My Nan - a special kind of strength

My Nan, Constance Irene Upson, was born on 8^th January 1920 at 81 Stanley Road, Ilford. Connie shared the house with her parents, Charles and Violet Upson, and her two older sisters, Vi and Ivy. In the autumn of 1923, when Connie was 3 years old, her brother Roy Charles Upson was born. As he was the only boy, Roy was doted on by his father. During her early childhood, when she was around 7 or 8 years of age, the family moved the short distance to a brand new house at 26 Clifton Road, Newbury Park.

On 2^nd September 1931, when Connie was just 11 years old, her mother died. It must have been awful for her to lose her mum at that age and it is bound to have affected her deeply. Her father would have had to continue working, so Connie’s older sister Vi probably assumed the responsibility of looking after her younger siblings.

Connie at 18 years old

The family was thrown into turmoil when her father remarried less than 18 months after her mother’s death. Her father married Frieda Gwendolyn Hubbard on 18^th February 1933. Connie was 13 years old, a rebellious age. Along with her other siblings, Connie initially found it hard to accept “auntie Gwen” as her stepmother but with time they got used to each other and in later years they got on well. In 1935, Julie, a younger step-sister was born.

Just a few short years later, when she was 19 years old, Connie met and subsequently married William Phillip Hand. Bill was a civil engineer’s assistant and was nine years her senior. They married at SS Peter and Paul RC Church on Ilford High Road on 3^rd June 1939. By this time both of her older sisters had married. Ivy had married Les Payton in the early months of 1938 and Violet had married Albert Boreham only a couple of months before Connie’s own wedding.

After the wedding they moved to Grisedale Gardens in Riddlesdown, near Purley in Surrey. Three months after the wedding Britain was once again at war with Germany. Connie became pregnant and on 10^th June 1940 she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Maureen. The Blitz began three months later. Luckily few bombs fell in Riddlesdown, but Connie would have worried about her husband travelling to work on the train to London.

Bill was not a healthy man and he suffered from Crohns disease. The attacks were probably not helped by the stress of living under the daily threat of air raids. His health deteriorated and on 10^th November 1942 he passed away. He was just 32 years old.

It must have been bad enough for Connie to lose her mother at such a tender age but to become a widow at just 22 must have been almost unbearable. As difficult as it must have been for her, she had to hold it together for the sake of her daughter.

Little is known of what Connie did during the war years. She once told me that she worked at The People’s Palace in Mile End, which at the time had been taken over by the local council. She had to earn money to survive and may have resorted to desperate measures. She eventually moved in with her father-in-law once he had moved to Ilford and this was an enormous help. Her sisters would have also assisted her during those difficult years.

After the war she got to know Bill’s brother, Charles Hand, who had himself been incarcerated in a Japanese prisoner of war camps between 1942 and 1945. As they became acquainted with one another, her father-in-law probably persuaded them that it would be a good idea if they were married. Connie needed a husband and a father for Maureen, and Charles needed a wife and someone to care for him. They were married at SS Peter and Paul RC Church on 29^th March 1947. After the wedding they moved to Selsdon, Surrey.

Mum's baptism in 1948 (front to rear: Maureen, Connie holding mum, William Pedro Hand, "Auntie" Ginny, unknown couple and Eddie Fitt (holding the cat))

Connie became pregnant again and Theresa Irene Hand was born on 14^th July 1948. The baptism, held several weeks later, was attended, amongst others, by Connie’s father-in-law, auntie Ginnie and her husband Charles’s cousin Eddie Fitt, who was better known as uncle Eddie.

In the years immediately after Theresa’s birth, Charles was seconded to Nottingham and the family moved into a house at 10 Catterley Hill Road. They only spent about 2-3 years in Nottingham and moved back south in around Christmas 1952. They settled to a house at 57 Parkside Avenue, Romford. Soon after moving in, Connie’s third daughter, Janet Eileen Hand, was born on 15^th March 1953.

Left to right: Nan with Janet, Maureen, "auntie" Gwen, "auntie" Ginny and mum with cat at the front

The sadness and hardship experienced by Connie earlier in her life had made her into a strong woman and she needed to be strong. Charles suffered from periods of depression which disrupted family life. During these episodes he could not cope with everyday life and it was up to Connie to pick up the pieces. Sometimes she would find household bills that had been hidden away and she would lose her temper. This was not surprising given the pressure of looking after her husband as well as her children. It must have been very difficult for her. In spite of these challenges, she kept the family together and there were happy times too: summer holidays and family gatherings. Connie’s sister, Ivy and her husband Les ran a guest house in the seaside town of Cliftonville near Margate and the family would sometimes gather down there. Ivy and Les ran the guest house for a number of years but this came to an abrupt end when Les found himself in trouble with the tax man. Ivy and Les (and their son Trevor) decided to emigrate to Canada to avoid possible prosecution. It must have been sad for Connie saying goodbye to her sister at Tilbury docks on the day of her departure, although they remained close and Ivy returned to England every couple of years.

Outside the guest house in Cliftonville

Connie became pregnant again and on 23^rd January 1961 Clare Elizabeth Hand was born. By this time Theresa was 12 and had started secondary school at the Ursuline in Brentwood. Janet, aged 7, was at primary school and Maureen had grown up.  Just over three years later, on 6^th June 1964, Maureen married Brian White and two years layer Connie’s first grandchild, Darren, was born.

Connie and her family moved from Romford to Billericay in around 1967 and settled into a new house at 38 The Warren. It was a large house and Connie and her family enjoyed their new surroundings.

Theresa had been with her boyfriend, Keith Melton, since 1963 and in 1969 she married him. They married on at the Most Holy Redeemer RC church in Billericay on the 18^th October on a sunny autumn day. Less than four years later, Janet married Brian Jewell at the same church. Clare, who was by now old enough to attend the Mayflower school in Billericay, was a bridesmaid at both weddings.

The financial turmoil of the seventies caused Charles and Connie to sell their house in The Warren and in around 1974 Charles, Connie and Clare moved to a smaller house at 167 Mountnessing Road, Billericay. The move enabled Charles and Connie to have some money for their retirement.

The wedding of Clare to Martin Gale on 4^th June 1983 meant that Charles and Connie were alone for the first time in their marriage. The wedding, once again, took place at the Most Holy Redeemer RC church and this was followed by a reception at a hotel in Basildon.

With all of her daughters now married, Connie and Charles were free to spend their retirement years in any way they wished. In 1984 they moved from Billericay to a newly-built bungalow at 4 Grimston Way in Walton-on-the-Naze. These were happy times and they made friends with other couples who had retired to the Essex coast. They had a good social life and the fresher weather on the coast helped to ease her arthritis.

Charles and Connie with a friend at the seaside

We would regularly visit them at weekends for Saturday or Sunday tea and during the summer holidays my sister and I would spend a week with them. They would sometimes rent a beach hut for the duration of our stay and we would have many happy days by the beach playing in the sea when it was sunny or playing cards inside the hut over a cup of tea if it rained. 

Charles and Connie celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1997. The family took them out for a meal at The Harbour Lights and it was quite an occasion. By this time Charles’ was suffering from kidney disease and he had to get used to having regular dialysis which he could have at home. In spite of the treatment his condition gradually worsened and he was admitted to Ipswich hospital. He sadly died there on 20^th February 1998 aged 79. Connie was now a widow for the second time in her life but her family and friends helped her to cope with her loss.

Over the next couple of years Connie’s arthritis worsened and this affected her mobility. However this did not hold her back and I remember her proudly showing off her new mobility scooter to me. This enabled her to still get out to the shops by herself and to visit her friends. She was still able to get to attend mass on Sunday mornings thanks to her friends who had a car. Connie also had a carer who would do those jobs around the house that she could no longer manage.

Unfortunately Connie had a nasty fall one day and this resulted in an extended stay at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford. She hated it there as some of the nurses were rude to her. Whilst in hospital she was diagnosed with heart disease which explained her increasing breathlessness.

It became apparent that she could no longer care for herself and the family took the difficult decision to place Connie in a nursing home. My mum managed to find a nursing home in Maldon that was conveniently close to both her office and her house. This enabled a member of the family to visit Connie every day. The downside was that Connie had to share a room with another lady and there was little privacy.

Sadly, Connie’s conditioned worsened and she could not walk across the room without becoming breathless. Connie passed away on 9^th August 2001.

My Nan did not have an easy life and there must have been moments where she felt quite low, but she was a strong-minded woman and that determination helped her through those difficult times. The qualities she displayed are a real inspiration.

Grandpop: survival in the Far East

The following biography has been adapted from my 2009 book and updated to include information from Charles’s military service record, oral histories of men who served alongside him and a Far East Prisoners of War questionnaire that he completed on his return from captivity:

Charles Alfred Hand, or grandpop as he was known to me, was born on 21^st August 1918 at 14 Mary’s Terrace, Twickenham, Middlesex. He probably didn’t remember very much about his early years in Twickenham, but the house backed on to the railway station and he would have heard the steam trains going past on their way to London.

Family tree

At a young age he moved to Edinburgh with his parents and his older siblings William and Doris. Little is known about this period of his life, but we know he spent his school years in Scotland and he received a good education. During this time his older sister Doris met and married a soldier named George Highley. At the time of the wedding, the family were living at 9 Northfield Road situated to the east of the city centre. After the wedding his sister and her new husband moved to India. Meanwhile, his brother William moved back to England in the 1930s and became a structural engineer. By the end of the decade, Charles had moved back to England with his parents and according to the 1939 electoral roll they were living at 85 Lyndhurst Avenue, Whitton. Soon afterwards he started working for the civil service.

In April 1939, with the threat of war growing, the government introduced the Military Training Act. The terms of the act meant that all men aged between 20 and 21 had to register for 6 months military training. Charles would have been affected by this legislation. By September 1939, Britain was once again at war and on 19^th October Charles received his conscription papers.

Army Training

Charles enlisted with the 162 Field Ambulance of the Royal Army Medical Corps on 19^th October 1939, but according to his military record, was posted to the 197 Field Ambulance on 11^th January 1940. Charles and the rest of his unit boarded a train up to Norfolk and arrived at the village of Hillington near Kings Lynn. From here they marched through thick snow to a nearby hall. By May 1940, the unit was put to good use as Germany had invaded France and the Low Countries and the first Luftwaffe raids were seen. At this time, the 197FA was based at Cranwich Camp in Norfolk and in addition to dealing with the wounded from air raids, Charles would have been sent on various training courses. By the end of 1940, they had moved to nearby Lynford Hall which functioned as a training hospital. It was during his time here that Charles was disciplined for serving breakfast to patients on cold plates and on a separate occasion, for not washing up dirty plates. Both times he was fined 2 days’ wages.

As a part of their training, the 197 FA travelled to various locations in England and Scotland during 1941. The unit was then given disembarkation leave at a rate of 30% of the unit a week starting 26^th September 1941. This leave lasted for 7 days. At the end of his leave, on 8^th October 1941, he was posted to the 196 Field Ambulance and reported to a tented camp at Norton Manor near Presteigne on the Anglo Welsh borders. Here he continued training as a part of the 54^th Brigade, 18^th (East Anglia) Division.

At 0830 hours on 27^th October 1941 they marched through the streets of Presteigne to a special troop train that took them to Avonmouth on the Bristol Channel.

Off to war

The men boarded the SS Oransay, which was an Orient Line British ship of 20000 tonnes. On 28^th October 1941 the SS Oransay left Avonmouth and headed up the English coast in stormy weather, with nearly all of the 196 and 3000 other troops. On 30^th October the SS Oransay arrived in Greenock, Scotland were it joined the rest of the fleet for an, unknown at the time, journey across the Atlantic to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. 

On 2^nd November, in the middle of the Atlantic, the British convoy met up with an escort of US Navy ships who would provide protection during the remainder of the crossing. They arrived in Halifax on 7^th November and Charles would barely have had time to stretch his legs before embarking once again to some unknown destination. The 196 and most of the accompanying division were kitted out for desert fighting, so speculation ran that they were set for Africa or the Middle East. Transport this time was provided by the US Navy and Charles departed with the rest of the 196 on the USS Joseph T Dickman, an American troop ship. The convoy set sail on 10^th November 1941 and had arrived on 22^nd November in Trinidad in the West Indies to refuel. There was no time to disembark and the convoy set sail once again. 

By early December the unit arrived in Cape Town, South Africa and was given four/five days shore leave. This must have been a welcome relief to Charles and the rest of the unit having spent 10 weeks at sea.

The 196 spent Christmas Day 1941 aboard the Joseph T Dickman. The menu was roast turkey, giblet gravy, pickles, sage dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and buttered peas followed by plum pudding, camper down sauce and fruit salad. There was also bread, candy, tea, cookies, butter and cigarettes. The ships food was apparently complemented by many in the unit.

The 27^th December saw the unit arrive in Bombay, India, where they disembarked before getting on a train to Ahmednagar, where they stayed for around two weeks. The next stage of Charles’s epic journey was a train journey back to Bombay followed by another sea journey on board the USS West Point which left port on 19^th January 1942. This leg of the journey saw the first encounters with the Japanese, as an escort vessel fired on a Japanese plane, apparently on a reconnaissance mission. The Japanese had invaded the Malay peninsula on 7^th December 1941 and were moving south in the direction of Singapore.

The USS West Point arrived at Keppel Harbour, Singapore on 29^th January 1942. Charles and the 196 disembarked and were taken by lorries to a tented camp on the Tampines Road. They were to provide medical treatment to the soldiers of the 54^th Brigade who were now deployed in the north-east sector of the island and set up a series of remote dressing stations. The men of the Royal Army Medical Corps were not issued with any weapons and relied on the fighting troops around them for protection. This part of the island faced Malaya across the Johore Straits, where the Japanese had been steadily advancing and were expected to attack from.

On 1^st February 1942, the unit experienced the first enemy activity with artillery fire and aerial bombing. Between 2^nd and 5^th February the unit maintained its position and treated the wounded from the Japanese attacks. The minor sick were treated and held in the dressing stations, with the major casualties evacuated in ambulances, to one of three hospitals in Singapore City.

The Japanese landed on Singapore island late on 8^th February in the north-western sector, which was held by 8^th Australian Division. They quickly established a bridgehead and began to work their way towards Singapore City. By 13^th February the 196 were deployed in the Thompson Road/Bukit Timah Road area of the island just north of Singapore City. The unit was shelled and were almost immediately ordered to move from that location. The unit came under Japanese rifle fire as it prepared to move. The further withdrawal resulted in the main dressing station (MDS) being set up in the City High School at around 1800 hours.

The 14^th February was the busiest day for the unit and they treated large numbers of casualties. The situation was now very difficult and dangerous with men evacuating the wounded from the front line back to the MDS in the face of enemy fire. The morning of Sunday 15^th February saw large numbers of severe casualties received at the MDS with a report of over 200 wounded being treated. By now the City High School building itself was coming under attack from mortar shells and it must have been terrifying. By 4pm the shelling stopped and a final “all clear” siren sounded. By now the Japanese had complete air superiority and had captured the island’s water reservoirs, leaving the commander of the Allied forces in Singapore no choice but to unconditionally surrender the city and the island to the Japanese.

Japanese FEPOW card

Captivity

Charles and the rest of the unit remained at the City High School until 22^nd February when they were ordered to march to Roberts Barracks in Changi, on the east side of the island, around 15 miles from the school. Here the unit continued to treat the sick under very cramped conditions. There were no functioning lavatories and the medical supplies were limited. 

As time went on, conditions and the treatment of the men started to deteriorate. The diet was the main issue with very little food given out and there were very few Red Cross parcels reaching the men, as the Japanese held them back. With virtually the only food available being boiled rice, the men started to contract diseases such as Dysentery and Beri Beri, due to lack of vitamins.

From June 1942, the men were told that they would be sent away to “holiday camps”. Charles’ turn came on 5^th November 1942. He was transported with “Party M” firstly by truck to Singapore Railway station and then north by train in steel cattle wagons. The men were transported 35 to a wagon and by day these wagons became very hot and at night very cold. The doors did not shut properly and the rain would drive in. To sleep in these cramped conditions was near impossible.

The journey up the length of Malaya passed Kuala Lumpur and Prei Station near the beautiful island of Penang. Food was provided in a bucket, one bucket of boiled rice per truck per day, in the heat the rice went off and it wasn’t long before the men’s health suffered. Most of the prisoners suffered from Dysentery and there was only one bucket per truck. Occasionally the Japanese would stop by the train and the men would relieve themselves by the side of the tracks.

Five days after leaving Singapore, the train arrived in Ban Pong, Thailand at the start of what was to be the infamous Burma Railway. Here, they were greeted by more Japanese guards shouting “marchy marchy” and the men were marched to a nearby camp. The camp leader at Ban Pong was Lt Col Malcolm. Charles remained here until Christmas Eve. From here Charles was marched to a camp at the nearby village of Nong Pladuk which was at the southern end of the Burma railway.

Dysentery and flies were rife and the hospital lay at the lowest part of the camp and was often flooded. The hospital was an Atap hut (constructed with a bamboo roof and open sides) and at times the patients were laying only inches above the flood water on their bamboo shelving. It was not uncommon for the doctor to visit the patients in Wellington boots and then climb onto the shelving as the water was too deep to stand in. Mosquitoes took over the area at night and brought more illness to the already sick patients.

Conditions inside an Atap hut

Charles was moved up country on 25^th March 1943 to work on the railway. At the railway camps, there were frequent beatings and sick men were dragged from their beds to work. The medical officers and orderlies working in the camp hospitals would do their best to prevent the seriously ill patients from working and this would often result in a beating from the Japanese guards. The sadism and cruelty of the Japanese guards knew no bounds but it was the Kempetai, the Japanese Gestapo, who were feared the most for their methods of torture. Charles would have dealt with the consequences of this on an almost daily basis and is highly likely to have been on the receiving end of Japanese brutality himself.

Apart from Cholera, diseases like Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Beri Beri and Malaria were universal and kept the medical staff busy. The Japanese had been withholding food and medical supplies but the monsoon made it impossible to transport these goods in any case. Charles and the other medical staff had to do their best to comfort dying men with no drugs. They felt so helpless that they could do little for these poor people, yet their ingenuity still saved many lives. Bed pans were made from large bamboos and cannulas for intravenous saline injections from bamboo tips. There were limb amputations to save patients dying from gangrenous tropical ulcers and artificial limbs made from timber. The biggest factor for saving lives was the courage and compassion of the medical staff that had to work in the most extreme circumstances. There were some dreadful sights on the wards - men who were only parchment and bone. These scenes would have scarred Charles for life.

Treating a patient with tropical ulcers

Hospitalised men were only entitled to 250-300g rice per day with a small quantity of beans. To the Japanese, men who held up the construction of the railway due to lack of health were guilty of a shameful deed. Despite widespread disease, men continued to be dragged from their beds to do heavy physical work.

The records do not name the camps where he was imprisoned but at the time his commanding officer was Lt Col Flowers of the 9^th battalion of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. From his CO’s record it can be assumed that Charles was at Hindato camp, some 200km from Nong Pladuk, on Christmas Day 1943.  By this time, construction work on the railway had been completed and most of the medical staff were subsequently sent back down the line in cattle trucks to work in the camp hospitals at Chungkai and Nong Pladuk. Charles arrived at Nong Pladuk II Hospital in February 1944. Conditions, though still severe, were not as bad as they had been further north. Charles was moved to the newly created Nakom Patom camp in March 1944 where he spent the remainder of the war. His commanding officer was Lt Col. Coates of the Australian Imperial Forces.  Here, he treated patients with nothing but the most basic equipment and under constant threat of beatings from the Japanese guards.

Following the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered on 15^th August 1945. With tens of thousands of Allied POWs all over South-East Asia, the task of getting them all home was huge. Firstly leaflets were dropped from aircraft telling them to stay where they were. Shortly afterwards items from clothing and boots to food and medical supplies were dropped. Charles was liberated by allied forces on 21^st September 1945 and was finally transported by train to Bangkok before being put on a plane for a short flight to Rangoon in Burma.

The men who arrived in Rangoon were treated with kindness. They were taken to a room set with tables with white cloths and flower arrangements. They were served white sandwiches of butter and cheese. English girls waited on them. The first white women the men had seen in years.

In late September 1945 Charles would have boarded a ship that sailed to England via Colombo and Port Said. The voyage would have taken about a month and his ship docked at Southampton on 28^th October. Once on British soil, he was taken to a military disembarkation camp before finally being allowed home to be reunited with his family.

Life after war

The Far East POWs (FEPOWs) had one short interview and completed a brief questionaire before they were demobbed and returned to their civilian lives. After a period of leave, Charles returned to work as a civil servant at the newly-formed Ministry for National Insurance even though he was still emaciated from his time in Thailand. It would take him years to put the weight back on.

 Charles’s obvious joy at being back home was tempered by the news that his older brother, Bill, had died during his period in captivity. His widow, Connie had been left to bring up her daughter Maureen by herself during the war years. Charles’s father had helped her through this difficult period but wanted to do more.

The decision was taken that Connie and Charles should get married. It was a practical solution and it isn’t clear whether Charles and Connie actually loved each other at that time, although they certainly did as they grew to know each other over the years. They were married on 29^th March 1947 at Saint Peter and Paul RC Church in Ilford.

Charles and Connie’s first child, Theresa, my mother, was born on 14^th July 1948 in Selsdon, Surrey. Soon after Theresa’s birth, Charles was transferred and the family moved to Nottingham. They lived at 10 Catterley Hill Road until around Christmas 1952. Whilst they were living in Nottingham, Charles’s father passed away and in February 1951 he had to return south briefly to register his death. The responsibility fell to him as his sister lived far away.

On returning south, Charles and his young family moved to 57 Parkside Avenue, Romford, Essex. Connie was pregnant and Janet was born on 15^th March 1953.

Charles’s wartime experiences continued to haunt him. He had recurring bouts of Malaria but it was the mental scars that were worse. He struggled to cope with the daily challenges of life and suffered from periods of depression and these were perhaps exacerbated by feelings of grief surrounding his father‘s death. Today these symptoms would be recognised as post-traumatic stress disorder, but they were not so well-understood in the 1950s. My mum has memories of him being taken away in an ambulance for electric shock therapy. He would return home, wrapped in a towel, and would be placed in a chair. He would pick up a newspaper which he would hold upside down in front of his face.

Charles was eventually prescribed with lithium tablets which brought his symptoms under control. The tablets helped him to regain control of his life but they were to have serious repercussions for his health later in life.

Left to right: Janet, Charles and Connie

Life improved and Charles and Connie gave birth to another daughter, Clare Elizabeth Hand, on 23^rd January 1961. By this time Theresa and Janet were at school. Theresa was attending the Ursuline convent school in Brentwood and Janet would have attended a local primary school. Maureen married Brian White in 1964 and in 1966 she gave birth to a son of her own named Darren.

Circa 1967, Charles and his family moved from Romford to a large house in The Warren, Billericay.  The house had a large garden and a double garage. Everybody loved the house. At the time of the move, Theresa had left school and was working in London. Janet had moved up to the Ursuline and Clare was old enough to go to primary school.

At around the time of the move, Charles had lost his job at the civil service. They had grown weary of his absenteeism due to his poor mental health and had forced him out. Charles managed to secure work with the post office and then later with the insurance firm Eagle Star. All this helped to pay the bills but he was not earning as much as when he was with the civil service and he had also lost out on the lucrative civil service pension.

Theresa was married to Keith Melton on 18^th October 1969. The service took place at the Most Holy Redeemer RC church in Billericay and was a very happy occasion. Less than four years later, Janet married Brian Jewell at the same church. Clare, who was by now old enough to attend the Mayflower school in Billericay, was a bridesmaid at both weddings.

As the carefree and prosperous 1960s gave way to the 1970s the economic dark clouds began to gather. Bills rose and they could no longer afford to make ends meet. In 1974 Charles, Connie and Clare, were forced to move to a smaller house at 167 Mountnessing Road, Billericay. Charles and Connie had hoped to have some money for their retirement but the rates were just as high in the new house. Charles retired from work in 1978 and still faced financial uncertainty.

The wedding of Clare to Martin Gale on 4^th June 1983 meant that Charles and Connie were alone for the first time in their marriage. The wedding, once again, took place at the Most Holy Redeemer RC church and this was followed by a reception at a hotel in Basildon.

With all of the daughters now married, Charles and Connie were free to spend their retirement years in any way they wished. In 1984 they moved from Billericay to a newly-built bungalow at 4 Grimston Way in Walton-on-the-Naze. These were happy times and they made friends with other couples who had retired to the Essex coast. They had a good social life and fresh air was good for their health.

We would regularly visit them at weekends for Saturday or Sunday tea. During the summer holidays, my sister and I would spend a week with them. They would sometimes rent a beach hut for the duration of our stay and we would have many happy days by the beach playing in the sea when it was sunny or playing cards inside the hut over a cup of tea if it rained. 

Charles and Connie with a friend 

Charles never forgot his wartime experiences and would attend annual Remembrance Sunday parades in London with other FEPOWs. Sometimes, over tea and cake on a Saturday afternoon, he would talk to me and Dad about his wartime experiences. He would talk about his hatred of the Japanese and his helplessness at being unable to treat the sick due to lack of supplies.

In 1997 Charles and Connie celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. The family took them out for a meal at a local restaurant called “Harbour Lights” and it was quite an occasion.

By this time Charles’ was suffering from kidney disease which had been caused by his long-term use of lithium. Following his diagnosis, he spent several weeks in hospital at Black Notley. His condition stabilised with the use of new medication, but now he had to get used to having regular dialysis which he could have at home, although he still needed to attend out-patients’ appointments.

In spite of receiving treatment his condition gradually worsened and he was admitted to Ipswich hospital. He sadly died there on 20^th February 1998 aged 79.

Further reading:

Account of Charles’s unit until their capture in Singapore.

Lawrence Smith’s experiences in the 196 Field Ambulance

Ronald Fiegehen’s experiences in the 197 Field Ambulance

Account of life in NakonPatom POW camp.

Account of life in NongPladuk POW camp

Details of POW movements

Charles' FEPOW questionaire

Grandad

Alan Douglas Melton, my grandad, was born at 59 Saxon Road, Ilford on 19^th April 1919. Unfortunately, I know little about the early years of his life as the census information for 1921 and 1931 are not available at the time of writing. Also, he passed away when I was only six years old and although I remember him I was too young to ask him detailed questions about his life. Alan produced a scrapbook* of his experiences in World War 2 and it makes for fascinating reading. What I have been able to uncover is based on this, along with conversations with Dad and Grandma plus my own research. 

Family tree showing Alan's parents, siblings and children

Early Years

Alan probably lived at the Saxon Road address throughout his childhood and during his time at school. In those days, most people left school at the age of fourteen and then went to work. Working on this basis, Alan probably left school in the summer of 1933. Britain was recovering from the Depression and there were still almost three million people registered as unemployed. Was he able find employment straight away? It is impossible to tell, however what is certain is that at some point he secured a job at Plessey, the telecommunications manufacturers, based at Vicarage Road, Ilford. In the years that followed he became a progress checker clerk.

1933 was an important year for another reason. Hitler became the chancellor of Germany on the 30^th January. This event and the rise of National Socialism in Germany was to have a profound effect on the future of Alan and others of his generation.

In 1934/35, Alan moved to 136 Stratton Drive on the newly-built Leftley Estate in Barking with his parents and his siblings Bernard, Arthur, Ken and Kath. His elder siblings had all grown up and left home by this stage. Other members of the family made the move to the new estate: Alan’s uncle Albert, auntie Henrietta and cousins Joan, Iris and Pam lived at 10 Halsham Crescent and after he was married in 1936, Alan’s older brother, Arthur, and his wife, Win, lived at 14 Dereham Road. They were a close-knit family and they all lived within a ten minute walk of each other.

Whilst working at Plesseys Alan met a young woman named Daisy who worked in the wages office. In September 1939 Britain declared war on Germany and needed men to fill the ranks of the armed forces. In October 1939, the British government announced that all men aged between 18 and 41 who were not working in ‘reserved occupations’ could be called to join the armed services if required. Conscription was by age and in October 1939 men aged between 20 and 23 were required to register with one of the armed forces. They were allowed to choose between the army, the navy and the air force. Even though Alan was 20 years old, Plesseys was engaged in the war effort and as such he was considered to be working in a reserved occupation.

By 1941 the British government started conscripting single women aged between 20 and 30 to take up work in reserved occupations. This policy enabled those men who previously occupied those jobs to be drafted into the services.

Alan and Daisy on their wedding day

Once Alan learnt that he was going to be called up for service he decided to marry Daisy and they tied the knot at St Margaret’s Church in Barking on 26^th April 1941. After the wedding, they moved into his mother-in-law’s house in Twyford Road, Ilford; but just four days later on 30th April, Alan reported for duty with the army. Alan was assigned to the 2nd Armoured Brigade Company, Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) which was part of the 1st Armoured (White Rhino) Division. Alan commenced his basic training but was allowed a 12 hour pass to visit his wife and family on 7th May. On his return from leave, Alan initially received training as a driver but later passed exams to become an army clerk.

The North African Campaign

Alan left England with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force on 25th September 1941. The ship he travelled on would have sailed south with a protective convoy across the Atlantic Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and then up the coast of East Africa before arriving in Suez, Egypt on 25th November. The division formed part of the newly-named Eighth Army under the stewardship of General Auchinleck. Alan served with a unit that supplied the division and would have been responsible for providing fuel and supplies for tanks and other armoured vehicles. Though he would have probably followed behind the front line, his unit still would have been at risk from air attack and artillery. Like all other soldiers in North Africa he would have experienced the difficulties of life in the desert: searing heat by day and sometimes very cold nights, the dust and sand that clung to sweaty bodies and plagues of flies that became more numerous as the casualties mounted.

Alan’s first serious taste of battle probably occurred on 21^st January 1942 when the German’s under Rommel launched a surprise attack in Cyrenaica (north-eastern Libya), catching the British off-guard and causing damage to the 1^st Armoured Division in the process.  The British retreated and the Eighth Army established a line running south from Gazala, just west of Tobruk. Alan spent the next four months here as the Axis and the Eighth Army faced each other and made their plans for the future.

Rommel struck again on 26^th May and over the course of the next 25 days the Gazala Line collapsed and on 20^th June Tobruk fell. This was regarded as a catastrophe by the Allied forces and only Egypt stood between the Axis and the Middle East and its oil fields. What the Allies didn’t realise is that Rommel had been weakened to such an extent that only the capture of British supplies would enable him to press forward into Egypt. The Eighth Army pulled back to Mersa Matruh on 25^th June where they prepared for the defence of Egypt.

The Germans attacked between the 26^th and 28^th June and managed to encircle the Eighth Army positions. Only a combination of luck and desperate fighting enabled them to break out and retreat to the east. The 1^st Armoured Division encountered German Panzers of the Afrika Korps late in the afternoon of 30^th June close to Tell al Aqqaqir and during a raging sandstorm managed to inflict serious damage on them. Unfortunately, the sandstorm led to the constituent 4^th and 22^nd Brigades losing contact with each other. In a bid to avoid the enemy and minefields the 4^th Brigade had become trapped in soft sand.  

On 1^st July 1942 Rommel attacked the combined British, Commonwealth and Empire forces of the Eighth Army at El Alamein. Only 18 tanks belonging to the 22^nd Brigade of the 1^st Armoured Division where available on the first day of the battle. The tanks of the 4^th Brigade, who had been travelling since 4am, had become trapped in soft sand and were unable to take part in the battle. They spent the remainder of the day struggling in the sand. It wasn’t until nightfall that they wearily pulled themselves out and were able to move south to firmer ground.

Rommel’s plan was to try and encircle the Eighth Army, but instead the Axis ran into stiff resistance. Unfortunately, the Eighth Army failed to capitalise and over the next few days almost managed to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory.

On 2^nd July Rommel tried to attack again. The tanks of the first armoured division engaged the Afrika Korps on the Ruweisat Ridge and once again the Axis were unable to break through. That night the tank crews attended to maintenance and repairs. The axis tried again on 3rd July but once again the attack failed.

Allied attempts to regain ground over the following days began with stalemate and ended in disaster. Poor leadership and a lack of communication between the armoured divisions and the infantry lead to tanks blundering into enemy anti-tank fire and to the infantry receiving no armoured support. There were unnecessary losses during attempts to retake the Ruweisat ridge between 14^th -16^th July and this lead to recriminations and great mistrust between the New Zealand infantry brigades and 1^st Armoured Division. It would have been difficult for Alan to avoid this. Alan would have probably heard about the 23^rd Armoured Division’s near suicidal assault on 22^nd July which led to their annihilation. Fortunately, the Eighth Army had superior numbers and was better equipped to cope with the losses than the Axis forces, yet the Eighth Army still came under enormous political pressure as a result of these perceived failures. Fortunately, as July drew to a close the Eighth Army regained the initiative and managed to end Rommel’s chances of advancing into Egypt, although was once again criticised for failing to destroy Rommel’s army. As a result, Auchinleck was sacked by Winston Churchill and replaced by Montgomery.

Taken in Cairo 1942

After the 1^st Battle of El Alamein, the Eighth Army built up its supplies and received reinforcements. The 1^st Armoured Division received new American Sherman tanks. On 20th August Alan was transferred to the 925 company 2nd Armoured Brigade which was still part of the1st Armoured Division. Several days later the Axis attacked but the attack ended in failure as they were held at Alam el Halfa Ridge on 30^th August. At around this time Montgomery planned an offensive that would push the Axis back into Libya. Alan was granted 4 days’ battle leave and spent 16th September in Cairo where he attended the cinema and visited Al Azbakiya Gardens.

On Friday 23^rd October 1942, the second battle of El Alamein began. The 1^st Armoured Division didn’t take part until dusk on 24^th October when they were engaged by tanks from the 15^th Panzer Division and the Italian Littorio Division. This was the first major tank battle of El Alamein with over 100 tanks involved. By nightfall over half were destroyed and no ground was yielded by either side. This situation continued for several days. Each time the tanks advanced they were repelled by anti-tank guns. However, by the end of Thursday 29^th October the British still had 800 tanks in operation, while the Axis had just 148 German and 187 Italian tanks.

To break the deadlock, Montgomery ordered a new phase of attack codenamed Operation Supercharge. On Monday 2^nd November, the tanks of the 1^st Armoured Division followed the 9^th Armoured Brigade through a path that had been cleared through an enemy minefield. 9^th Armoured Brigade bore the brunt of the enemy anti-tank guns and was largely destroyed. The surviving units came under the command of the 1^st Armoured Division and were eventually able to break through.

On 4^th November, the 1^st Armoured Division came into contact with the remnants of the 21^st Panzer and spent the day slowly pushing them back 8 miles. In order to deepen the armoured thrusts, 1^st Armoured were directed at El Daba, some 15 miles down the coast. In a bid to penetrate even further Montgomery ordered them to take a wide detour through the desert to Bir Khalda, 80 miles with a view to swinging up to cut the road at Mersa Matruh. The move proved unsuccessful and 1^st Armoured attempted to make up time with a night march, but in the darkness, the armour became separated from their support vehicles and as a consequence ran out of fuel on 6^th November 16 miles short of Bir Khalda.

By 11am on 6^th November the “B” Echelon support vehicles were starting to re-connect with the armour, but only enough to partly refuel two of the armoured regiments. They set off again hoping to cut off the enemy but ran out of fuel again 30 miles south west of Mersa Matruh. A fuel convoy set off from El Alamein but became bogged down once rain started to fall and was unable to re-supply the support vehicles.

1^st Armoured played no further part between 7^th and 11^th November as the ground conditions had deteriorated following heavy rain. However, during this period Rommel retreated and the battle was over. Evidently, Alan's hard work supplying the front line during this challenging time had impressed his superiors, since on 19th December he was transferred to 656 General Transport Company and promoted to the rank of corporal. 656GT was a temporary transport company hastily assembled to ensure supply was maintained to supply the rapidly advancing front line as the axis forces retreated westwards. The unit’s nickname was “The Tobruk-Bengahazi Haulage Contractors Limited” and they moved supplies and replacement vehicles that were landed at Tobruk, up to the forward supply depots some 600 miles away, starting on 9 January.  Whilst this activity was ongoing, the remainder of the 1st Armoured Division moved forward to be located closer to the port city of Benghazi. On 23rd January, the 8th Army moved forward and captured Tripoli, which was a major port and the capital of Italian Libya.  The remaining German and Italian Forces retired into Tunisia, where other forces were fighting a combined British, American and French force pushing into Tunisia from Algeria which had been invaded in November 1942.

Libyan  Desert 1943

Over the course of the next six months the Eighth Army pushed the Axis back through Libya and into Tunisia where they made a stand at the Mareth Line. Tunis was taken by the Allies on 13^th May 1943 and the enemy surrendered in large numbers. The North African campaign was over.

On 1st September 1943 as preparations for the invasion of Sicily were being made, Alan and his unit were transferred to the British North Africa Force (BNAF). While the 1st Armoured Division had been chasing the Germans and Italians across the Libyan Desert, the BNAF had parachuted into the French colonies of Algeria and Morocco which were now under Axis control. After some initial resistance, the Vichy French garrisons had surrendered and the territory fell under Allied control. Alan and other Allied troops were billeted to farms in Algeria and Morocco. Alan spent Christmas Day 1943 at Oued El Alleug, Algeria.

The Italian Campaign

As the Allies invaded Sicily and then Italy, the 1^st Armoured Division remained in North Africa. It was not until May 1944 that the division was posted to Italy to bolster an offensive that would push up the “boot” of Italy towards Rome. Alan landed in Naples on or around 27th May 1944, but in the event 1^st Armoured was held in reserve and Rome was taken by the US 5^th Army.

The Eighth Army was then switched to the Adriatic coast of Italy. The 1^st Armoured Division did not see any action until Operation Olive whose objective was to break through the Gothic Line and conquer Rimini. Between 3^rd and 4^th September 1944 the first battle of Coriano began. The 1^st Armoured Division, exhausted after a 50-hour march to arrive at the front, was ordered to attack the Coriano ridge. Rain fell incessantly and the tanks were soon bogged down. When the tanks appeared in the sight of the defending Germans they were sitting ducks for their 88mm guns. At the end of the first day just 79 out of the original 156 Sherman tanks were still fit for battle. The fighting continued for two days with terrible losses on both sides, but the Germans held their position.

Between the 12^th and 13^th September the Allies made another attempt to take the Coriano ridge and were successful on this occasion. The 1^st Armoured Division took the nearby village of San Clemente. The Eighth Army then pursued the Germans but the 1^st Armoured Division was held up at the Fornacci stream which had become swollen from 10 days of heavy rain and could not be crossed by the tanks.

Taken in Florence 1944

After Operation Olive, 1^st Armoured ceased to be viable division and was converted to infantry. However, Alan's unit survived and he was promoted to the rank of sergeant on 23rd November.

During the winter 1944/45 the Germans prevented the Eighth Army from advancing north across the Lombardy plain, but during the spring months the Germans were driven north towards the Alps and the war was over. Alan was given leave to return home on 30th May 1945. He remained at home until 24th July before returning to Italy with the Central Mediterranean Force, which at the time was presumably engaged in post war reconstruction work. Alan returned home again on 26th August but stayed on with the army until 9th August 1946.

After the war

On 14^th June 1946 Alan and Daisy’s first son, Keith, was born at Ilford Maternity Hospital. Eleven months later, on 8^th July 1947, their second son, Barry, was born in Bath. Alan returned to work with Plesseys as an accountant after being demobbed from the army.

The next sequence of events is not entirely clear, however at some point (probably in the early 1950s) the family moved to 11 Reynolds Court in Chadwell Heath. The flat was on the third floor of a brand-new council development about half a mile north of the Eastern Avenue. Why did they move? Well, the reason is that Alan’s mother-in-law (whom they were living with at Twyford Road) sold the house and moved in with her son Bert. As Alan and Daisy had two young children they were treated as a priority by the council’s housing department.

Seven Kings FC circa 1957

By all accounts the flats were noisy and many of the neighbours were people who had been bombed out of the East End during the war. It was a rough place. Alan and his family endured it until around 1959 by which time they had saved enough for a deposit to buy a new bungalow at 166 Lodge Lane, Collier Row. The bungalow was christened ’Sherwood Lodge’ in honour of Alan’s mother.

Alan enjoyed playing and watching football. He used to play for Seven Kings FC and would occasionally take Keith and Barry to watch West Ham United on a Saturday afternoon.

Plesseys business increased dramatically in the post-war years and they were at the forefront of developing digital telephone systems. The success of the company meant that Alan and his family were comfortable and he was able save money for his retirement.

The serious business of cribbage

Shortly after Alan and Daisy’s silver wedding anniversary in 1966 the family moved to a newly-built three-bedroomed semi-detached house at 32 Norton Road in Ingatestone. Ingatestone was, and still is, considered to be a desirable village and the move suggests how financially comfortable Alan had become. From the late 1960s onwards Alan and Daisy enjoyed holidays abroad to the Mediterranean and then later as far afield as Australia to visit his sister Kath who had previously emigrated down under.

The arrival of grandchildren in the 1970s provided Alan and Daisy with further joy and although we were very young we used to look forward to seeing granddad and grandma for Sunday lunch. He used to clown around with all of us: Natalie, Janine, Clare and me. We were always taken to the sweet shop after lunch and it’s amazing we don’t have many fillings!

Life can be cruel sometimes. As Alan was approaching retirement and was looking forward to the prospect, his health started to deteriorate. At first he attributed his increasing breathlessness to just old age. He was a smoker after all. Unfortunately, the underlying cause of the problem was much worse and more sinister.

As a boy, Alan had grown up just half a mile from the Cape Asbestos factory in Barking and had inadvertently breathed in some of the lethal fibres. The combination of the asbestos and his smoking resulted in Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lungs. Towards the end I distinctly remember seeing my granddad sitting in his favourite chair which had a large oxygen tank next to it. Alan died at home on 5^th December 1980 and was laid to rest at Chelmsford crematorium.

Alan lived through a period of enormous change: from the economic turmoil of the Thirties through the Second World War and into the post war period with its relative prosperity. Major technological advances greatly improved the quality of life and enable travel on a scale which his forebears could have only dreamed was possible.

Giovanna Curmi: from Baghdad to Britain

Giovanna Curmi: from Baghdad to Britain

The life of Antonia's mum, Gio, deserves a far more detailed write-up than the brief synopsis below. I've been avoiding it in the hope that others, far more qualified than me, take on the task. But for now, here's a brief version:

Giovanna Curmi was born on December 27, 1930, in Baghdad, Iraq to Asma Kanawaty, age 27, and Emile Joseph Curmi, age 36. The family lived at 69 Abu Nawass Street in the Bataween district of Baghdad when Gio's birth was registered at the British Consul on 21st February 1936. Gio was the eldest of Emile and Asma's 5 children. Eileen was born on 16th October 1932, Mafalda on 16th February 1939, Donald on 16th January 1943 and finally Alex on 24th September 1945.


Gio attended the Convent Presentation School and passed exams in both Arabic and English. The photo below shows Gio bottom right and her sister Eileen above

Photo courtesy of John Auld

The family were Anglican and regularly attended St George's Church in Baghdad. The minister, Reverend Roberts would often be a guest in the family home. The photo below was taken outside the church and shows (from the left), Mary Kanawaty, Gio, Donald (front child), Lady in Middle not identified, Asma and Mafalda, Eileen and Emile Curmi.

Photo courtesy of John Auld

As a young woman in Baghdad, life had its limitations. Gio met an older man, Harold Stonham, who helped her to escape Iraq. Leaving her family behind her, she boarded a plane bound for London which stopped in Rome en-route to refuel. Inevitably, Gio's sudden departure led to a family rift which took some years to heal.

1950s London must have been an exciting place for Gio. While she was making a new life for herself she stayed at the YWCA Hostel 79 Onslow Gardens in London's Kensington.

Photo courtesy of John Auld

Meanwhile, back in Iraq, the puppet monarchy installed by the British was overthrown in a military coup on 14th July 1958. Gio's parents and younger siblings were forced to leave the country.

Gio eventually married Harry at Pamber Priory in Hampshire on 31st December 1960 following the death of his wife.

 
Gio and Harry moved to Peacehaven near Brighton and remained together until Harry passed away from Parkinson's disease in 1969. 

With Harry's passing, Gio embarked upon a new chapter of her life and whilst on holiday in Spain she met and fell in love with a handsome young waiter called Esteban. Even though initially neither could speak the other's language, the romance blossomed. Esteban traveled to the UK and the couple married in Luton on 18th March 1972. 

With Esteban finding it difficult to settle in England, the couple moved back to Spain. They initially lived in Esteban's home town of Villacarrillo in southern Spain but lack of work forced them to move elsewhere. They eventually found a flat in Churriana close to Malaga. Gio became pregnant but sadly the child, a baby girl, was stillborn. The baby was taken away by the medical staff and she was unable to grieve properly.

Gio became pregnant again but this time, with painful memories of the previous pregnancy still fresh in her mind, she insisted that the baby be born in England. Accompanied by her husband, the heavily pregnant Gio flew back to the UK and the couple stayed with friends in London. A beautiful baby girl, Antonia, was born on 27th February 1975 at Central Middlesex Hospital. 

Gio put their names down on the emergency housing list and the family were eventually allocated a council flat on the Isle of Dogs in East London. The flat was on the 18th floor and lifts frequently broke down which meant she had to lug baby and shopping up countless flights of stairs. They were eventually moved to a nearby low-rise block in Seysell Street but there were still problems. Gio's strong Arabic accent led her being called "German" by some racist locals. In the early 1980's the family moved to Smithy Street in Stepney but unfortunately there were problems with her marriage to Esteban and the couple divorced.

By this time, Gio and her siblings had reconciled completely. Albeit, Mafalda was in the United States and both Donald and Alex were in Canada. Unfortunately, her sister Eileen died from cancer in 1983 leaving behind her own children Emile and John. 

Through the 1980s and 1990s Gio saw her daughter, Antonia, to grow up to be a strong independent woman. She traveled to visit her sister in the US and had a number of holidays both in the UK and in Southern Europe. Her youngest brother Alex returned from Canada with his family and they had some fun times together.

Sadly, Gio, like her 1st husband, was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. She carried the burden with great courage but it was sad to see such a dynamic woman slowly deteriorate. She passed away on 4th June 2010 and is missed by all of us.