SAS Rogue Heroes (& One of Our Own)

 

Last night, Jon and I finished watching the spectacular second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, Steven "Peaky Blinders" Knight's adrenaline-fuelled creation, based on the book by Ben Macintyre, of the origins of the fearless and reckless Special Forces unit, whose legend was forced amid the mayhem of WW2.

We f*cking loved it!!! Roll on series three!

Paddy Mayne and his men were heroes and deserve every accolade, but allow me introduce you to an another of the brave men of WW2, Jon's dad, Alf, who, in this early selfie, is every bit as gorgeous as Jack O'Connell, the actor who plays Paddy Mayne in the BBC drama. 

During WW2, Alf served as a Commando. The Commandos, like the SAS, were a special operations unit specialising in unconventional military action, the main difference being that the Commandos were known for their large scale offensives and the SAS for their small-team operations. 

 

Like most of his generation, Alf never spoke of his exploits but being a keen amateur photographer, the years he spent serving as a Commando live on in his albums and fortunately for us, he even went to the trouble of labelling them so we know he was based in both Camp Fayid & Camp Tahag in Egypt and spent time in Valetta, Fanara, Nahariya, Gibraltar, Jerusalem, Hebron, Hadera, Port Said, Tel Aviv, Tiberias, Gaza and Lebanon. 

Can you imagine how exotic these places must have seemed to a working class lad from Walsall?

Swimming in the Dead Sea.

Bananas in Tel Aviv!

Chilling out in Egypt.

Alf was an athlete before the war and was in charge of PT (physical training) during his time in the camps.  

Oranges, another treat unavailable back at home!

Alf's discharge papers describe him as a Quiet, sober and hard-working man, proving himself to be efficient and capable. His commanding officer writes that He would prove a useful employee in any trade requiring a steady worker. Alf worked as a gardener for Walsall Council for the rest of his life. 

Thanks for reading!

The Box of Delights

I'm off on an adventure tomorrow and want to wear a piece of antique Birmingham silver, so I've been rummaging in my treasure chest.

 I'm not sure which of my dead relatives originally owned this scruffy Victorian leather box, its been mine since childhood and it holds all manner of interesting bits and pieces passed down to me from my female ancestors.

As a child I'd regularly go to church with my grandparents and carried my collection money in this Victorian silver purse. At eleven I was given the choice of continuing with the church or staying at home, I opted for the god-free option! 

A collection of Whitby Jet and Bog Oak mourning brooches - the Victorians embraced death and all things mourning related. I think the piece with a fern is a pocket book. 

More mourning jewellery. That's my great-great grandfather looking very Byronesque. The bog oak lockets contain human hair - not sure whose, though! 

My maternal Grandma's wedding and engagement rings.

Victorian Vesta case (for matches, Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth). My Mum used to wear this around her neck. This is a Birmingham piece.

I inherited this Victorian turquoise & gold ring (with the teeniest diamond ever) when I was fourteen, left to me by my Grandma's sister, Maud as turquoise is my birthstone. My grandma's family lived in Chester for many generations.  

This is Mum's engagement ring bought in 1966. She met my Dad, married him and had me within the space of a few months . She never wore this ring (or her wedding ring) as she considered wearing such things a sign of male oppression. It's a very cool looking ring - its a shame I don't like diamonds! 

A gold muff chain which belonged to my 2 x Great-Grandma. I did make myself a muff from a fake fur coat a few years ago and wore it quite often.

More blingy stuff, the top two are gold and Victorian and the one beside the Edwardian silver anchor is Georgian, cut steel made to resemble diamonds (and probably made in the Black Country).

My maternal grandpa's mother's pocket watch. I don't do watches (I'm a witch, they stop when I wear them) but that blue enamel is gorgeous, isn't it?

I used to wear this Victorian silver pendant quite a lot. It's marked with an anchor so hallmarked in Birmingham. 

This etched glass trinket is obviously Victorian, Osborne House and the Old Church at Ventnor were favourite haunts of Queen Victoria. I think this was something Mum or Grandma bought at a church jumble sale when you used to be able to pick up antiques for pennies.

That's my great grandma Mary Alice Chapman of the Adams pottery dynasty. I often wear her monogrammed brooch. 

Here's her locket...

This tiny prayer book in the silver sleeve was something else I used to take to church as a child (I obviously had better eyesight back then, I can't make out a word without my specs these days!)

This is a lot bigger in real-life. It's Victorian lead crystal with a gold mount and was regularly worn by my Mum back in the 1970s. I remember how excited she was to find it in a box of junk at a flea market during the school holidays, it was 20p!

Hallmarked in Birmingham and made by A&J Zimmerman in 1889, this beautiful woman was originally a button but was converted into a pendant by my Grandma. Can you imagine how gorgeous the jacket it came from must have been? 

Now I've just got to decide which piece of silver to wear tomorrow....decisions, decisions!