h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey Jimster et al

I have an extraordinary set of ancestors, so there's a choice here... I'll let you decide from the following three:

Granny eloping across the Atlantic during WW1 (dodging U-Boats) to get married on Vancouver Island, honeymooning and ending up in hospital with her new husband;

Grandpa having a run-in with Montgomery in the desert in WW2, almost getting court-martialled, but winning the argument in the end;

Uncle Peter defusing buzz bombs in London in WW2, then getting blown up on a beach near Tripoli.

Your choice folks Jimster has the final say, of course


Fb

Oh you're in no way *limited* to one, we just didn't want to put anyone under pressure to find three

All of these sound very good.

Oh my goodness There's a guide entry in each one of those

OK, I'll let you have one tomorrow Jimster - so to speak


Fb

And then I went to Iceland

Tomorrow Jimster

Fb

Better late than never, Jimster

OK. My Granny

She was a remarkable woman in many ways and perhaps the story which sums her up best, is that of her wedding.

In 1915 she was living with her parents on the south coast of England, and was engaged to a Naval Lieutenant. He, of course, was at sea at that time. He was involved in the Battle of the Falklands in November 1914 and then sailed for the Naval Base of Esquimalt, on Vancouver Island, to refit the ship.

Once there, he was admitted to the Naval hospital with an unknown illness, for a few months. He telegrammed his fiancee (my Granny) to tell her he was stuck there and she should go out and marry him in Canada.

She took him at his word, left home and sailed across the Atlantic in a convoy dodging the first German U-boats. They took a week to reach Halifax. There she boarded a train and eventually arrived on the west coast of Canada, to board a packet ship to Victoria and then a pony cab to Esquimalt Naval Base.

Family legend has it that Grandfather's first words upon her arrival were "I didn't actually think you'd come out here".

He was discharged from hospital and they were married with full military pomp in the Navy Church at Esquimalt.

Their honeymoon was somewhere on Vancouver Island. Whilst they were enjoying their first few days of marriage, they decided to swim out to an island in the middle of the lake close to the house. Grandfather was a strong swimmer and, despite his recent illness, made it to the island with no trouble. Granny wasn't as confident and called to him as she neared the island, exhausted, asking when it would be shallow enough to put her feet down. Grandfather told her she'd be fine to do so anytime. She went to stand up... and sank in the deep water. He dived in and pulled her to shore, grasping her round the chest and breaking her breastbone as he did so. They took some time to recover and then had to swim all the way back to land again. Slowly.

Despite Granny's injury and despite the fact that Grandfather was beginning to have a relapse of his illness, they decided to spend a few hours gently horseback riding, a few days' later. Riding through woodland, Grandfather turned round to check that Granny was following him okay and to talk to her. So he didn't see the branch. It knocked him to the ground and unconcious. Granny jumped off her horse to rescusitate him, and fell awkwardly as she did so, breaking her arm in the process.

They both ended up in the Naval Hospital in Esquimalt for the remainder of their honeymoon. Once she was fit enough, Granny returned to England by the same dangerous route and Grandfather went back to war.

They had five children. He became a vice-Admiral and she lived to be 101 years old.