A old Kiwi Soldier

[Lou Barron]

Just Recently i went along to my next door but one, Neighbour he served in Greece and Crete he was one of the first of the NZ troops who landed in the UK in1940.(We have knowed one another for many years)The point of this story is just the other day i went along to show him some photos of my Uk trip and when i showed him the one of the Liver Buildings he said he remember it well because on New Years Day 1941 he embarked on the Athlone Castle for the Middle East .That was the same time that we left Newport South Wales(Duches of Bedford )so we was in the same Convoy of 21 troopships that was some convoy but what a coincidence

[leratty]

Charles he would have been with Charles H. Upham the Kiwi who won two VC's in WW2 the first on Crete.

[Lou Barron]

In the same army but a different unit .I had the privilege to meet and have a yarn to Charles Upham many years ago it was at a Reunion of the NZ ex pows Held in Christchurch he was a very nice person to talk

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Lou.
Coincidences happen all the time, though not related to the sea. While I was waiting to emigrate to NZ I got a job ashore for a few weeks at the ICI works in Middlesbrough. On the way to work one day on my bike it was snowing, I had to push my bike up over this bridge when I got to the top there was an empty double Decker bus half over the parapet of the railway bridge. As I slid down the other side of the bridge in the thick snow a crane which was on it's way to lift the bus off came sliding down behind me, I was lucky to get out of the way.
Now the coincidence on a building site in Sydney about 20 years later we were in the shed having lunch and bemoaning the cold, COLD!! I said and related the bus incident, a loud Geordie voice in the corner piped up you thought you were frightened, I was on that bloody bus.
Cheers DEs

[cappy]

a well known seafaring family in south shields had four seagoing sons.....isailed at varios times with 3 of them they were all a a handful 2 of them had not seen each other for 4 or 5 years one missed his ship in new York and was in the seamans mission it was xmas eve as he came out to go for a beer who was coming in but his brother he hadn't seen .......one of the brothers had twins and in the early 70s they both got a pierhead jump out of shields on a greek and have never contacted or come home since the father has since passed over just sad regards cappy