Mum and Dad met in London, and romance blossomed. Their first date was unusual, to say the least. The whole family went!
[caption id="attachment_6413" align="aligncenter" width="482"]
Mum and Dad on the left, with family on the shores of Loch Lomond[/caption]But Mum and Dad were not to be deterred, and in May 1953 they were married:
[caption id="attachment_6416" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
The Wedding Party[/caption]Almost immediately after their marriage Mum and Dad were posted to Africa, to Rhodesia, now, of course, Zimbabwe. I remember Mum telling me that before leaving the UK on the long boat trip to Africa they had been promised that on their arrival there would be a brand new house waiting for them. Their trip lasted many weeks, as first they sailed from Southampton to Cape Town, and then had the long train journey from Cape Town right up through South Africa, and on into Zimbabwe and to Harare, then known as Salisbury, and finally further north on to the Howard Institute (now known as Howard Hospital) in Mashonaland where they were to remain for a few years. The only snag was while they would have a new house, they had to build it themselves.
Before long we girls began to arrive. First Anne, then Alison:
and then Sheena and finally, me!
It was quite a transition moving from a country where rationing was still in place after the war to a country where there were new sorts of wildlife to get to know:
[caption id="attachment_6423" align="aligncenter" width="717"]
Victoria Falls, 1960[/caption]There were many new challenges for them to face in Zimbabwe, including having to learn how to extract porcupine quills from one of our dogs that got a little too close to comfort, to recovering from bilharzia, contracted after building a dam, They became dab hands at making biltong from Kudu, and Mum made almost all our clothes. They had to homeschool us girls for the first 2 years of schooling, after which they had to confront the prospect of sending us to boarding school from the age of 8.
From Zimbabwe they were posted to South Africa, where they stayed until just a few years before their retirement when they returned to the UK. By this time their girls were spread all over the world but somehow they managed to divide their time between us all, until eventually settling back in Australia to retire.
What a remarkable pair they are, and what an eventful marriage they've had so far. So Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad. Have a wonderful day.
17 reactions
1 From Pam - 08/05/2013, 20:04
2 From Ann - 08/05/2013, 20:38
So sad to hear about your Uncle Bob. You are so eloquent in the way you tell your stories.
Lovely to hear about your parents and great photos. You are lucky to have so many photos to help with your memories and be able to share them with others
Ann
x
3 From Dorothy Stewart - 08/05/2013, 21:27
D
4 From Jill - 09/05/2013, 00:32
5 From Nelly - 09/05/2013, 07:28
Nelly from Holland.
6 From Ann - 09/05/2013, 08:34
7 From Cybèle - 09/05/2013, 10:57
8 From Irene - 09/05/2013, 11:01
9 From Chris - 09/05/2013, 21:02
10 From Linda - 10/05/2013, 01:23
11 From Hibiscus - 10/05/2013, 06:36
12 From Joan McChlery - 10/05/2013, 11:23
Helen's Mum and Dad
13 From Maggie - 10/05/2013, 13:07
14 From Ruth Marsh - 10/05/2013, 18:02
Rx
15 From Libby - 13/05/2013, 20:46
xxx
16 From Janneke Lewis - 14/05/2013, 08:00
It was wonderful to read! Can relate quite a bit to your story - my immigrant parents moving to South Africa after the war etc. But you told it with such love.
17 From Gill - 15/05/2013, 08:34