Fami
l
y
Robert Jackson, my Dad, was a bi
g, wel
l
-bui
l
t man who was sl
i
ghtl
y bal
di
ng.
He al
ways l
ooked to be smi
l
i
ng but coul
d not gi
ve a toss for anythi
ng:
“A spade i
s a spade”, he’
d say. Hi
s choi
ce of words was crude to say the l
east
and contai
ned the most foul of l
anguage. He had tri
ed to enl
i
st i
n the army duri
ng the
war but was turned down because of hi
s feet. So he was put i
n the ‘
Home Guard’ as
a dri
ver.
Our house was searched one day and a hundred-wei
ght of sugar and ten pai
rs of
shoes were found i
n the coal shed. No one knew how i
t al
l got there but my dad got
si
x months pri
son i
n Lei
cester’
s Wel
l
ford Road. My dad drove a coal l
orry.
Dad was wal
ki
ng up the entry one ni
ght from a ni
ght at the pub, and suddenl
y
was arrested and taken by two mi
l
i
tary pol
i
ce to Al
dershot Barracks. He had a
fri
end who was on the run from the navy and hi
di
ng at our house. They got mi
xed up
when they arri
ved at the barracks. The duty offi
cer tol
d them thi
s i
s not Shi
rl
ey
Wi
thers. My dad sai
d, “I know that. I have been tel
l
i
ng them that al
l the fucki
ng
way here!”
My mum had l
ong red hai
r, but I was the onl
y other redhead i
n the fami
l
y.
She was beauti
ful l
ooki
ng. I
’
m bi
ased but I thi
nk al
l mums l
ook great. When doi
ng
the housework she woul
d si
ng al
l the ti
me. I can sti
l
l remember al
l the songs nearl
y
word for word. “I
t’
s my Mother’
s Bi
rthday Today,
” “Have I have Tol
d You Latel
y
That I Love You?” “There Wi
l
l Be Bl
uebi
rds Over the Whi
te Cl
i
ffs of Dover”
The odd ti
me she went to the pub for a dri
nk wi
th my dad, she was al
ways asked
to si
ng and she woul
d al
ways obl
i
ge. She never tol
d l
i
es and i
t was she who made
sure there was food on the tabl
e. I
t was she who made sure we got a Chri
stmas present
and when I needed a bi
t of l
ove she was al
ways there. She was my best fri
end.
I remember she worked at the Spi
nner Shoe, and the Wyvern Pen.
Bri
an was my hal
f-brother as my mum had been marri
ed before. He was such a
good- l
ooki
ng bl
oke. He had wavy bl
ack hai
r, a bronze compl
exi
on, and he was
al
ways smi
l
i
ng. He was al
so a boxi
ng fanati
c and knew al
l the names of t