Following my last post, Ratnamurti, a regular contributor of comments on thisissixty said that she would like to know more about my mother’s story as it sounded as though she had led an interesting life. Certainly in her army days she had an amazing time. My grandfather was of the opinion that daughters, as well as sons, should have a career – very forward thinking for a man born at the end of the 19th century. Mum, born in the mid 1920s, became a State Registered Nurse and in 1952 joined the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) as an officer. She was posted to Kure in Japan during the Korean War, and later to Singapore, where she met my father who was a Private. To this day the army is still not tolerant of relationships between ranks; back then it caused no end of trouble. Given that she was also several years older than my father, and of a different religion, the odds were not in their favour….but they did survive!

Here is a piece that I first posted in 2017.

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I  came from a mother who nursed in the army

Korean War, Singapore

Raffles Hotel, The Officers’ Mess

Tweed perfume and evening dress

Some who know me will be aware that I am in the process of writing a novel, the meticulously researched backdrop for which is the The Korean War, which was the first armed conflict of the Cold War. An astonishing fact: the British Army lost more men in Korea than the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan combined and yet many people today have barely any knowledge of it – little wonder that it has been referred to as The Forgotten War.

My interest is personal – my parents met during this time when both were in the army. My mother was an officer in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps – QARANCs. Initially stationed in Kure, Japan she was later posted to Singapore. Her photograph albums document the period from 1952 to 1954 and contain many souvenirs in addition to her treasured photographs. I’d like to share a few of these. About half way through her albums photographs of my father start to appear (before they began courting). It looks as though she may have taken the photo of him below without his knowledge, don’t you think?

All sorts of mementos were collected: the labels from drinks bottles, tram and bus tickets and menus.

My favourite is the menu from the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore from 31st December 1953.

QARANCs were granted commissioned  officer status and the rank of Lieutenant. My mother is the one in the darker uniform

Hours of work were long but there was still time to enjoy the sights and play tennis (or in the picture below, to umpire)!

During my writing research I read numerous books on army life during the Korean War, and was pleased to see in one, reference to The Belles & Beaus hockey match which took place on Boxing Day 1952 at the BCGH (hospital)  in Kure. My mother was one of the Belles (third from the left in front row standing) .

The main source of entertainment for officers on the hospital site would have been the social events and formal dinners which took place in The Officers’ Mess. This picture, with her seated on the far left of the picture, shows a Christmas meal in 1952.

My short poem above refers to Tweed perfume and evening dress. When ever my parents went out my mother smelt of Tweed – such an old fashioned perfume now but back then it seemed the height of sophistication along with her deep pink lipstick.   My father liked to her wear Tweed because it reminded him of when they first met. When I was about seven years old she took me to a dressmaker along with one of her beautiful evening dresses which were kept in a metal trunk. Covered in travel labels, this had been the trunk which had accompanied her in her army days. A silky pale green brocade  formed the underneath part of the dress in question and over the top was a deeper greenish-bronze organza. I cannot imagine that by then she had any cause to wear such a dress so each of the luxurious fabrics were made into a party dress for her little girl. Unfortunately, though I remember them very well, I can find no photographs of me wearing either, and I have no idea what happened to the rest of her dresses.

I’m unsure if this was taken in Kure or Singapore but here is my mother wearing one of her lovely evening dresses. I don’t believe my own waist was ever that tiny!

In later years Mum gave talks to women’s groups such as the WI about her time in the army often taking me along too. I remember looking through her albums and being interested in the pictures of kimono-clad Japanese women but it is one of my greatest regrets that I did not show more interest in her experiences. In my book I have used several of the incidents that she recounted but the more I researched, the more questions arose. I have so many which will sadly never be answered.

I have hundreds of photographs similar to those below and I have donated a number of images to Japan’s Kure City Hall Historical Collection. Following an appeal I made for background minutiae some time ago on the ‘Memories of Kure’ website, I was contacted by a gentleman from Queensland, Australia who very kindly and generously  transcribed many of his handwritten notes from the time and emailed them to me. I later discovered that this gentleman, is in fact, rather more well known that he had me believe! Mr Ron Callander -author, playwright, poet and journalist has written many articles and television scripts, and has received several awards for his writing.  Furthermore, he has served as State Secretary of the Australian Radio Television and Screen Writers’ Guild and Committee Member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers. How lucky am I that he saw my appeal for information!