining a commission and rising to Acting Lt.Colonel before he retired. We still keep in touch yearly at Christmas, he now lives in southern France with his second wife. Derek in the meantime had joined the Royal Air force and was posted to India.

My main memories of my time at Woolwhich Photo are of all the spit & polish of boots, hard metal beds made up with kit laid out on them during the day,. Mattress of three solid biscuits. Lots of marching drills and PT even during very cold winter days. Trying out for the band, but my skills with a trumpet were not good enough, so back to more marching drills. Going across to the other side of the Thames river though a pedestrian tunnel on a Saturday afternoons to work in a dairy for about six hours to earn extra cash. Our pay was 10/- shillings a week of which we drew 5/- on pay parades, the remainder paid to us in a lump sum when we went on our annual leave. As a non smoker I was able to buy my ration and resell single cigarettes at a good profit to smoker who used up theirs, this allowed me to get a bit more of things I needed. The pay did not help with dating girls, if they wanted to go to the pictures you had to meet them in the foyer as it did not stretch to paying for two.If we wanted to eat while in Woolwhich town, the only thing we could afford was Sausage & Mash. I dread to think what was in the sausages and the potatoes mash was a watery concoction, but it filled an empty stomach.

Becoming friends with two chaps in the same troop, Bert & Sid. I still contact Bert by phone occasionally and we meet up whenever I manage to get back to the UK. It is coincidental that all three of us contacted TB eventually and were discharged, I guess one of us may have been a carrier. Sid passed away a few years ago but only Bert kept in touch with him.

I have never forgotten when the first of the german V1 pilot less missiles we had seen, flew overhead during a morning parade, we all cheered as we thought it was a normal plane that had been shot down as it had flames shooting out of its tail. They made quite a noise in flight until the propulsion stopped and it dived into the ground and exploded, quite frightening. But we got used to them and only ducked if you though it would land nearby, with the V2's that came later, you had no warning at all and they did much more damage. Two of them hit the barracks area but not where we were living fortunately.

We trained on 25 pounder field guns Photo but only with dummy shells, having to be able to occupy any position in the team.

We were given an occasional weekend pass so was able to get home from time to time, they issued us with a rail pass so it never cost us anything. The pass had to be carried with you, as if you were pulled up by the Military Police and did not have one they carted you off and returned you to your unit to be charges with being Absent Without Leave.

My father by this time was driving lorries all the way to Scotland, roughly a 22 hour journey. The depot was in Cumbernauld a small village not far from Glasgow where the local drivers off and reloaded, ready for transport back. While this took place Dad stayed with a local family. While on leave I was able to have a trip with him and became friendly with the daughter of the house where we stayed, we corresponded for quite a while but the distance separating prevented any long term involvement.

17 to 20

I finished my Boys Service when I turned seventeen and a half and was posted to a training regiment at Larkhill on Salisbury Plains, you could see "Stonehenge", the ancient druid ceremonial rocks Photo from our barrack block window. All us ex boys service chaps were split up amongst others who had recently passed through an initial basic training camp at Caterick after being called up.This meant that we were used to demonstrate gun drill until the new lads learned what to do .Photo We did quite a few field exercises as depicted.

I found the training of other skills like range finding and other technical aspects of gunnery very interesting. There was classes in normal subjects like maths, drawing and decorating etc, conducted in the evenings.As was interested in Painting & Decorating I started a coarse and when our sergeant learned of this he asked me to help him decorate his married quarters for no pay but a good feed supplied. I was a very fussy eater which was a problem the army did not cure. I used to walk into the mess hall, see what was being dished out & often walked out after only having a sweet course. When really hungry I would go to the Canteen where I would get a couple of Rock Cakes , they were cheap.

Derek was in the RAF and in India by this time, we still corresponded from time to time.

Training was aimed at toughening us up also so there was plenty of Physical Training and going through an Obstacle Course. Route Marches with full kit over various distances were included. During one of these I got very short of breath and collapsed to be picked up in an army ambulance and returned to camp, I recovered quickly and was fine after about an hour. Two days later we went out on a field exercise during which I started to cough up blood so was taken back to see the doctor. He would not believe me when I told him what had happened, so I coughed up some for him to see. I was told to go to my barracks gather my personal things and return. I was then taken by ambulance to a hospital in Salisbury which had wards allocated to army personal. After X-rays and tests I was informed I had TB in the right lung and was transferred to a special tuberculosis ward. I was ordered to spend my time in bed resting which for me very hard as I did not feel ill. The ward Sister was a very strict one but good hearted, she wrote to me parents to allay the fears they must have had about my condition. The Red Cross visited and encouraged us to take up some handicraft or study to fill in the time so I started a correspondence course on Technical Drawing, also learned to do tapestry which they supplied a a very little cost,later in life I produced quite a few to decorate the house with.

There were about 10 of us in the ward and the others were all much older than me and made life interesting trying to lure the nurses into bed with them. I was offered a bed outside of the ward under a covered walkway which I took as you were able to see a lot more activity during daylight hours. One of the chaps in the ward was into photography and I asked him if I could learn from him, so I became his assistant, This did not go down well with the ward sister as I was more out of bed than in, We confiscated one of the bathrooms and turned it into a dark room where we developed & printed the rolls of film, he obtained an enlarger so we started producing portraits for patients and staff . The fact that photography kept me out of bed instead of in it , the Sister was always telling me off which I did not appreciate but I know she was trying to make me do the right things and get better sooner.

I was offered a bed outside the ward under a covered walkway, which I took as you could see more activity around the outside of the buildings. My squad sergeant visited me a couple of times which was nice as he was good person. My parents managed to get down to visit but it was a long journey involving both train & bus , so I said not to come again and I would ask if I could be moved closer to home. I became friendly with a young lady who worked in the hospital kitchen and she visited me often with sweet tip bits, lucky boy.

After about six months I was moved by ambulance to a sanatorium in Mogerhanger near Bedford which was approx 20 miles from Luton, so made it easier to visit for my parents.Ater being assessed my right lung was collapsed to rest it , by the insertion of air into the chest cavity, which had to be topped up from time to time when the pressure dropped. Our sputum was checked weekly to see if we were still infectious because we could not leave the sanitarium until it was negative for at least a month or so. We were also screened behind an X-ray panel that allowed the doctor to view your lungs in real time as well as having normal rays as required.

I was allowed out of bed except for a compulsory rest period each afternoon which allowed my to have a game of snooker whenever I felt like it. We had a small patients group that took on the task of compiling a library from a pile of books donated by the Bedford Public Library, this I found very interesting and time consuming.

Visitors had to catch a bus from Bedford, then walk a fair distance to the sanitarium. My father by this time was manager for a local coach company so after discussions with others traveling from Luton, started running a coach service from Luton. The bus company learned of this and stopped it by providing a service themselves, cost more for the passenger though. So much for free enterprise!!.

In early 1947 I was passed fit enough to return home but had to have periodic top ups of the air in my right lung at a local TB clinic. In April I had to report to the Stoke Manderville Hospital to have a medical before I was formally discharged from the army as being unfit for further service on the 28th after 2years & 338 days service. As I was considered fit enough to do full time light employment they only granted me a small pension. The first job I obtained was collecting & selling Insurance, as the area I had to cover was around Dunstable which was about 5 miles from my home, I had to ride my bicycle to and fro.This did not earn me very much so my mother suggested I try to start up my own business Window Cleaning. I canvassed around an area not too far away where there were better class houses and got enough potential regular customers to give it a go. After buying a wooden extension ladder etc .I became a window cleaner with my mother helping me at week ends, it did not take long to realise that the ladder was far too heavy. I had planned to carry it while riding my bicycle but had to settle for wheeling with it resting across the handlebar and saddle. I managed to carry on for about 3 months before abandoning the project.

I visited the local army cadet unit and was invited to join them, as I had some military training I could serve as an under officer, getting a commission after passing some tests. This happened after approx nine months so I was now 2nd. Lieutenant Warren.The unit went to a training camp for 3 weeks, I was able to go as they made arrangements for me to get my lung air pressure topped up at a local hospital.Photo .

While seeking work my father arranged for me to be employed as a trailer jockey with him for a one only trip job that required the use of a lorry and trailer to take a load to Devenport docks and collect a load of two very large wooden drums that were used for cleaning sheep's skins for the fur trade from another part of Devon. The drums were destined for a factory in Luton which had it's back entrance in a narrow road which gave my father quite a job maneuvering the trailer back into the yard, I was amazed at the driving skills he displayed. Little did I know that I would be working in this factory later and see the drums in use.

My army friend Bert lived with his parents in High Wycombe so was able to travel over by coach for a visit from time to time

I gained employment for a small establishment that sold engineering bearings as a storeman/packer in Luton where I became very friendly with a girl who was the Boss's secretary. She was a few years my senior and lived in a village just outside Luton, I used to cycle over to see her at weekends and was smitten with her but I felt she did not feel the same. I will always remember her as she gave me my first real sexual experiences before we parted company.

As I felt uncomfortable working together still I found another job at an plant that manufactured Fluorescent lights as a storeman, it was a good job that paid well with overtime on Saturdays. Every other Saturday Luton soccer team played on their home ground which was only a few minutes walk away from the factory, A few of us were avid supporters so the others working with us let us disappear just before the match started and they would carry on until knock-off time then clock all our cards so we still got paid, on the other Saturday those that stayed went home early and we clocked them off, it was a very good arrangement as we all worked extra hard in the mornings to ensure the production did not reflect our absence.

One day an Australian girl came to work in the factory, she had met an English sailor while his ship was in Melbourne and they corresponded until he left the navy when he proposed to her and paid for her passage over to England. After some weeks staying with his parents place he decided she was not the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, so his mother said if she worked and saved she would contribute pound for pound so she could get back to Australia. A crowd of us started going around together of a Saturday evening to have a few drinks at different pubs and so she was encouraged to join us and so started my life long association with my wife Mavis. After a few months and egging on by other girls we started to go out together and I fell in love which did not go well with the ex-sailors mother so Mavis was offered board with two sisters parents. Mavis had not seen snow so when the first snow of the winter arrived the whole factory stopped work and escorted her outside to see and feel it, she was not keen on getting it on her face and wanted to shut her eyes so it would not get into them.

I applied to emigrate to Australia so I could return home with Mavis, but we were informed that we had to be married before permission would be given so we became engaged and planned a wedding in July. One of the girls she was living with offered to make her wedding dress and the other would be her bridesmaid. Mavis wanted an Australian wedding ring so her mother posted one over for her.

Just three weeks before the wedding we were both made redundant which was totally unexpected, luckily I found work quickly at a furniture store.

21 to 30

We married in July 1949. I had finished with my TB treatment by this time and my lung was again fully inflated but the Authorities then said I was refused on medical grounds, despite my specialist backing my application .In the meantime we manage to get a flat to live in which only had gas lighting operated by a coin meter. Mavis very soon became pregnant so we moved in with my parents, using one bedroom and the front room.

Our daughter Lorraine was born was born in May 1950 which made life a bit harder for us and my parents all living together.In February 1951 Mavis's father accidentally drowned when he fell into the water while trying to board a tug boat he worked on during a storm .Her mother received some insurance money so she kindly offered to pay our fare to Australia and we could repay her when I gained employment there. I had a few different jobs by this time, motor spares parts stores, security guard at the Electrolux factory alongside my father who obtained my employment there. Finally at the Fur factory where my father had delivered the two large cleaning drums to a couple of years before. This plant turned Australian sheep skins into furs that were made into Beaver Lamb fur coats, I operated a machine that had a heated roller with combs on which turned the chemical treated skins to the required colour and combed out the fibres at the same time , this being the last of many processes the skins went through .I was made leading hand which entailed starting work about an hour before the other finishing room fellows, to light up the gas heaters on the machines so they were ready when they arrived. It was a good job and enabled me to save some money needed for our journey to Australia.

Mavis had become pregnant late in 1951 while we were waiting to get notification of our passage which came early the next year. Derek's father made a wooden trunk for us so we could pack things we wanted to transport with us. I had resigned my job ready when we were notified that the ship had broken down in Holland and delayed indefinitely. Derek was working at the Percival Aircraft factory at Luton Airport at the the time, so he suggested I apply for employment there. I did so and was given a job In the progress office, this was the best paid and enjoyable job I had ever had and was very sorry to give it up when the ship was ready to take passengers.

In March 1952 we said goodbye to my family ( which must have been hard to lose their only son to Australia ) & friends, traveled up to London by car, to catch the boat train to Southampton. Our ship the Maloja (Pronounced Ma-loy-a)Photo was not young and had a bit of a list. It was crewed with mainly Indians to do all the manual jobs. I found it rather strange when we sailed away from the dock with people waving us away to what was for me the unknown future.As paying passengers we had a cabin above the water line, whereas most of the other passengers were Immigrants from Europe mainly, who were berthed on the lower decks. Meals were very good and served in shifts in the one dining room , there were several lounges that contained bars. ( Photo ).

Our first poet of call was Algiers in North Africa ,we passed through the Straites of Gibraltar at night so missed seeing the Rock which was disappointing. Algiers in Algeria was a French speaking city that contained both nice buildings and the poorer area, the Casbar ( Photo ) We went ashore to have a look round and posted mail back home, our fold up pusher came in very handy to wheel Lorraine in. Next stop was to be Port Said in Egypt but as there was a military crisis there we were told we would not be allowed ashore. Britain had sent troops out to the area, though I did not know at the time my friend Peter who was in the Paratroopers at the time was flown out to Cyprus incase needed. After we docked we were allowed to go ashore but there was only a couple of streets we could go into, the rest was blocked by the army ( Photo )

Leaving Port Said bound for Colombo in Ceylon we had a very interesting trip through the Suez Canal, it made me realise how important it was to the Allies during WW2 for getting supplies to troops fighting in Burma etc.( Photo ) ( Photo2 ). By this time we were running low on cash so had to cable Mavis's mother through the ships Purser to send us some to our next port of call . I do not remember much about Colombo ( Photo ) except Mavis did not go ashore we me and I brought 2 tins of Pears to eat. The money had not arrived at the ship by the time we sailed on the long leg to Australia, so we expected to get in at Freemantle West Australia when we arrived there. We made friends with a couple from Adelaide in South Australia who made our journey more enjoyable.

Freemantle ( Photo ) was a surprise to me as it seemed a bit like the Wild West towns seen in cowboy films, with raised wooden walkways and covered verandas. It was only the port for the city of Perth and we had to take a bus into the city. The bus had hooks on its rear to carry prams on which was a new idea to me. I liked Perth, it was nice and clean, I tasted my first Peter's Ice cream here. Delicious!!!. The money still did not arrive before we left for Adelaide. On arrival in Adelaide ( Photo ) the couple from there kindly borrowed 10 pounds from their relative to lend to us as our money still had not arrived, we promised to repay them from my first wages earned. This we did with much gratitude.

As we sailed up the bay to Melbourne City Mavis was able to point out Williamstown To see photos of Williamstown click here where we would be living, while docking at the pier ( Photo ) we managed to see Mavis's sister & a friend waiting for us to come ashore . Before we disembarked we checked re our money and discovered it was there !!.After disembarking we could not get a taxi that would take us to Williamstown so had to travel by train which entailed walking to the station to get one that took us into one of the main Melbourne city stations. From there we had to walk to the main Flinders Street station which was near to catch one that would get us to Williamstown Beach station which is close to Mavis's mothers house. This was quite a struggle with suitcases and Lorraine's pusher in crowded carriages so I was extremely please to finally arrive.

Mavis's Mother & an Aunt were waiting for us inside what turned out to be a nearly 100 year old weatherboard house ( Photo ) This came as a bit of a shock when I saw it in daylight but being young it did not worry me.

I had references for store keeping from my English employment so I decided to see if I could find a job locally. Luckily there was a vacancy at a small engineering firm only about 5 minutes walk away which I was able to obtain. The firm finished castings for bathroom taps & outlets prior to them being chrome plated at a electro plating firm attached to the engineering workshop. This firm was run by a partner of the owner I worked for. In addition to the bathroom items they produced cutting tips for Oxyacetylene cutting & welding. I was surprised by the wages I was paid compared to what I earned in England and the low price of cigaretttes but soon learned it was normal to Australian standards.

Mavis's only brother John was a Polio victim from the age of 7and was a permanent patient at the Heidleberg Hospital. He slept in an Iron Lung but spent the days in a mobile bet specially made for him by the hopital maintenance staff ( Photo )

On the 4th July 1952 our son Derek John ( Named after my friend. Derek & Mavis's brother John ) was born in the Williamstown hospital which was not far away, I was able to take Lorraine so we could wave to her mother when she was able to come out onto a veranda. While Mavis was in hospital her mother brought a house in another part of Williamstown as we were getting crowded in the old one. There was Mavis's mother, three sisters plus our four with the new baby.

Mavis's mother was paying life assurance so when the agent found out about us living with her he sold us some . Some time later I was approached by the local agent and his supervisor to join their company as an agent. After due consideration and the possibility of earning a better income, I decided to accept their offer.

Back to Home

To be continued

.