3869: Arthur Patrick Vandeleur Firminger
When Arthur left school he went to the family firm in Surrey. His mother had been born in India, his grandmother had been shipped to India from their home in Ireland to marry an Indian or East India Co army officer called Brown. Arthur's mother married a Firminger. She had a number of children, the last one was born a year after she had divorced Arthur's father. His mother was "formidable" to put it politely.
Arthur joined up when he was 16 but his mother brought him back. Arthur then successfully joined up again aged 17. The only story Arthur ever told his children was that during the British Army's retreat during Spring 1918, "If he'd have been shot then he would have been shot in the bum, as they were running away so fast!"
His last regiment was the Royal Engineers. When he left the army, he always wore the tie of the R.E..
Arthur married in 1922. He had learned to drive during the war and, therefore, never needed to pass his driving test. When he left the army the only thing he wanted to do was drive. He joined Lever Brothers soon after the war as a driver and retired as a senior executive.
