大象传媒

My husband wasn't a soldier he was conscripted in August 1940. I was left at home with twins who were born in 1939 and a little boy who was born in 1938 and my husband never came back. He was in the Royal Artillary and he was the most handsome man and the loveliest person you could ever meet. He loved his children and we went nowhere without them, even on the train they were all there in the pram. Ultimately my husband was in the siege of Tobruk when the held the Germans off. When they came out of there he was sent on leave in December 1941 and he was killed in action on the 25 pounder guns. The whole crew got a direct hit - they were doing their duty and gone the next. He was killed on the 22nd January 1942 and when I read through a huge war record from Ewell Library that date was menioned as a decisive battle when our troops were badly let down because of lack of equipment but they did their best. I have been out to the memorial at the battle of El Alamein and for the big ceremony where all the troups were honoured but at 4 in the afternoon I went down to the lounge in the hotel where I told a lady that I hadn't been to the ceremony because I had been ill all day and she said that her husband would take me then. I said that I couldn't bother him but they wouldn't take no for an answer so they took me to the memorial in the evening and they had to get someone to open the gate to let us in. It was so peaceful and he found my husband's name at the top of one of the high columns. He took a photo of it and sent it on to me and a lovely letter and it inspired me to write a poem which i sent to him. Weeks later he wrote to say the War Graves Commission wanted to publish it. I gave my permission but forgot to ask for a copy. My three children, two sons and a daughter have worked hard. My eldest son has been aide de camp to governor general in Australia. My other son the twin boy ended up chairman and complete charge of a computing firm in Melbourne. My daughter lives in Ashtead and works in the hospital there and has done since before it was built and is still there. Their father would be very proud of them all, as am I.
We had a lovely dog and before my husband went I had been given three respirators in case we got bombed but I couldn't cope with three children as well as a dog and my husband had to take the dog to be put to sleep.

Mrs Holton

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