General Chat

Hi everyone:-)

Just dropped in for a quick hello!

This morning I received 2 photos from The War Graves Photographic Project, I have been busy trying to find out what happened to my great uncle that was killed in the 2nd world war.
The first photo was of the monument in Rangoon and the 2nd was of the plaque that bears his name. I also found the certificate from the CWGC casualty details.

Berona, I hope your test results are fine:-) My MIL had to do the same tests, she is 83 and as fit as a fiddle! Bless her:-)

I hope everyone is well:-)

~~~~~~waves to Diane x

Carole xx

Hi Carole,

I've just had a pm from Diane. She is fine and still looks on the thread.

The CWGC site is fantastic: I have my great uncle's details following his death in WW1. He was one of the early casualties, dying in Nov. 1914

Allan

Hi Allan, shhh I'm not in here! lol

I also had a message from Diane~~~~~~~

I agree with you Alan, that site is truly amazing, what really amazed me was that it also mentioned my great grandparents. It must have been so very sad for my great grand parents to lose their son so young, he was only 23 years old. He was my grandfathers younger brother.

Carole xx

Allan, my great uncle Thomas died on the 2nd of May 1942:-((

Carole x

Carole - a lot of our 'boys' were lost (and many taken prisoner) in the fall of Singapore in May, 1942.

My great aunt lost her 19 y.o. son and until she died in the late sixties, she regularly bought a lottery ticket so that "one day, I'll go an look for Jimmy's grave".

My uncle was with the forces in New Guinea later in the war and met a man who had been in Jim's unit. He said Jim had volunteered for a suicide mission and walked into a clearing to draw the enemy's fire. This man witnessed a grenade thrown at Jim and two others and "we saw them go up - and nothing came down". There was no grave.

This story came back to the family but since she was happy to think there was a grave somewhere - nobody ever told her what actually happened.

CC - Jim was only one of many thousands who were lost in that battle and in others. It was always felt that if ever his mother did look like making the trip, someone would tell her, but as the years went on (and she lost another son in a traffic accident), she was content with the thought that his was probably one of those neatly-kept war graves she saw photos of and she stopped talking about making the trip.

My father's cousin Willie died during WW1. He was 19 and my great uncle's only child. I found - when researching in the Leeds Library - a newspaper article saying that Willie had sent his father a letter saying that he was in hospital with an injury to his hand. By the time the letter arrived and the newspaper item appeared Willie had already died from an infection. When I told my father he said he remembered his two aunties talking about a nephew who had died and how devastated the family were. I often think that his parents must have thought often about how far away from home he was. I hope very much that I can visit Willie's grave and also that of my great grandfather also buried so far from home.

Sue xx

On a lighter note. Thanks Persey and Sue. I now know what a Longdrop is!

Heaven forbid! People don't actually go near those things, do they? - let alone USE them!

I might have to learn to walk with my knees together, but you would NEVER get me within cooee of one of those! In my country, you take your newspaper with you and look for the thickest gum tree! I'll stay with that idea, thanks!

Good afternoon all.

Berona, that is why the gum trees are all so thick.....all the carbon from the paper.

Allan

Hi everyone,
I'm at home at the moment because my new staircarpet is being fitted now!

Good morning everyone.
Patricia, you must have spent a fortune on all the renovations. I hope it wasn't a lottery win, because you know any money from that source is earmarked for our cruise!

Waves to Diane, I got a nice pm as well.

For one minute Berona, I thought that you had joined the women's libbers and burned your bra. I hope that you are now more chastely dressed.

I won't come around Pat - I have this bad habit of falling off carpets and mats.

YIppee the boot got left at the clinic. I can go on the travelator all by myself now - so there will not be a repeat performance of last weekends shenanigans. Course now my foot is doing lots of tingling and I am still hobbling a bit - but I shall do lots more exercises and be running by next week or maybe the week after or the week after that. Must dig out my skipping rope - long time since I did that.

Glad you liked the pic of the very very longdrop Berona. I haven't seen one like that here!!!!!!! But then I don't climb craggy mountains apart from Hanging Rock - which isn't really a mountain but it is rather craggy.

Persey

Hello Aussies and t'other siders (not you Allan, although I know that is what WA people call those from the east coast states).
Just picking up on one of CCs posts, this is a touchy subject with me. OH is now spending almost 150 dollars on NHS scripts a month. She has not been able to get a health care card partly due to her age and partly due to the 40 pages of documentation you have to fill in.
I spend close to 100 dollars a month which is a lump out of my rather meagre salary.
Why? Because successive governments have deemed that patients must be taught that medicines cost money and therefore should not be free. Two or even five dollars as a co-contribution might be reasonable, but the co-contribution is now over 33 dollars. The only relief is that a couple of my drugs are old and cost less than 20 each so I only pay that amount for them.
I don't have any direct relatives that I know of died in the wars, although my grandfather returned from France in 1919 to find his younger brother had died-- of the Spanish influenza. Another distant "cousin" died in Borneo. I have a tree on Ancestry of the direct descendants of my 3x gt grandfather Mr K,,, and this cousin died on the Sandakan death march,. I believe.
Berona, I hope your tests worked out OK, my Denise has had blood pressure monitors strapped to her, has had rather scary things like a tilt table test and currently has a heart monitor implanted in case she blacks out again.
xx C

Hi Norma, you snuck in while I was laboriously typing. So glad the boot is off. At least you don't have to wave your boot around to attract attention. I have mixed feelings about travelators. Fine on their own, but I find sometimes the blessed shopping trolleys don't lock in the treads like thay are supposed to.
C.

I have so many WW1 vets in my tree Colin - I have trouble remembering them all. There were quite a few who didn't come back and one who didn't even get away - he died here at camp.
Our prescription costs are very good - and after 20 lots of different tablets per annum the next are either free or heavily subsidised - I pay a minimal charge for my inhalers and anything else I get is free. Even panadol if I get it on prescription.

Persey

The trolley locked in okay Colin - but it went off with my crutch and I was left stranded. OH was in front of trolley - so he chucked the crutch onto the upward travelator for me to collect so I could get down. It was hilarious and amused quite a few people. I was worried I would be banned from there - the week before I offered a challenge to this other chap with a moonboot - in the supermarket - poor bloke - his wife left him at the Frozen foods area. I asked if he wanted to do a trolley derby around the supermarket.

You have to make your own fun - so we do very well at stupid.

Persey

Hello Patricia - new stair carpet? Lovely! Of course, if you did have a lottery win, I hope you kept some of it to put towards our cruiser - but you can still keep some of it for next year's project. When are we getting invited to the refurb celebration party? We'll remember to wipe our feel before we come in!

Linda - you can take the peg off your nose now. I've showered and dressed and feel respectable once more. My big worry was that the wind might blow or I might have an accident and be found upside down!

Perse - those longdrops make our old dunnies look good. Wouldn't it be draughty in there? I still think the thick gum idea is best. Some of the snakes are harmless!

When you have this party Pat - do not under any circumstances let Allan bring the soup.

Definitely don't let Allan bring the soup. He thinks soup toureens (sp) are kept under the bed!

Hi Perse,
I remember your accident. How's your foot?
The price of the staircarpet wasn't too bad. I've only got 12 stairs but a couple of them are an awakward shape.
No lottery win just raided my rainy day fund or travelling fund! the carpept man doesn't drink coffee and i don't have any tea int he house!
One of the things I got was a mat for the halla nd I've even got a doorbell which works( I've been without one ofr about 8-9 years!)
Pat x