The Plantation - Di Morrissey [96]
‘Actually, he didn’t want to talk about it at all,’ added Peter.
‘But he was there with his aunt and not his mother. Why was that? I mean, it seems incredible to me. And for how long? It must have been years. Our grandmother said she sat out the war in Brisbane … And all the while her son and her sister were interned!’ Julie shook her head. ‘Do you know, I don’t think that my mother knows about this either. Why? Why would our grandmother have kept it quiet all this time?’
‘I suppose things happened during wartime. Grandfather talked about hiding in the jungle, about how crazy the war years were with the Japanese occupation,’ said Shane. ‘No, when I think about it, he really didn’t say much about the war. Most of what we know came from that memoir.’
‘Grandfather was rather self deprecating, very modest,’ said Peter.
‘When we did ask him what he did in the war, he talked about the lighter side of things,’ said Shane.
‘Such as how he and his friend Bill dressed up as coolies, that sort of thing. In retrospect he made it all sound a bit of a Boy’s Own Adventure. We were adults before we realised how courageous he was,’ added Peter.
‘After Grandfather died, so many people came forward with stories about how brave he’d been. But he always downplayed all he’d done,’ said Shane. ‘It was Bill who spoke at his funeral and said that Roland should have been given a lot more recognition for his actions behind the lines.’
‘Because they were an intelligence unit, a lot of what they did was kept secret and didn’t come out for years,’ said Peter. ‘Then we realised the little we knew was from his memoir. Grandfather was very reserved and rather formal. As far as he was concerned, it wasn’t done to blow one’s own trumpet, y’know.’
‘We both admired Grandfather but we were a bit in awe of him and maybe we thought him a bit stuffy, in an old-world kind of way,’ said Shane.
‘I wish I’d known him,’ said Julie. ‘My, our, grandmother, Margaret, never talked about him in personal terms. And she never talked about why they split up. It’s all such a mystery.’
‘Well, perhaps it was the era,’ said Peter. ‘Perhaps Grandmother Margaret was also not one for airing one’s true feelings, like our grandfather.’
‘And Grandfather doesn’t say why or how our father got captured in that memoir,’ said Peter. ‘I read it long ago, but I don’t think that he explained how Philip was separated from his mother. And, I must confess, it wasn’t the part of the story that intrigued me so much. Our father was little and always said he didn’t remember much and would only say we should appreciate what Grandfather and those like him did to help save us from the Japanese.’
‘Maybe. But I’m still very curious. Are there any other notes, diaries? Anything of our grandmother’s here?’ asked Julie.
‘No, nothing at all,’ said Shane.
‘I suppose it must have been a traumatic time for a small boy, which is why he didn’t talk about it,’ said Julie. ‘He was how old?’
‘About three or so. But really, I think he took a note from Grandfather and didn’t want to talk about the war. But he was very young,’ said Peter, looking at Shane as they tried to recall what their father had told them.
‘That’s right. But he had a playmate, Marjorie …’
‘Mrs Carter! They were in the camp together. He used to say she was like his big sister who looked after him, his war amah,’ said Shane.
‘She was in the camp with him?’ exclaimed Julie. ‘Did you know her?’
‘She was Marjorie Potts then. Her family were Civil Service people, I believe,’ said Shane.
‘Is she still alive?’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Peter. ‘She’s as fit as a fiddle and great company.’
‘Could I find her?’ Julie jumped up, elated.
‘Hey, it’s the middle of the night,’ laughed Peter.
‘So tell me all about Miss Potts or Mrs Carter, as you call her,’ said Julie.
‘Well, as we said, she and my father were playmates in the camp, although I think she was about ten years older than Dad,’ said Shane. ‘After the war,