On this day one hundred years ago my father was born in Christchurch New Zealand to an Australian Father and an English Mother. When he was ten years old the family of five moved back to Australia and lived in the lower north shore of Sydney mainly Neutral Bay.
Dad excelled at school and was Dux of North Sydney Boys High School and decided to become a journalist however World War 11 intervened and he lied about his age and joined the 2/1 Battalion AIF and travelled to the Middle East but was injured near Tobruk and was repatriated home and discharged as a TPI in late 1941.
After regaining some health and strength he again went into Journalism and at one stage worked on the Sydney Morning Herald until the late Fifties when he set up his own Printing and Publishing business.
A freelance writer of prose and poetry from his schooldays ,he wrote for many publications especially the Bulletin under the pen-name of Dick Turpin.
He and Mum were married after she was demobbed in 1946 and they divorced in 1963, he went on to marry a further two times.I don't have many memories of him after we left Sydney as the only contact we three kids had was via mail as his second wife did not want anything to do with us.
After she died however Dad rekindled his relationship with Louise and I (Andrew had died years before) and I had one visit to Townsville to stay with him and many frequent long phone calls .
I am not sure how old Dad is in this photo but I have always loved it.
1 comment:
Wow, what a story, very heartwarming at the end :-)
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