In early 1946, settling from the bitterness of war, she was still at home
alone with two children. Her second child was a boy she named Tim. Tim was
opposite in temperament to Zoe. The frequently experienced, yet misunderstood
statement citing brother and sister to usually portray ‘sweet’ and ‘sour’
fitted Zoe and Tim perfectly. They were normal healthy children. He was a
typical young lad, always dirty from play and always in mischief. Rene would
tell stories about his little tantrums and escapades such as ‘wagging’ from
school. If apparel is any judge of character, one could imagine his behaviour
from the dress of the day. It was knee length grey shorts, a frayed green
school jumper to match, and a green baggy cap with white stripes around the
middle in a form of a triangle. His near blonde hair was very short leaving the
sides bald in places and prickly in others. He portrayed the ‘brat’ in a
youngster and had one feel want of an immediate desire to strangle him. Later,
in his teens, Tim became a good scholar and never lost his lovable rascality;
but did have his problems.
The ‘RAF’ commissioned Ted’s release in July 1946.At last Rene finally
got her wish to have her husband home to help provide and care for her and
their two children. He came home and euphorically re-entered civilian life, but
the immediate post war years provided few prospects for ex- servicemen and it
was not long before jubilance turned into financial despair. He knew he was
blessed in one way because people such as he who returned home healthy, and in
one piece, could relish their internal wealth in the memory of those worse off,
and in memory of their fallen comrades, or those others who returned maimed or
mentally disturbed, or those who would never be given a chance to normalize
because of so many traumatic factors. Ted was one of the lucky ones and the
whole misfortune of those torrid years instilled in him a belief to live each
day as a bonus. He had a happy-go-lucky infectious disposition and a vibrant
personality with a type of magnetism proving quite rare in a world full of
conflict.
Employment
was a vital component of survival in the 40’s, limited help from the government
of the day was only in the form of ‘ration stamps’ and although indispensable
they were of little value for development of career opportunities or stability.
England needed every penny in its coffers to rebuild the war torn
country and could not afford to support freeloaders. Ted could not acquire a
job in his pre-war trade as a ‘Capstan Operator’ so he took the first and only
opportunity presenting itself, he took advantage of a favourable combination of
circumstances involving the owner of a pig farm who was undergoing economic
hostilities from the banks due to the downturn in the sale of pork, so for a
small sum of money he became part owner and operator of a pig farm. Never
lacking in foresight or scope, he expected big things from the business, but
was unaware of the real reason for his partner’s financial difficulty; he soon
learnt the truth. The red nosed malingerer spent more than he earned and would
rarely turn up for work because of issues relating to alcohol abuse.
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1945 Burma? Japanese surrender.
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