I wrote it several months ago for my newsletter readers. It is a small piece of family history, but one that has stayed with me.
My dad, Alec Dinnen, was in Sham Shui Po with the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps, while his parents, John and Elizabeth Dinnen, were interned in Stanley.
I remember Dad telling me about going to the armoury to collect his rifle and bayonet. The quartermaster, handing him his weapon, remarked:
“I gave the same gun to your brother in the last war.”
Dad had to correct him on that little generational misunderstanding. It was his father who had been issued the rifle in the previous war.
Some family histories are written in books. Others survive in a single sentence, delivered by someone who was there.
Comments
Alexander Hugh Dinnen 4 October 1914 - 10 November 1992
WII Prisoners of War Records
Sergeant HKVDC Alexander Hugh Dinnen born 4 October 1914 in Greenock Scotland son of John Smith Dinnen and Elizabeth
UK Death Index
Alexander Hugh Dinnen born 4 October 1914 died 1992 Surrey
Probate Calender UK
Alexander Hugh Dinnen of 10 Beacon Hill Court, Wood Road, Hindhead Surrey died 10 November 1992
A Sunday That Refused To End…
A Sunday That Refused To End. (Hong Kong 1941)
I wrote it several months ago for my newsletter readers. It is a small piece of family history, but one that has stayed with me.
My dad, Alec Dinnen, was in Sham Shui Po with the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps, while his parents, John and Elizabeth Dinnen, were interned in Stanley.
I remember Dad telling me about going to the armoury to collect his rifle and bayonet. The quartermaster, handing him his weapon, remarked:
“I gave the same gun to your brother in the last war.”
Dad had to correct him on that little generational misunderstanding. It was his father who had been issued the rifle in the previous war.
Some family histories are written in books. Others survive in a single sentence, delivered by someone who was there.
Link to story below:
https://graemedinnen.com/a-sunday-that-refused-to-end/
With pleasure…..
Graeme