50 MY GREENWICH
I recently returned to Singapore and Sri Lanka as part of the National Lottery’s Heroes Return Scheme. I got to visit the Kranji War Memorial and see my brother’s name. He was killed fighting in Burma but there were no remains so we’ll never really know what happened to him. I’d learnt of other families trying to discover the whereabouts of the graves of relatives killed in Burma and I was able to find these graves and take photos for them. It was incredibly emotional but a terrific experience at the same time. I’ll be eternally grateful to the Lottery for funding it. I remember having a week’s leave in Sri Lanka. I went to a wonderful camp for a bit of a holiday. It’s a huge army camp now – you wouldn’t recognise it as the old place – but I loved going back and having lunch in the officers’ mess. I came back to Greenwich after the war and if I’m honest I stayed more out of circumstance than anything else, but it’s my
Above: Charles as a young Navy telegrapher Left: Returning to South Asia, where he swept mines, as part of the Heroes Return Scheme
home. I love the park, of course, but I live in East Greenwich now. I’m lucky that my home backs onto East Greenwich Pleasaunce, which is really lovely. I belong to Christ Church and there’s a real sense of community in this part of the town. I’ve got mixed feelings about the Olympics. We don’t know if it’ll be a very exciting occasion or so busy we can’t leave our houses for a whole two weeks. There are lots of things planned for East Greenwich around the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee – the community and Christ Church are really coming together for the event and will hopefully have some memorable events that everyone will enjoy. We want to show people that East Greenwich is a really great part of the town. There’s so much more to Greenwich than the town centre. It’s such a shame that there’s not nearly enough development in the area. All
of the money and effort seems to be going into West Greenwich and the town centre. East Greenwich is neglected somewhat, and it shouldn’t be. I really like the Pelton Arms. It’s a lovely pub but you’d never know it was there unless you were a local. The Cutty Sark Tavern do an excellent whitebait. I’m not much of a drinker so don’t go out to pubs very often, but there’s so much to do in the town. I also like Inside – that’s an excellent restaurant. The East Greenwich Plaza was a cinema once – a really special part of town. When it opened I remember Gracie Fields standing on the balcony and singing to a huge crowd, it was a very special event. I’d love to see more happen in the area.
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