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Note: 1932-38 Attended primary schools in Oxford, Grave send (Holy Trinity), Gurnard I.O.W. then Northtown Junior,Taunton. 1938-45 Local Authority Scholarship to be day-boy at Taunton School, Taunton, Somerset. Higher School Cert. Served in school Cadet Corps. 1945 Apr Joined Army as wartime conscript. Volunteered to avoid mines as 'Bevan Boy' as could happen if unlucky with last digit of ID card! 1945 Short Course at University College of South West, Exeter. 1945/6 Cadet training at Winchester, Wrotham, Aldershot and Catterick. 1946 26 Dec Commisioned 2nd Lt. in Royal Corps of Signals 1947 Jan Troop officer ( all female operators!) 3 GHQ Signal Regiment, Fayid, Egypt. Dated the sergeant against all Army rules! 1949 Sep Matriculation Course, Catterick. 1950 Apr Signals Research & Development Establishment, Christchurch. OC Trials Troop. 1950 Sep By this date he had been promoted Captain. Sep 1950- Jul '52 Trinity Hall Cambridge University, BA Eng. (no honours) Sep 1952 2 Wireless Regiment, Famagusta, Cyprus & lived in hirings in Famagusta. Sent on a 3 month course Egypt as failed Majority exam. Nicholas born in BMH Nicosia. Nov 1955 7 Armoured Division Sig. Regt., Verden, Germany. ( The Desert Rats) Lived in quarters at Verden. Jeremy born in BMH Hannover. Lived in quarters at Verden. Oct 1957 Major with Signals Research & Development Establishment, Christchurch. OC Trials Lived at Friar's Cliff in bungalow hiring. Bought Lizzie, the 3.5 ltr 1946 Jaguar! Beverley born in nursing home in Tuckton, Bournemouth. Nov 1959 Signals 3 GSO3 at War Office (now MOD), Whitehall, London, commuting from a quarter in Bexley Heath. Nic & Jeremy attended primary school there. Feb 1962 Julian born, BMH Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital, Aldershot. Feb 1963 Training Major with 49 Signal Regiment (TA), York. Lived in large top flat at Nunthorpe House next door to the "office" and opposite Terry's chocolate factory. May 1965 SO2 Signals with HQ Joint Services, Labuan, Borneo, Malaysia during confrontation with Indonesia May 1966 Ops Officer at Tanglin Park, 18 Signal Regiment, Singapore. Lived in quarters at Island View Estate (now University site) 1967 Deborah born in BMH Singapore. Jan 1968 I/C Technical Training & Acting Chief Instructor at the Army Apprentices College, Harrogate. Lived in hiring, an old house on Gracious St, Knaresborough. acted as Head of Education there for a spell with pay of Lt. Col. Feb 1970 2 I/C with 21 (Air Support) Signal Regiment, RAF Larbruch, Bruggen & Wildenrath, Germany. Lived in successive Quarters at Bruggen & Wildenrath. May 1972 Chief of Systems. NATO - HQ Northern Army Group, Rheindahlen, Germany . Quarter in Ottowa Avenue Rheindahlen. Sep 1974 Project Liaison Officer with NATO - Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. Mons, Belgium. 5-bed quarter, a bungalow on camp. Then SO2, NATO Integrated Communication System (NICS) Aug 1978 Signals Liaison Officer with Telecomms & Radar Branch, REME, Malvern, Worcestershire. Lived first in a quarter on Leigh Sinton Rd, then bought 1st house, a 4-bed semi-detached Victorian one. 1982 Jan 18 Retired on 55th Birthday after 36 9/12 years service. Army pension started.
Throughpout Army career shot for Army and various Counties as well as Army units. Queens 100 at Bisley one year. Shot for England against Jersey.
1982 Jan 19th - 84 With Plessey in charge of liaison with British Telecom on Digital System X Phone Exchanges. Lived in Canon Court Rd, Furze Platt, Maidenhead Jul 1984 Moved to 52 Penn Hill Avenue. Lower Parkstone Poole when Plessey closed down Taplow. It was the oldest house in the road being built 1885. Plessey taken over by GEC and Siemens to become GPT, later Marconi. 1992 Jan 18 Retired aged 65. Only a small work pension as he took lump sum of over �8,000. State pension with SERPS started. 1992- Jan 97 Volunteer work as Division Secretary & case worker, SSAFA, Christchurch. and Welfare Officer for Royal British Legion, Christchurch. Also Officers' Assoc. Rep, Bournemouth area. 1993 Sep Cancer of the bone diagnosed after prostate removal following completestoppage of urine flow at Anne DaVIS homre nr Mansfield, after 18 months undiagnosed prostate cancer, though symptoms were really very clear. Private & NHS treatment started under Dr Goode, Poole. Personality changed slowly. 1944 May Moved to Heath Farm Close, Ferndown. Continued work with BL and SSAFA in Christchurch. 1996 15 Aug Brenda got a Marital Separation by Court Order & JC moved to a rented flat at Barton on Sea for 6 months. Gave away most of his share of furniture etc to SSAFA stores. 1997 Feb Went to stay with friend Wendy Niblett (Brenda's friend originally from her teaching days before marriage & Jeremy's godmother) at Little Orchard, Hinton, Chippenham, Wiltshire. Altered loft to be his bedsit with bathroom and own outside staircase. Cancer treatment transferred to Dr Gareth Reese. 1997-1998 Volunteer work as Bristol Rep. for Officers' Association and SSAFA caseworker for South Gloucester (East). 1998 May Sudden acute breathing problems & was admitted to Bath Clinic, Bath, England under BUPA with lung cancer diagnosed & given 2-3 months to live. Wendy's daughters phoned JC's children to say he was not to go back to Hinton aa the worry was too much for Wendy suffering from ME. She inherited the altered flatlet! His Proton car had to be sold to cover his overdraft. The children urgently cleared out his rooms. Julian found a BUPA hospital in Cheam so he could be nearer them all. 1998 Jun Transferred to St Anthony's Hospital, Cheam under BUPA. Not well, in wheelchair most of time and constantly (but after a while unnecessarily) on oxygen. Beverley came from Borneo to visit him in as it was thought his end was near. 1998 Jul A place for him was found at The Royal Star & Garter Home, Richmond. 1998 Sep Told by doctor that he had never had lung cancer (a dreadful misdiagnosis.) He did not legally pursue the matter as he could have done! Helped with large fees by DSS. 1988 Jul Brenda visited to try a reconciliation but his coldness made her slightly misbehave which he complained about to the children and so she did not see him again. 1999 Had an angioplasty in London, for furred up artery. Poorly for a while and went downhill after this. 1999 May 10th Died in bed, at The Royal Star & Garter Home, but it was not expected to be so soon. John left very little and that was eaten away by unpaid fees to The Star & Garter Home. His Will had left equal shares to his 5 children and to Brenda. Funeral at Morden Crematorium with speeches by Jeremy & Julian. "A Man for all Seasons" was one descripton and "who really knew him" was another thing said. Few cousins attended, (he was the first of the generation to die) only Maureen with her husband John Bradshaw & Mike Pleeth representing his wife Mary, John's eldest cousin. Nic accompanied Brenda & John's sister in law Pamela Lewis. Wendy NIBLETT was there with her gentleman friend Don, as were old Army mates Anne & Peter Davies. Nils & Marianne Jensen came with Jeremy, Kirsten & Freyja. Representatives from Star & Garter were there, both patients & staff. A bugler was sent from R. Signals to movingly play Last Post & Reveille. Reception was held at Julian's wife Stephanie's father's girlfriend's house. Not all JC's relatives present at reception.
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