Thanks for coming
This site contains my father’s stories and my own. We’ve both enjoyed writing — My Dad, the coal miner’s son, about life as an immigrant Kiwi working man and WW2 soldier. Me, more randomly, about travel, business, friendship, life at work, good times, tough times — the real people Heather and I have met along the way — in fact whatever comes to mind! ~ Ian Baugh.
Latest blog posts
- Anzac DayLast Anzac Day my nephew Peter asked me if there was any way he could access his grandfather’s war stories to read to his kids. I had to disappoint him but said I was working at publishing them online. Well, it took the best part of a year but, finally, you can read them on this site, as well as his stories about the Depression. Please treat it as a work in progress. There are only a few photos, for example. I’d like to add more, and if possible more war stories after Alamein. Some people find the change in … Read more
- Zooming outThere’s a scene near the end of Dr Zhivago (the movie) where the sick Zhivago sees Lara, his lost love, walking down the street as the tram he’s on passes her by. He struggles to get off and catch up with her but collapses and dies. She walks on. We’ve spent the entire movie, the entire book, focused on them, and then the story pans out and they become just two among the nameless millions. Dad was one of 311,000 men who fought at El Alamein. It was a decisive but — based on the people, military and civilian, who … Read more
- In action againI’ve now taken Cliff’s story through to the Battle of Alamein. 1942 started off reasonably well for him in Palestine and Syria, then outside Alexandria with part of 6th Brigade. They were away from the front line until the middle of July. After that, though, they were living in slit trenches for a couple of months, getting shelled and shot at. Imagine life in a hole 50cm wide and 1.4m deep for weeks on end. “Never leave room for a mortar bomb,” Popeye had said about slit trenches. Then a couple of weeks’ leave in Alex. followed by a real … Read more
- 59 and countingI’ve now taken Cliff’s story past his convalescence in Alexandria after he was shot up in late 1941 at Sidi Resegh, outside Tobruk. After recuperating he headed to Palestine for more of the same, and rubbed up against the Poms, the Jews, kibbutzes — plus lots of oranges! — before heading to Syria and training manoeuvres in the desert. Next it’ll be back into action before El Alamein, where he’ll be shot up again and find himself in hospital once more. I’d like to have El Alamein covered before Anzac Day, but it may not happen. So far I’ve made … Read more
- Bigger dayThe home page and navigation have proved confusing, so the nav. is now Mark 2. I’ve also posted more of Dad’s stories.
- Big day…Thanks to an assist from Stephen, the menu structure is now working more or less the way I’d like it to. I can relax! Thanks, Stephen.
- Pigeon HolesThe Pigeon Holes menu is very much work in progress. In fact it doesn’t work :(. I haven’t figured out how to do it yet, but I want you to be able to browse stuff by year (eg 1935-40, when Dad was working on the farm) and also by category (eg coal mining, travel, India or Queensberry). Never mind. Excuse my fiddling while I work it out.
I don’t feel qualified in a literary sense to comment but having lived on the fringes of your stories has, for me, been a marvellous journey too. With only instinct as my companion, you are truly a worthy successor to ‘Cliff Baugh.’ I enjoyed many aspects of his writing in particular the way his experiences reinforced those of my father’s childhood. Your writing exceeds Cliff’s in your ability to stand to one side so as to comment on your internal experiences, your thoughts and emotions.
Your instincts appear to be a fertile guide, your writing is entertaining, the pace has a natural flow encourages curiosity and a desire to read on. I crave for considerably more detail where memories enable you to dig deeper. The reason, your thoughts, attitudes and reflections have sense of universality amongst those of us who lived lives in part parallel to yours.
The overall scope of the narrative is remarkable in that it sets out to incorporate more than sixty years. The account is successful in its current form but for me it cries out for more depth here and there as your memory allows or interest kindled.
Post school you begin to delve more deeply into your thoughts and feelings and the complexity of your relationships with others and to the connections with associates. I was more drawn into your world as the writing becomes more personal and opinionated.
Your self deprecating humour is well established and might take a lighter role of the narrative.
I am in no position to comment on the nature and form of this narrative but for my own part I want my work to live within the overall context of the work of those I admire such as McCahon and the photographers: Saul Leiter, Ernst Haas, William Eggleston or Jeff Wall.
At some point, not sure when, you might seek an input from a more knowledgable literary person such as Graeme or Ray to comment on the structure and form of the narrative, that does not mean that you have to take any notice of them.
I am impressed by the successful manner in which you have begun such a demanding task, At times I found myself chocking back my own feelings as I revisited large and small parts of my own life through your words. Predictably this related specifically to shared experience of Northland College.
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
CHILDHOOD
Morning milking – standing in warm cow pats
fog, mist – the vapour from the breath of cows
Cats and rats, working farm dogs
Wet Gum boots
Swimming in a creek
dangerous or humorous incidents
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Getting to school, walk, horse, bus or parents
calf clubs
School routines
incidents in detail
Strapping kids
NORTHLAND COLLEGE
Cadets both at school and in the Papakura camp
The idiosyncrasies, strengths of teachers, Ernie Moss, Rowland Matley, Ken Leigh, Paul Holmes, Sax, Eddie Bergen, Matron Faugie, Matron Lange, Ballantine.
Hostel pranks – dorm raids etc Louis Penny farting, his piano playing and his running style
The Pacific Island Scholarship boys – Julian Dashwood, Tem Vaitaru,
Hi Ken you’re too kind, thank you, in particular for suggesting I have literary pretensions! I’ll be happy if I can write entertainingly about days gone by, which is where ours are headed. Regrettably. I hope to fill in some of the gaps you mention over time.
Hi Ian,
I don’t know if you remember, we met in Birmingham, at an exhibition. My wfe, I think is a cousin of yours, with her family coming from Blackrod, Lancashire.
I could put some details on a spread sheet, and you could enlarge your family knowledge.
Hi Bernard, Heather and I have fond memories of our forays to Birmingham and the NEC for Queensberry. You’ll see that apart from my father’s stories, this site is very much in its early days. I’ve written quite a bit about our travels around the world, not all of it published here yet, but haven’t made it to the British parts yet!
Thanks for making contact on ancestry.com.