the man behind the diaries by quietpurplehaze

the man behind the diaries

clockwise, from top right:

my mum and dad on their wedding day in 1941,just a few months before he went off to war
at my sister's wedding in 1970 - my dad enjoying a joke, have no idea of the content
giving me away, also in 1970 - how many dads give both daughters away in the same year, I wonder. I always find 'giving away' a quaint phrase in this context......)

12th MAY 1945:

"One day some English P.O.W.s came in with a huge chunk of pork. They were on the march and had killed a pig and having more pork than they required, swapped with us for some sugar. The meat was partly cooked* and very tasty."

from my dad, Bert Martin's PoW diaries

©SWWEC

(*It sounds rather 'dodgy' to me but no record of anybody being ill.)
Great collection of photos! Thank you for a peek at the man behind the story. Boy, doesn't he look too young for that uniform? Then again, my husband was 23 when he went in to service, and looked about 16 years old in his photo. 😀
May 12th, 2016  
That's one wonderful collage.
May 12th, 2016  
You are so lucky to have such memorable photos and thankyou for sharing them
May 12th, 2016  
Bep
Wonderful collage of family photos.
May 12th, 2016  
Wonderful to see your Dad at the age he wrote the diaries and later during happier times!
May 12th, 2016  
Lovely collage of memories!
May 12th, 2016  
Great collage of shots and narrative
May 12th, 2016  
Wonderful collage Hazel one for the family album, so nice to see the man behind the diary:)
May 12th, 2016  
Lovely memories, I'm sure my Father would have rather sold me than give me away.
May 12th, 2016  
@ladymagpie

I'm laughing - but it isn't really funny, Heather! Giving away makes me think of already-read books and discarded ('pre-loved' is the modern word) clothes!
May 12th, 2016  

A lovely collage of you all and especially nice to see your Dad. It will be good to read his diary and recall his photograph.
May 12th, 2016  
Expensive year for your mum & dad in 1970 Hazel....he looks a proud man! Lovely wedding dresses! As Lori says it's good to see the face behind the stories!
May 12th, 2016  
wonderful collage and memories Hazel
May 12th, 2016  
A wonderful collage a fav
May 12th, 2016  
Lovely Hazel.
May 12th, 2016  
They probably developed hardier constitutions so the meat was no problem back then!!
May 12th, 2016  
I've really been enjoying the snippets of your father's memories that you have been sharing. It is fascinating to get a first hand, individual, take on these big historical events.
May 12th, 2016  
Lovely to see the man behind the stories. What a year for your parents! That pork sounds a bit dodgy to me too, but after all their deprivations I expect they were probably immune! 1970 was the year I finally left home, to take up a nomadic hippie life for a while.
May 12th, 2016  
What a great collage, lots of memories here. David gave our daughter away, but she keeps coming back, ha ha.
May 12th, 2016  
Lovely photos. Your mom was beautiful, and you had a handsome dad. Great stories in his diary too. Enjoying them.
May 13th, 2016  
Great collage. Nice to see the man behind the journal entries.
May 13th, 2016  
How wonderful to "meet" your dad :)
May 13th, 2016  
Great to see those pic.`s. Makes the dairy story even more tutching.
May 13th, 2016  
Pam
Great photos you got there!
May 14th, 2016  
Fantastic collage.
May 15th, 2016  
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