In July 1945 my Grandfather, Captain R W Gilhespy (photo attached) was heading towards Malaya with ;- 30 M C SP (light) RE, Advanced HQ, SEAC. (Unfortunately I do not know what that means!)
He sent a series of letters (dated 4th June to 8th July 1945) to my father who, at the time, was only 4yrs old. My father, Robin Gilhespy was then living with his mother and brother in the Newcastle upon Tyne area. The letters include descriptions and drawings of his surroundings, wildlife and the local population.
In one of the letters he refers to visiting Bombay and in another sends birthday greetings to my Dad who was about to turn 5. He mentions a present of bricks given to my father. I still have them!
Later letters dated September 1945 describe my grandfather’s onwards travel from India to Malaya in a large ship as part of a convoy. He talks about arriving in Malaya and him reaching Kuala Lumpur “the capital of the federated Malay states”.
I have always been aware of the existence of the letters but it wasn’t until the death of my father that the letters came to me. My uncle, Ewen Gilhespy, is my father’s last surviving brother and is mentioned in the letters. He found out about this project and forwarded me the link to this site.
As a family we have found some of the descriptions and drawings very interesting. It is difficult to imagine that my grandfather was describing people and ethnicities that neither he or my father had ever seen. Then, within 35 years his family included adopted children of afro-caribean, Sudanese and Pakistani descent and now also has both Indian and Chinese influences as well.
