Another in the series by Eddy Newport taken from his book, History of a War Baby, Father Ted, and mother Edie.
Ted’s war history has never been documented until now. All I have to go by is the stories Ted told me in his later years.
They are as true as he told them. Dad was a musician and a very useful boxer he won trophies as a bantamweight for his regiment.
Ted age 23 as Corporal E Newport, soon to be a sergeant.
WW2 was declared by the Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain in September 1939 and all the forces were mobilised.
The Territorial Army were called up and were got ready to be sent to France and Belgium with the British Expeditionary Forces to stop the Germans from doing their worst. Ted was soon to be off to war.
One evening in a pub, The Plume of Feathers Greenwich, in front of all his army friends he got down on one knee and proposed to Edie.
No time was wasted in fixing up the wedding at the local church, not even time for a white dress to be made, just a service and a small reception back at Edie’s mum’s flat in Doddington Grove.
Her brother Jim gave her away and Ted’s brother David the best man.
The only photos were taken were on a box Brownie camera and of a very poor quality.
A staff car from the army was borrowed from Ted’s commanding officer to bring Edie to the church.
This wedding was done on the cheap, Mother said in later years she would have liked to have had a proper wedding, but it was not to be. They had a little time to themselves at a seaside resort in Devon.
After that, it was back to army training preparing to go with the Expeditionary Force.
As dad was a musician and his bad eyesight had graded him as a B2 solder his rank was made up to a sergeant and he was in charge of a platoon of men responsible for setting up a field hospital away from the action.
He said his expertise was digging a very big hole in the ground and covering it up with sandbags. So armed with his rifle, shovel and packs of field dressings off he went.
But not before he had got Edie pregnant.
© Eddy Newport 2017
Pictures; from the collection of Eddy Newport
 |
| Ted aged 23 as Corporal E Newport soon to be a sergeant |
They are as true as he told them. Dad was a musician and a very useful boxer he won trophies as a bantamweight for his regiment.
Ted age 23 as Corporal E Newport, soon to be a sergeant.
WW2 was declared by the Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain in September 1939 and all the forces were mobilised.
The Territorial Army were called up and were got ready to be sent to France and Belgium with the British Expeditionary Forces to stop the Germans from doing their worst. Ted was soon to be off to war.
One evening in a pub, The Plume of Feathers Greenwich, in front of all his army friends he got down on one knee and proposed to Edie.
 |
| Wedding day, 1939, Jim, Dad, Mum, Ginny, David |
Her brother Jim gave her away and Ted’s brother David the best man.
The only photos were taken were on a box Brownie camera and of a very poor quality.
A staff car from the army was borrowed from Ted’s commanding officer to bring Edie to the church.
 |
| Probably first married photograph |
After that, it was back to army training preparing to go with the Expeditionary Force.
As dad was a musician and his bad eyesight had graded him as a B2 solder his rank was made up to a sergeant and he was in charge of a platoon of men responsible for setting up a field hospital away from the action.
He said his expertise was digging a very big hole in the ground and covering it up with sandbags. So armed with his rifle, shovel and packs of field dressings off he went.
But not before he had got Edie pregnant.
© Eddy Newport 2017
Pictures; from the collection of Eddy Newport
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