大象传媒

My dad, Bert Cook, was in the Royal Navy, based on Chatham. He lived with his wife Kitty in Gillingham. He was career Royal Navy, as opposed to enlisted for the duration.

In March 1942 he came home on leave and my mum fell pregnant with me. In September 1942 he was a Stoker Petty Officer on HMS Leda, a minesweeper on the Russian Convoys.

Those minesweepers were made from wood so as to not attract the magnetic mines. They were only small ships.

HMS Leda was torpedoed by a German U-Boat, and as I understand it they put two 'fish' into this small wooden craft. There wouldn't have been a lot left, and of course my dad would have been down below when the torpedoes hit!

As I have it from family, he was badly wounded and in the water. He was then picked up by a fishing boat, but that too was torpedoed, and Bert my dad was killed.

The consequences of that go on to this day. His widow, my mum, was six months pregnant with me at the time. She also had another child, my brother who was 6.

My mum had been evacuated to Cornwall but not surpisingly, being widowed and pregnant, she felt she needed her family. My dad came from Dover, but my mum's family were Londoners.

Consequently I was born in London in December 1942. The Nazis were still bombing heavily then, but they missed us!!!

The hard work of trying to bring up two boys and so having to supplement her tiny widow's pension killed my mum, of a heart attack, in 1950.

As orphans my brother and I were then split up.

My brother stayed in Gillingham with our mum's friends. By then he was at Grammar school and was about to take his GCEs, so that way at least he could finish his school work without any more disturbance.

They had children of their own, and weren't very well off. Consequently they couldn't really afford to take both of us, but I was lucky enough to be brought up by my dad's sister in Nottinghamshire.

After he got his GCEs my brother joined the Navy, following in dad's footsteps.

I really felt it when I didn't see that much of my brother any more, on top of being orphaned. However many other kids weren't so fortunate - at least I was given a good home life!

I'm still around in 2005, and now aged 62. I often wonder about the father who I never saw (or he me), and I have only faint memories of my mum. My brother and I see each other perhaps once a year as he lives down South.

War tears families apart. In my case, because of the war, my dad and I never saw each other, and at a young age I lost my mum, then also partly lost my brother.

I'm not bemoaning my lot, I've been luckier than many. Also I've gone on to have friends in Germany, so I really appreciate the human aspect of both sides of the war.

One thing I have discussed with them is that at least now it looks most unlikely that we'll ever have to fight another European war again.

Maybe there is hope for the human race!!!

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