….. Continued ……. (From PC 495)

“Incidentally Sami, when you told me you and Lisa had been to Marsala, the name rang a distant bell, something to do with a good friend Eddie who lives in Weymouth. I looked up my notes. He’d written:

‘My great grandfather (Ed: Born 9^th October 1888) worked for the Woodhouse Winery, selling Marsala wines to the Royal Navy. Wine is fortified with brandy to increase its longevity and is a suitable alternative to rum. (Note 1) After Brexit (Note 2) there was some excitement amongst family members knowing that my grandfather had been born in Marsala and that a route to an Italian passport might open. Unfortunately, he was born in the English Consulate and hence not on Italian soil!! Today Marsala is the most western town in Sicily and houses in the museum a Punic ship, one of many which invaded the country in 397BC, to actually start habitation there.’

“Richard, we went to that museum (Museo Archeologico Lilybaeum Baglio Anselmi), the one with the Punic ship. The Carthaginian military long-ship was discovered in 1971 off the shore of Isola Lunga and is thought to have been sunk around 241BC during the First Punic War.”

“And who were the Punics?”

“Phoenician-Carthaginians who fought the Roman Empire in three separate conflicts from 264 to 146BC, for dominance over the western Mediterranean.”

“My knowledge of the history of that time is extremely sketchy, but I do have a bottle of Marsala, which I use for cooking!!”

“Eddie, that’s his name (?), would be pleased! But I think he’d prefer you to drink it!”

“Probably! Coincidentally he rang me on Tuesday and we caught up …… he sent me a photograph of the Woodhouse Winery, now known as Bianchi”

“What other news is there Richard?” asks Mo.

“Well, I love black pepper and the coarser-ground the better. I add it to goat’s cheese, watermelon, strawberries as well as anything savoury! I have a number of grinders but particularly like a pair from Audo Copenhagen, whose design, shape and feel I adore; very tactile!”

“So, this is your news?”

“No! No! I must have had these for more than 8 years and, over time, the sweat from my hands has become somewhat ingrained into the ceramic material, to the point they looked very grubby and felt sticky – not nice! It took a while, but the tried and tested combination of vinegar and baking soda …….

has removed all the grime and they are like new!”

“That’s a really good tip … and eco-friendly!! Didn’t you go up to see your second grandson’s first boxing bout on Sunday?”

“I did. Reuben will be 13 next month so this was a big deal. It was a ‘skills only’ fight, so no ‘winner’ but both boys did really well; they had three one-and-a-half minute rounds. I reflected that our natural instinct is to back off when someone comes at you, so to get stuck in with what is termed ‘controlled aggression’ is a good skill. He obviously enjoyed himself as he wants a pair of boxing boots for his birthday!

Reuben in red

Back at his parents’ house, I was chuffed to see the little leather loops used to suspend their wooden spoon.”

Sami and Mo looked at me querulously. I explained:

“You may remember that I believe there’s a tradition in the UK of giving a wooden spoon as a housewarming gift? I imagined my daughter had enough ordinary sized ones, so wanted a big one and eventually made her one (See PC 442 Wooden Spoons June 2025). Actually, I made two; the first one I kept.

Jade’s is the longer one

Once it was delivered, there was much discussion about how to hang it, for it was never going to be used to stir the ratatouille. Hooks? Brackets? Hanging by a piece of rope? One day I had an original lightbulb moment; why not create a loop out of leather. I drew out my idea ……

….. and took it to Peter at ‘Clever with Leather’ in a basement workshop on Tidy Street in Brighton, together with a very old RM Williams belt that had seen better days. Adam in Timpson’s in Hove had recommended him and what a find; a little treasure trove of all things leather ….! Within 30 minutes Peter had fashioned two loops with press studs.

The two pieces of the old belt with studs

These were screwed to the kitchen wall and the spoon was in place!”

“That looks great. Must go and see Peter as I have a favourite handbag which needs some TLC” says Mo.

“Call him first as his hours of work are not regular.”

Duncan came over. He’d heard I’d had an issue with those owning the copyright to photographs and images on the internet and wanted to commiserate. His sister is an opera singer and some years ago, when she had been at university, she and some chums had organised a recital tour in Berlin. As part of their promotional material, they had added a generic photograph of Berlin, taken off the internet. A few weeks later the owner of the copyright got on touch. They had to pay some £800 which meant the planned tour the following year couldn’t go ahead, as there were no funds.

“What’s your story, Richard?”

To be continued ……

Richard 19^th June 2026

Hove

http://www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

Note 1 Royal Navy personnel had a daily rum ration. It started in the mid-1600s and was abolished on 31 July 1970, as the operation of modern complex equipment needed a clear head!

Note 2 For those readers who live outside of the UK; one of the results of withdrawal from The European Union was travelling to it was more difficult. As a member, it was seamless between countries. The possession of an EU-country passport became a prize and a huge effort was made to uncover ancestral links that might have given the seeker the qualification to apply.  

In case your history is a little rusty, the conflict of World War II ended in Europe on 8^th May 1945 with the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Four months later in the Far East, as a result of the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered. The formal signature took place on 2^nd September on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, although most fighting finished on 15^th August.

You may remember from PC 493 that Philip’s company was tasked with gathering intelligence along the 200km railway line that ran between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh, in preparation for an Allied invasion.

A much-folded silk map of Siam (Now Thailand) and Malaya (now Malaysia), with Singapore in the bottom right-hand corner.

Today you can travel between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh in about two and a half hours, by either car or train. Google Maps says you could walk it in two days – but not through the dense Malayan jungle where you could only make about two kilometres in 24 hours.

It must have been surreal to leave Europe and arrive, via Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), by parachute, into the jungle terrain of Selangor. Philip’s first night was spent in this shelter.

Later he met the troops who would provide the intelligence he was tasked with collecting.

Major Philip Thomson-Walker, Squadron Leader Jimmy Robertson RAAF, Bob Elvidge and Sergeant Ted Wong (Canadian Corps of Infantry) and their soldiers. Probably taken after Japan had surrendered.

Some obviously were very pleased to pose for their photograph …..

Growing a beard gave him just the look ……

I wonder whether the kukri Squadron Leader Jimmy Robertson RAAF was brandishing in this photograph …….

….. is the same one as I have here in Hove, made by Pioneer in Calcutta in 1942 …….??

Part of Philip’s cache of treasures are silk sheets covered in numbers for coding. The one on the left is annotated ‘outbound’ and the one on the right ‘base’.

Seah Tin Toon (Tony) might have used these when trying to organise a supply drop

Not sure whether these Japanese Government ten-dollar bills have much value in 2026…..

But I do know that Philip’s writing was not the easiest to read; these are pages from a notebook, detailing ammunition supplies and useage. It looks as though the notes were written in ink? If so, I wonder how he got supplied?

I have relied heavily of Philip’s photograph album …. but how did he get the film and when did he get it processed? In KL at the end of the war, waiting to be repatriated?

Philip’s medals included his MBE, The 1939-1945 Star, The Burma Star, The Italy Star, The Defence Medal 1939-1945, The War Medal 1939-1945, The Territorial Army Medal and The Malta George Cross medal. The Malta George Cross Fiftieth Anniversary Medal 1942 – 1992, which was ‘commissioned by the Maltese Government to honour veterans of the George Cross Island siege’. In April 1942 King George VI had awarded the people of Malta the George Cross ‘in recognition of their continuing and heroic struggle against repeated and continuous attacks by the Axis powers during World War 2.’ Malta was the first British Commonwealth country to receive the bravery award, which ranks second only to the Victoria Cross and is normally given to individuals. I can only assume that Philip’s role in the SOE Inter-Services Research Bureau in June 1942 involved Malta.

The success of the Chinese Communist guerillas in the war against Japan encouraged a belief that Malaya could become a Chinese Communist State. Tensions rose and eventually war broke out in 1948. Called The Malayan Emergency (Note 1), the conflict lasted for 12 years, the communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army fighting the combined forces of the Federation of Malaya and the British Commonwealth. Taking twice as long as the Second World War, victory was eventually achieved through a comprehensive counter-insurgency strategy that systematically cut off the insurgents from their popular base. This is another story!

Malaya became independent from Britain in 1957. (Note 2) During my time with Short Brothers (1986 – 1991) I visited Malaysia a number of times and got to know the modern federation, where Malays, Chinese Malays and Indians live in relative racial harmony. 

An ex-Army friend read the first part of my Force 136 postcard and wrote: “….. what a matter-of-fact summary of ostensibly unexceptional people doing extraordinary things over what must have seemed a limitless period – no end of tour or roulement or r & r (R&R? Rest and Recuperation) for any of them; and, as you note, seldom even a passing mention of it afterwards. One of the defining characteristics of that generation seemed to be understatement- even conditions in the jungle were at worst described as inhospitable or challenging.”

I hope I have been able to illustrate actions that happened many decades ago but contributed in their small way to the defeat of Japan. I have reflected on Philip’s relatively short time as part of Force 136 but believe it had a disproportionate effect on his life compared with his other experiences during his time anyone in SOE during World War Two. His hatred of the Japanese and the way they treated anyone but their own led him to boycott anything they made; he would never have considered buying a Sony television or Nissan car for instance. 

Richard 5^th June 2026

Hove

www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

Note 1 It was to all intense and purposes an all-out war. It was called an emergency so that insurance companies couldn’t say they were not liable for claims, ‘war’ being an exemption!!

Note 2 I have always been saddened by the economic comparison of two countries who both gained independence in 1957, Ghana and Malaya. Income per capita in 1957 was $190 in Ghana and $230 in Malaya. By last year Ghana’s had only grown to $2,500, whereas Malaysia’s had increased to $13,000.

Oh! Dear!

For the past twelve years I have been writing about this and that, my ‘postcards’; I have added a few photographs to help illustrate something. What’s that adage? ‘A picture paints a thousand words’. Given the postcards are 1000 words long, I am not sure why I didn’t simply post a photograph!! The phrase is widely associated with Fred Barnard, who popularised the concept in 1921 while promoting the use of graphics on public transport in the USA. And who could forget the 1971 hit “If” by the soft-rock band Bread.

However, mea culpa! Some of my photographs are taken off the internet without acknowledging their provenance and those that guard the copyright of such things aren’t amused.

So all of my PCs to date have been removed from this website. If you wish to read any back copy, then get in touch by email (richardyates24@gmail.com) and I can email it to you.

A reformed me will post as usual on Friday 29^th May, PC 493.