大象传媒

My mother, Rosemary Oakeley, had gone to Malaya to stay with her brother, Rowland, who was in the MCS [Malayan Civil Service] in 1938, and returned for a further visit in 1939. On her first visit, she had been given an introduction by her Godmother, Marion Sedgwick of Grantham House, Grantham, Lincolnshire, to the son of a friend of hers. The friends, Canon Sheppard and his wife Louisa, and their Bishop, Tony Otter, [who later christened me] lived close to Grantham 鈥� and their son, Mervyn, was also in the MCS. My mother and he fell in love and, after a fairly long acquaintance and a broken engagement, were married in Singapore Cathedral by the Archdeacon of Singapore, ---Graham-White, on 27th January 1940.
By this time, the War in Europe had begun, and there was the threat of war in the Far East. Word came that Canon Sheppard had died, and my father was called home to help his mother settle the estate. It was likely to be a highly dangerous journey by sea, through waters heavily populated by U-boats 鈥� not only in the Atlantic Ocean but also in the Indian Ocean.
My mother was in the early stages of pregnancy, and apprehensive about the journey, but her fears were calmed by a natural dignity 鈥� 鈥榶ou are鈥� I was often told as a child, 鈥榓 soldier鈥檚 daughter, and grand-daughter 鈥� never forget it鈥�. The ship鈥檚 crew did daily boat-drill practices with the passengers, who had to make their way to a specific lifeboat, where their crew would be waiting, and 鈥� should the ship be torpedoed 鈥� they would have only a few minutes to assemble and be lowered into the sea. My mother put her most precious belongings, which were her [鈥楺ueen鈥橾 face-cream and her mother鈥檚 pearl necklace, on the end of her bunk, so that she could snatch them up together with a warm coat, if they were torpedoed during the night.
The ship, SS Sarpedon, left Singapore in early 1940, made her way across the India Ocean and 鈥� unable to pass through the Suez Canal 鈥� followed [?in a small convoy?]the coast of Africa to Cape Town. The ship was blacked out 鈥� every porthole was covered, and strict instructions were given that under no circumstances could they be opened 鈥� the smallest glimmer of light could be visible to a scouting U-boat. From Cape Town they set off up the west coast of Africa to [the Gold Coast/Liberia] where they were expecting to rendezvous with a large convoy of ships who would sail together up through the Atlantic Ocean. However, the ships did not appear, and after several days of waiting the Captain of the Sarpedon announced that they would set off on their own. This was greeted with real apprehension 鈥� going it alone appeared hazardous, as there was thought to be safety in numbers 鈥� but one of the sailors said to my mother 鈥渘o need to worry, Miss, we鈥檒l be all right 鈥� our Captain鈥檚 name is Nelson!鈥� and after that, they were not afraid.
The voyage took them in wide zig-zags up through the Atlantic Ocean as far as Greenland, [to avoid the U-boats off Ireland: Ireland was 鈥榥eutral鈥� which actually meant that Germans were able to use some of the bays and hide themselves] and they then turned across to dock in Glasgow. On a bitterly cold February day, they landed 鈥� in a wartime Britain where everything was blacked out, there were no street lights, every window was covered with black material or boarded up so that no glimmer of light was visible at night; and all road signs had been removed; where food was rationed and people walked or bicycled along roads with bomb craters where houses had once stood 鈥� and where air-raid sirens wailed every night, sending people diving down into the air-raid shelters, or underground railway stations, until the 鈥楢ll-Clear鈥� sounded and they could emerge often hours later, and return home.
Lincoln was wintry, the house was bitterly cold, the funeral had already taken place, but there was much to do to clear up the estate of his father. My father's twin brother Frank had been crippled by polio during his Army posting to Hong Kong before the War, and he was not able to deal with the work needed in settling the estate. My mother sat uncomfortably on a horsehair sofa, keeping her Mother-in-law company, and longing to be with her own family, in front of a roaring fire, in Eynsham. Travelling back to Oxford across war-time Britain was a long and cold journey. As soon as he could arrange a ticket, my father returned to Malaya, so as to enlist in the Volunteers - he was later captured and interned in Changi - my mother remained in England to await the birth of her first child.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.