Con

I first sighted Con while waiting to board a German ship for Hong Kong. Chamberlain had said " Peace in our Time" so we had both hoped for the best and booked passages on the Scharnhorst (The Armed Merchant Cruiser).

Con was very good looking (in spite of a large nose!). She had a real sparkle in her eyes at all times. She was slim, very well dressed and carried herself proudly. In all the years I knew her she was my greatest friend and I admired her always.

Her parents were well off (cotton) and she had a good start in life. She met her husband, Dan, who was a commander in the Navy, stationed in Plymouth and he was sent to Hong Kong and she was off to join him. She and I and a young 17 ½ year old were the only English on board. The young girl had been married by proxy and tho' they had never met she was traveling out to join him in Java.

She, Con and I sat at a table together for meals and also an American Woman whose 15 year old daughter had died. One other English woman I had forgotten was Barbara Lea, a Naval wife and an opera singer who had sung at La Scala, who was also joining her Naval husband in Hong Kong. The Germans gave us a wide berth except for two, a business man and 'Continuity Kate' who was going on to Japan. These few made up our party and we got to know them well. We often wondered later on if the Germans were told to join us for any information they could get. After all, two months later we were at war with Germany.

Our most exciting stop was in Manilla. Con and myself, the Dutch girl??? and the two Germans were put into taxis as soon as the ship berthed and went off on an 80 mile trip to a river in the North where we were to 'Shoot the Rapids'. At the last moment a German Military Advisor's wife decided to join us. She was in the 1st class and none of us had met her.

Our destination was a Hotel by the river, where they provided us with large straw hats. We each then got into a canoe with two Maritians???, fore and aft, and set forth. We soon realized that the Rapids we were about to meet were large waterfalls. A crew man asked me if I was a strong swimmer. Con, next to me in her canoe, said urgently, 'Say YES - or they won't take us'. So I did say yes with great trepidation as I saw the wrecked canoes at the side of the river.

The method of climbing a fall was to take a run at it for the front man to leap out and catch hold of a rock and pull, while the back man paddled hard. There was not question of going straight up, we 'found our way' between rocks and rushing water, with the back or front man jumping out to grasp a rock. It was most exciting and we got very wet!

We had eight of these to surmount and it took three hours. At the top we were stopped by a mountain with a huge waterfall joining the river. We had a much needed cigarette and a short rest and started down the river.

We did not have much time to be frightened before we were down the first rapid. They obviously knew them very well and somehow guided the canoe the safest way through the rocks and we were down in a flash and on our way to the next and the next etc. It took 20 minutes and we were back at the hotel, soaking wet and glad to be alive! There we met the Military Advisor's wife who had not come with us because she "didn't like that sort of thing". She asked us why we were so wet. We said they had been enormous rapids. "RAPIDS did you say? I thought you were shooting RABBITS".

After a strange lunch, all out of tins, we drove back to the Scharnhorst which upped its boarding gear and sailed immediately.

Quite an experience, which I think I should not have repeated.

In Hong Kong, Con joined Dan, her husband. Jack was of course, at sea and later joined the Fleet at Wei-Hei-Wei in the North. I followed in a heavily armed Oiler - so armed as they had been fair game for Pirates.

After a bit Con also came to Wei-Hei-Wei and we saw quite a lot of her and Dan. He was Commander of the Dorsetshire (Cruiser).

Then Jack was sent back to Hong Kong and I followed of course, as soon as I got there he was sent to Malaya and I was stranded, very short of money, in the Arlington Hotel and later a working girls Hostel, the Helena May which was cheaper and more handy for the gay life which I then lived. I found I had started a baby.

In due course the Fleet returned to Hong Kong and Jack returned. I saw quite a lot of Con and she promised to be Godmother to my new baby. I think she was a little jealous as she for some reason, would never have children.

When Jill arrived she was very entertained by her. On one occasion when Con was staying in our flat (Jack was at sea and so was Dan) I was asked out by some chap and she agreed, with great trepidation, to look after Jill. Luckily all went well and she got very fond of her.

By this time 1939, war had started and she and Dan went home and were stationed in Plymouth. Dan was drowned when his ship was bombed and sunk. Con had become a Wren and after his death became a Mobile Wren and could be sent anywhere in the world. It happened to be India and she really enjoyed her life there.

Then, for years we did not meet as we were both in several difficult parts of the world.

The war was over after four years, we had a lovely house in Groton, Suffolk and she came to stay. Then she filled in the last few years of her news.

After the War

Con had a fine time in India. Before the war ended she met a man, much younger than herself, who she fell for and he for her and they became 'an item'.

He was in the Wavy Navy and after a time was sent home. He wrote to her that he had joined the Royal Navy and was a Lieutenant. He was a Queen's messenger.

Then she finished being a Wren and was sent home and went to her parents. Mark (which is not his real name which I have forgotten) went to stay with the parents and they liked him. Con had discovered by now that he had a really violent temper and explained it by telling her that he had been torpedoed three times and the third time he had to swim about in a sea of burning oil and was months in hospital. Her family were concerned about this, but advised her either to marry him or stop seeing him. They went to stay with his mother, who was delightful.

Con was slightly miffed as when married to Dan he was immensely proud of her and they went to lots of parties and Naval Do's. Mark, on the other hand was busy at the office and went off each day and preferred to spend the evenings and weekends at home with her and not partying.

After a few months he was sent to Jersey as Flag Lieutenant to the Admiral in charge of the Naval personnel there. He went off daily to Admiralty House.

Meanwhile (Mark had been divorced and had two sons) Con agreed with Mark that they should take one of his sons.

She bought a lovely Manor House (her parents had died and left her lots of money). She made a lovely nursery for the boy and bought an Alsatian puppy and went to the Air Port to meet their new son. Mark had to be at work at that time. She was very good with children but was completely stumped by this eight year old boy who didn't speak to her at all. When Mark came home she was in despair with the boy and asked him what she should do. He said "I told you he was stone deaf and didn't talk at all". He most certainly had not told her this.

A friend of Marks went to stay with them. It turned out that the friend was a deserter from Dunkirk and after a few weeks he was arrested and sent to prison.

There were many other strange incidents which worried her. His temper was uncertain, he drank too much and he had no communication with his son.

When sending one of his suits to the cleaners she found a letter addressed to him from his wife which brought up several queries in her mind. All in all she had become very suspicious and at last charged him with not telling her the truth. He was very angry, drank a great deal of whisky and ran out of the house. She found him dead drunk just by the sea.

Next day she got a solicitor who questioned Mark and the awful truth emerged. He had been in the Navy but on his return to England he had resigned. He was certainly never a Lieutenant, had never worked in Plymouth for the Navy and had never worked at the Admiralty in Jersey. He was not divorced from his wife. He had never been attacked at sea in the war and been in hospital with burns from swimming in burning oil after being bombed. In fact, practically everything he had told her was a lie. In Plymouth he went off daily in uniform but was not in the Navy - the same at the Admiralty in Jersey. I am not sure how he had spent his time and cannot remember if I ever heard that.

The solicitor said he must give himself up to the police but at any rate should leave the house at once and never return. The solicitor and Con saw him off on a plane to England the next day.

Con had a phone call from Guernsey, where the Plane had landed and Mark was seriously ill. Would she come at once. The solicitor said she should not go at any price.

She did not hear from him again for several years when he turned up, looking very smart. She made it quite clear that she did not wish to see him and he went away. A little later she was shopping in the King's Road and she saw him again. This time he looked completely down and out, rather like a poor tramp in terrible old clothes. He had obviously hired a suit to visit her earlier.

At this stage she found Mark had managed to bankrupt her. She was 45 and broke. From her flat she went to a Typing and Shorthand school. Most of the people there were 16, 17 or 18. She passed well. I remember her telling me she was going to get a job at NOT LESS than £8 a week. That was a high wage for a typist then and I thought she was very optimistic. In fact she got a job as a secretary to the head doctor of the London Hospital. Her great stumbling block was trying to spell out the completely unknown medical terms, which nearly drove her mad and she had to leave. Her next job was with Rex Harrison. He liked to dictate his letters after the evening performance. She still had quite an exciting night life so Rex Harrison did not suit her. She got another interesting job. (I forget what it was) and then inherited three fortunes and jewelry from cousins.

She then took the jewelry, piece by piece to Bond Street where she sold it for vast sums of money. Her reaction to this was to go to Aspreys and have the ring of her dreams made. It had five sizable diamonds round a large well cut diamond which was so spectacular it made her laugh.

It was so valuable that even fishing in a fast river where one could hardly stand up, she still wore the ring as the dare not leave it anywhere. 55 years ago it was worth £400,000.

Con still had men friends and quite a busy night life and looked wonderful. She was pleased but slightly embarrassed by her spectacular ring!

We went to the Tay for fishing instruction from (can't remember his name - world winner of casting). One evening, in the interval of a lecture I was talking to a man behind me. When I looked round Con had gone. We shared a room, (I expect she was paying my way) and disappeared till 2 p.m. Yes, it was a man several years younger that her, who was very nice. They had an affair for five years, when it stopped by mutual consent. She went fishing with him in the summer and I connected with my Northumberland friends and Paul Knight and Robert and fished with them in Scotland.

Our last fishing expedition was somewhat fraught. She had had to go to a specialist over stomach problems and cancer of the stomach was diagnosed. She had to have an immediate operation. She told the specialist that she had a fortnights fishing ahead (with me) and please please could she have the operation after that. The specialist agreed unwillingly. Meanwhile she heard from a medical friend of a Healer who was spectacular. He and his wife, Rex and Christa agreed to see her. While she sat in his room in her overcoat he talked to her and without any 'examination' agreed with the specialist that she had cancer and he could treat her at once. She told him she had a fortnight's fishing ahead and he regretted the delay but said he could do a healing there and then, do an absent healing while she was away and then see her again. While we were in Scotland she quite often said, with apparent great amusement "I wonder if I'm having a healing now"!

When we got back she saw him four more times. He then said she was CURED.

She went to her earlier specialist. He examined her and agreed she no longer had cancer.

Rex lent her a TOME explaining his method of healing which was akin to VOODOO, but the force was used for good instead of evil. We heard of several cures he had done. One was for his wife. She was youngish but had been in a wheel chair for years. She lived in South Africa, heard of Rex and came to England hoping for a cure. Well she was cured, got rid of the wheel chair and married Rex. She also was a healer. I saw them both when I was smitten with agonizing body pains after clearing the river Wylye of weed. He said it might be painful for a bit but would go quickly. For two days it was even worse and the disappeared altogether.