Ordinary? or Not! - Frederick John Goodwin

"Ordinary or Not" is the story of my fathers life from boyhood to his death at 93 years of age. He recorded this at the age of 91 after sadly deciding he had to go into residential care. His father was killed at Ypes in the First World War.This was when my father was 12 years old, he left school and worked to support his mother and 2 younger brothers. At 19 he joined the Army and served in India/China and Malta. After 8 years he returned to England and married my mother. As a reservist he was called back to the Army at the outbreak of World War 11 in Sept 1939. He was captured by the Japanese at Singapore in Feb1942. My father survived three and a half years of appalling and cruel treatment, and worked on the infamous railway of death as did Ronald Searle. The horrors that were suffered are now history.A lot of men died, and the survivers were away from wives, young children, mothers and family for up to five years. On his return home my father picked up his life for a further 52 years.