Rhoda’s Album: 1962-1969

5 October, 2023 0 Comments

Of course, when people make a family album, they do not normally add copious written notes, as the pictures speak for themselves, and the viewers recognize the people in the photos, if it is in a recent context.

But as one gets older, names and events fade into the mists of time. I have a fairly good memory – I can remember many names and events of 50 and more years ago. I have to admit my mother seemed to have a better memory than me – in her eighties, she could remember almost every single name on her class photo when she was about ten years old.

When I’m looking at old photos, I can mainly remember the faces and the people, but not always the names. This is just something that occurs with the passage of time.

The move from the north to the south of England was almost traumatic for me as a boy going through so-called early teenage crisis. But I will not dwell on that here, but try to keep to the factual details. After all, I’m not the only person in the world – although when one is a teenager one tends to think about ‘me’.

As mentioned, this is a ‘photo album’ so I will try to keep the descriptions short.

I will tackle one photo at a time – I hope I can keep it brief!

My father

My father had perhaps benefitted from the war against Nazi Germany – it had provided him with steady employment for five years and more, given him a naval ranking, and qualifications. My father continued to work for the state – that is the ‘Atomic Energy’ who were his employer for about 14 years. The state had provided a good salary and housing, and most of my family’s friends around this time were connected to his job.

But of course – people are ambitious – they want more. I can remember talk of moving to the West Indies – and living in a large house with black servants. His friend, and colleague, Chapman, had chosen this colonial pathway – although I know little of their life in South Africa.

So, as the story goes, the best road in Scotland (or North England for that matter) is the road that leads south.

So my father packed in his job working for the Atomic Energy and the British state, and got a job with James Scott in London.

Of course, this could have been one of those ‘happy ever-after stories’. My father was about 45 years old when he started to work in London. But physically he was much older. He had heart problems due to the rheumatic fever he had contracted as a 15-year old.

So, as a teenager, I can remember my tired old father snoozing while watching TV after the 1 hour commuting journey from his workplace in London.

This was not easy for him to tackle. Much of his persona was built around the idea of being a strong man that could provide for his family. In reality, he wasn’t that strong at all, as he was crippled by heart disease.

But, as mentioned, I want to keep this brief, so let’s change the topic.

Billericay, Essex

In short, my family moved from Culcheth, Lancashire, to Billericay, Essex. My brother Alistair, and I, attended Barstable Grammar and Technical College in Basildon.

The Photos

Category: Photo Albums, Rhoda's Album: 1962-1969