We had a long-time friend MGL who had always wanted to investigate his family history, but, as with many things in life...just never got round to it. He passed away as the saying goes some years ago in peculiar circumstances, but that fitted his life which had been a cross between the boringly familiar and the less ordinary.
He had a life-long obsession with aircraft and in particular #633 squadron so he collected aircraft magazines and had them leather-bound.
Another obsession was mining as in tin mining in a certain isolated part of Cornwall. So he collected all sorts of paraphernalia connected with Levant.
Family history?
G stood for 'Gillick' and now I know that was his mother's maiden name. Some of the records concerning the life of MGL are connected with Nottingham.
Mother born there, father too and MGL himself.
Looking back thro' records...
Basford, Nottingham birthplace of MGL and mother.
Grandfather 1911 census - lace shipper and merchant. (Nottingham famous for lace industry).
Great-grandfather 1891 census - from Scotland, occupation Tailor.
What was MGL's occupation? Headmaster of a junior/infant school...granted early retirement because of illness (high blood pressure). Soon after retirement he was put on the transplant list and had two successive operations, leading to jaundice, diabetes and depression.
How did we come across him? Holidaying (camping) in Cornwall (1980s). MGL and missus were in a caravan and we joined them for coffee from time-to-time to escape the rain.
MGL and missus separated/divorced soon after he retired. Then, in 2004 in Rushcliffe...MGL remarried in the June, followed by ex-missus re-marriage in July. She kept the family 'home' whilst MGL took missus #2 to Cornwall where he bought a 'pig-in-a-poke' kind of property which gave him endless problems.
A loveable guy and excellent headmaster by all accounts; but totally impractical. He hadn't a clue or even the slightest grain of nous.
Missus #2 was/is an odd character...MGL had problems with attempting to control diabetes. On one occasion he almost became comatose, but was brought round by friends who were staying with them; not missus #2 who preserved her ignorance of all things connected with diabetes.
Several days after his death in 2009...the police came across him, locked inside his car...in the tin mining area...
Farewell MGL part of your story has at last been told.
2 comments:
Peculiar circumstances indeed. SOunds like your friend had an interesting life. Most people do, if one bothers to look and see what's there. Sadly, most people won't bother to look.
I felt I owed it to him, an act of remembrance. It's put my mind at rest.
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