13 minute read
VE Day remembered
Local home owners… throw open their doors Child free zones?… meet the couple with the Parent Pod! Is grey just so last year?… Jojo Humes Brown on colours
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In loving memory …
With VE Day upon us next month (May), Living In … features the story of a brave WWII pilot who left a wonderful legacy …
It’s so hard for many of us to imagine what it meant to be in service during World War II – the sacrifices made for the good of the whole. Coastal resident Gill Tzanoudakis grew up hearing about just a fraction of the courage shown by her late father, Jimmy Croskell. The trauma he suffered and horror he witnessed, he never spoke about. Certainly not to her or her brother, Geoff. “He often spoke of LMF, or lack of moral fibre,” says Gill. “People like him didn’t indulge anything that bothered them. They just got on with it back then. They rarely admitted to having problems, although I also remember my mum telling me he’d wake up screaming in the night …”
Flying Officer Croskell of 227 Squadron was just 23 when his Lancaster, carrying seven crew in all, was brought down in fl ames by the Luftwaffe during one of the many sky battles of 1944.
“He made sure all six of his crew got out first before parachuting out of the burning plane,” says Gill, a physiotherapist from
Top: Jimmy Croskell piloted a Lancaster bomber Top right: The WWII hero in uniform Above: Jimmy, middle, with his crew Right: His daughter, Gill Tzanoudakis, asked her father to chronicle his wartime exploits Bealings. “I recall him saying he came down over the border of Germany and Holland, and he didn’t know where he was.”
In fact, Jimmy had landed in a place called Vaals, in a church graveyard on the Dutch side of the border near Aachen. His plane had been shot down by a Nazi fast bomber called a Ju 88.
“He told this story that he could have gone one of two ways,” she says. “One would have landed him in enemy territory, but thankfully he chose the right way to Holland. The choice between life and death was that stark.”
When she was 17, Gill encouraged her beloved dad, a “very loving, kind gentleman” to write down his memoirs. “He was a very literate man and so he did it in his lunch hours (from his then job as a sales rep). Every day he would sit in his car and hand write it. I think it did him a lot of good.”
It resulted in a wonderful book, Through a Tempest Dropping Fire . Written in two volumes, it chronicles Jimmy’s astonishing wartime experiences as told through the eyes of a fictional RAF pilot and crew.
“He embellished some of it,” says Gill. “But certainly everything that happened to Dad is in that book.”
For millions of wartime parents, like Jimmy’s mum, Eleanor (Gill’s grandmother), the war brought terrible heartache to their doorsteps.
“In the same week Dad went missing, his older brother Geoffrey, also a pilot in the RAF, vanished,” says Gill.
Indeed, Jimmy talks in his book about the horrors of the “wretched telegraph boy” arriving on the doorstep with a “beastly purple, yellow and red envelope”, the words inside reading: The Air Ministry regrets to inform you that your son has been reported missing as a result of air operations against enemy territory. “My grandma received two such
telegrams in the same week in 1944, saying both her boys were missing,” says Gill. “Sadly Geoffrey never came back – his plane had gone down in the Mediterranean near North Africa. He’s mentioned on a war memorial in Malta.” Thankfully Jimmy was rescued by the Dutch resistance. Unbelievably they’d also picked up his navigator, Ken East, and the resistance helped the pair over American lines around October 1944.
Gill recalls a family holiday to Holland on which they visited the relatives of the people who had helped save Jimmy and his pal, so he could personally thank them. “Dad was lucky. All his crew had survived too,” she says. “He kept in touch with Ken, who was best man at my dad’s wedding to my mum, Phyllis. He was a very good family friend.”
Sadly, Jimmy died from a heart condition, aged just 57. “I’m sure, in some way, the horrors of the war had taken a toll on his health,” she says. But his memoir lives on, and any time Gill or her family want to remind themselves about his remarkable courage, they can delve into the beautifully written book.
Gill says she plans, one day, to get it published and also to make a pilgrimage to the Imperial War Museum in London to donate his WWII memorabilia for safekeeping.
“The older I get, the more I respect the awful things people went through and yet didn’t make a big fuss about, which is why we should never forget,” says Gill. “I’ll never stop being so proud of him.”
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&MOVERS SHAKERS
Man about town in the 1980s, and much-loved presenter of his long-running radio show on BBC London 94.9, Robert Elms tells Living In … what he loves about his weekend escapes to Suffolk
Renowned for your appreciation of all things urban, how did you end up with a weekend cottage here in coastal Suffolk? My wife was on the lookout for somewhere after we sold our little cottage in Whitstable, and she had some friends in this part of the world. She fell in love with Covehithe and the unspoilt landscape.
You’ve been presenting your BB C show since 1994. What is it about radio that still appeals? Live radio is the most immediate and intimate medium. You develop a really strong relationship with listeners, and you can only be yourself; I am not good at putting on an act. It enables me to share my love of music, art, architecture and cinema. Radio is all-encompassing.
Having made your name as a music journalist working on The Face, and being credited with naming Spandau Ballet, is music still a big part of your life? A massive part. Going out to live gigs, especially jazz, is what I do. Late at night in Soho with a saxophone wailing and I am in heaven. I also like to think I’m fairly good at spotting new talent.
Taking inspiration from the 15 questions you ask your Listed Londoner radio show guests – what’s the best view in Suffolk? Outside a pub in Walberswick, looking across the estuary is pretty good. QPR winning at Ipswich is a sight I’ve often enjoyed.
And your favourite Suffolk building? It’s not a county noted for its architecture, but Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh is pretty special. I also like the Southwold Sailors’ reading room.
As an avid cyclist, do you get the chance to explore the region? Not too much, but I did a big ride with some friends who live in Dunwich and they knew every lane. You could do with a few more hills though.
If you could take one thing you love about Suffolk and transplant it into your London life, what would it be? The sea. Though I am not so sure they’d really want that in London. The fish and chips from Sole Bay would be good.
Top: BBC Radio presenter Robert enjoying our coastline Above: His book, subtitled A Memoir of a Shape-Shifting City Below: The dapper Londoner has a getaway in Covehithe
Tell us a secret about yourself. I’m a failed tango dancer! I tried for years to master it because I love Argentina, but I can’t do a step.
l Robert’s book, London Made Us is now available in paperback. For details of his cottage, which is available to rent, go to www.limeblossomcottagesuffolk.com
The dream
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“A garden can be your haven from the hustle and bustle of daily life, an outdoor space for entertaining or simply a place to relax,” smiles Andy, who focuses more on the design and soft landscaping side of things. “We believe good design is key to making it your special place. Using our decades of experience in both residential and commercial landscape construction, we can offer clients a complete makeover service, from design to build, which includes all the hard and soft landscaping.”
Andy says he’s never happier than when they work for a client who has lots of ideas of their own. “It’s such an enjoyable, creative process helping their new garden take shape,” he smiles. “Through detailed analysis and questioning, we will ascertain what functions your garden will need to achieve. Once we have all
the details, we will work with you to put together the best solution for you through both black and white or full-colour designs so you can visualise your dream right from the start. We offer a range of products of only the highest quality, and ensure we keep you updated with time frames and deadlines during the creation process. And we undertake any size job, from intimate courtyard gardens to large country ones.”
Andy says their talented fivestrong team showcase a whole range of skill and beautiful craftsmanship whether they’re working on a new driveway, paving, and decking construction or water features and fencing installations. You can trust the expertise and skills from the team at this friendly family business to create stunning gardens and outdoor environments of any size.
l Call Impact Landscaping now for a consultation on 01394 448243 or 07966 412063. It is offering Living In … readers an exclusive offer: any commissions undertaken will include a free site plan and design. See www.impactlandscaping.co.uk
“The most wonderful
secret club”
Local home owners… throw open their doors Child free zones?… meet the couple with the Parent Pod! Is grey just so last year?… Jojo Humes Brown on colours
YOUR BRAND NEW FREE HOMES & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
Millions have read how high-profile actress Sally Phillips, mum to a Down’s syndrome teen, has branded the screening out of the genetic disorder as ‘eugenic thinking.’ Here, coastal mum-of-four Tina Powick talks about her own experience …
Like pretty much every parent, I think my baby is beautiful. This morning, I looked at Maggie’s little face, with her index finger in her mouth and her big brown eyes looking into the distance, and I wondered if I had seen anything quite as perfect before. Even our other three children think she is the prettiest baby of the family.
Her pregnancy was the best I’d experienced too – not because I was sick with any of them, but because I had no scans or blood tests with Maggie. I had begun to realise that the joy of being pregnant is somewhat lost on expectant mums now, with anxiety-inducing blood tests and scans to find out if anything is wrong and then the relief when they all come back fine. My tummy was getting bigger – that’s all I needed to know.
Her beautiful birth, at home in a birthing pool, surrounded by her soon-to-be family and a doula was the most incredible experience of all of our lives.
A few hours later we were in hospital. I’d had no idea about it when she was born “
but when the midwife came to see us (I’d had a free birth, which means no midwife is present) she noticed the baby was more than likely Down’s syndrome.
My world ground to a halt and I went into shock. Within an hour we found ourselves in the medical environment I had so desperately wanted to avoid.
I texted everyone I knew so I didn’t have to see their reactions of sympathy. I went on Facebook and joined groups for mums of Down’s syndrome children.
Even though I couldn’t yet vocalise how I was feeling, I was determined to breastfeed her – not an easy thing to do for a baby that slept so much. Through feeding her I began to heal; the heart is a powerful thing and my heart was showing me the way. A label is just a label – nothing more. She hadn’t changed.
A wave of love came back for her via texts, and there was such positivity from Facebook – mums in the know describing it as ‘the most wonderful secret club’. My perception began to alter.
I have come a long way since those three
Top: At first, Maggie’s condition was a shock to mum, Tina Above: Miranda star Sally Phillips with son Olly. She has talked publicly about the joys of having a child with Down’s syndrome nights in hospital. Maggie has made me question so much.
Why do we feel the need to scan every single mother in this country? Is it to tell women they don’t need to have these babies – that there is another option? Is this what we define as ‘progress’?
We used to shut these babies away, put them in homes. Have we changed that much by ensuring they aren’t even being born? Why are women given the diagnosis as bad news? It should just be news.
My shock lasted 24–36 hours. If I had known about her diagnosis, the rest of my pregnancy would have been racked with fear.
Our lives are filled with joy with Maggie in them. She is happy, funny, cuddly and utterly gorgeous. If I’d chosen not to have her, I would still be grieving for her. I’d have missed out on meeting this wonderful little person who brings so much joy to our lives, just as every baby does.
Now I have experience of Down’s syndrome, my world is richer because of it. She has changed my perceptions, made me grow immeasurably as a person, and I have met some truly wonderful people because of her.
Ninety per cent of babies like Maggie are terminated, a figure that should shock every single one of us. Maggie may take longer to walk and talk than other babies but that means we get a baby for a little longer. They grow up so fast anyway.
Maggie loves her siblings, chats, giggles, bum-shuffl es to get about and absolutely adores music. She is just the same as every other baby – this wonderful little person who our family would be poorer without. When my mother-in-law mentioned me to a friend, whose daughter has Down’s syndrome and is now a writer, she said Maggie would be ‘the best thing that will ever happen to [me]’.
Before I’d had Maggie I would never have believed her, but now I can honestly say she was right.”
