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My father's memoir

online resource
posted on 2024-06-05, 18:20 authored by Their Finest Hour Project Team

I have attached my dad's memoir of his wartime experiences with the RAOC in Egypt and Palestine. He had just been selected to play for Port Vale when war broke out, and that was the end of his football career.

It was only when I cleared out the loft after dad's death in 2006 that I found a large bundle of correspondence—all the letters home which his mum had saved and all the letters which he had saved from (whom it then became clear) was the first love of his life. Her name was Gusta Imber, she was Jewish, and had enlisted as a member of the ATS in Palestine. They must have been together for three years or so and wanted to marry, but at the end of the war and dad's return to England, Gusta chose to stay and play her part in the creation of the State of Israel. They stayed in touch for several years—well after they had both married and started families. There is much personal but interesting correspondence from a time of great change and upheaval in the Middle East.

History

Item list and details

The postcard telling dad that he had been selected for the Port Vale first team-September 1939. He signed up two weeks later. A picture of dad and a picture of Gusta taken on the eve of departure "looking at you ever-Cairo 5.6.45"

Person the story/items relate to

Jack Whitehouse

Person who shared the story/items

Richard Whitehouse

Relationship between the subject of the story and its contributor

My father

Type of submission

Shared online via the Their Finest Hour project website.

Record ID

99909