- Contributed by听
- Patroli
- People in story:听
- Patroli
- Location of story:听
- Newport Monmouthshire
- Article ID:听
- A2058969
- Contributed on:听
- 18 November 2003
Soon after I was born, my mother died tragically from the effects of my birth. She apparently knew she was dying and sent for a friend/neighbour, who was childless, and asked her if she would take me from the nursing home and care for me. The friend immediately agreed to do so and promised to take good care of me until my mother was well, but this was not to be.
I stayed with my adoptive parents; I was not told of the sad start to my life and assumed they were my own parents. My adoptive father was in the Merchant Navy 鈥 had been since he was a boy; he was born in Estonia and had emigrated to Britain when his country was under some threat from Russia. He settled in South Wales, married a local girl and I became their much loved adopted only child.
When War was declared in 1939, my Dad continued in the Merchant Navy; he was by then well past the age when he would have been required to do so but the sea was his life - albeit a very hard life.
In 1940, my Dad was serving aboard the S/S ANGLO SAXON a vessel taking a cargo of coal from South Wales to Argentina. At about 9.o鈥檆lock on the night of 21 August in the South Atlantic, a German surface raider attacked the ship, which was sunk after a plucky but unequal fight. It was a particularly horrible incident 鈥 those crew members who were not killed outright were machine gunned as they tried to tried to reach the lifeboats; my gentle father was on watch at the time and he must have been killed immediately. Only one lifeboat eventually got away, with 7 men on board.
Ultimately this lifeboat was washed up on the Bahamas, containing two bodies 鈥 more dead than alive 鈥 being the two young men who had miraculously survived the horrors of the torpedoing, the machine gunning and the appalling journey - they had survived for 72 days in an open boat across the Atlantic. The story of this epic journey is well catalogued elsewhere, in particular in 鈥淪urvived!鈥 by Anthony Smith 1998 (ISBN 0 9533225 0 5).
However this is just my personal story. When news that the ship was missing became known, my mother鈥檚 allowance from the ship owners was stopped immediately 鈥 apparently the usual practice at that time. After some delay, she was given a temporary payment (presumably by some government department) until confirmation of the ship鈥檚 fate was confirmed. This derisory payment consisted of 22 shillings and 6 pence per week (about 拢1.12p in today鈥檚 money) and 5 shillings (25 pence) for me. My grief stricken mother was ordered to appear, with me, before a committee of GREYBEARDS - to be told that my adoption was not considered 鈥渓egal enough鈥 (although it had been done through a solicitor) and there would be no allowance at all for me - even worse, she would be required to pay back the temporary allowance of the five shillings per week. At some time in all this I learned for the first time that I was adopted. She and my lovely Dad 鈥 who had just been killed in the service of his adopted country 鈥 had cared for me entirely since I was about 12 days old 鈥 and this was the unbelievable treatment handed out by the greybeards. My mother was devastated.
As far as I know, my mother never did receive any 鈥減ension鈥 for me: it was only through the intervention of one of my teachers that an educational grant was obtained.
I just wish very much my adopted parents could have lived to see my two beautiful and talented daughters 鈥 and my beautiful and talented grand-daughter; all here thanks to the care I was given by them as a child.
Footnote: After much effort by a few of the next of kin, the Anglo-Saxon鈥檚 tragic lifeboat was eventually restored to the UK. A ceremony was held for all the next of kin to see it take a place of honour at the Imperial War Museum.
漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.
Story with photo