TRIBUTE TO "OUR DAD"

KENNETH EDWIN SALMON (28 May 1924 - 2 July 1996)

THE HOUSE in Vale Road, Woolton, where "Our Dad" grew up. It was number 72 prior to 1970 when all the houses on that side of the road were given new numbers.

(This picture was taken in July 2006)

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KENNETH EDWIN SALMON (1924-1996)

Our Dad was born on 28th May 1924 in Liverpool. He was the first child of John Thomas Salmon (1896-1958) and Florrie, nee Robinson (1894-1975). His sister, Dorothy, was born in August 1928, but died in 1931. His brother, Gordon, was born in 1931 and still lives in Woolton.

As a child, Our Dad lived in Vale Road. He attended Much Woolton Church of England School, in the building on Church Road South. (The successor to this school is Bishop Martin Primary, now housed in new buildings next door to St Peter’s Church). He later attended the Toxteth Technical Institute (now Shorefields Comprehensive) in Dingle.

In 1936 a new Boys’ Brigade Company, the 26th Liverpool, was started at St James’s Methodist Church in Woolton Village and Our Dad was one of its original members. (See picture A2 - he is behind the two boys at the right of the front row).

War broke out on Sunday 3rd September 1939. (See his diary entry in picture A5). At this point he left school and started work in the Rootes factory in Speke. He was an ARP messenger, a firewatcher and later served in the local Home Guard unit.

In 1941 he started work as a “Fully-fashioned Knitter” at the Bear Brand factory in Woolton, making ladies’ stockings. He was paid “piece-work” at first, the pay increasing with the amount of stockings produced. A broken thread meant stopping the machine and losing earnings. Conditions were hard.

On 3rd November 1942 Our Dad was called up for active service (Picture B1). His Army number was 14323227 and he was to see action in the Italian Campaign. In January 1944 he sailed to Italy for the invasion. With the 1st London Irish Rifles in the 56th (London) Division he landed on the beach at Anzio in the second wave of the invasion around 3rd February 1944.

General Lucas, the American officer in command, was over-cautious. The Germans were caught off-guard by the landings at Anzio and Nettuno, and Rome could have easily been taken in those early days, but Lucas was determined to build up a strong beach-head. Tens of thousands of men and vehicles and their supplies were landed, and valuable time wasted during which German troops were diverted from other fronts to build up defences. Boxed in at Anzio, the scene became reminiscent of the static trench warfare of the First World War. As they were so close to the sea, no British troops were out of range of the German guns. Our Dad was a stretcher-bearer, bringing the injured out of the line of fire.

A breakout was attempted on 19th February 1944 but the Germans launched an attack from the other side of the valley, and Our Dad was injured by a shell and removed to the field hospital.

On 13th April 1944 he was deemed fit to return to action and was transferred to the Cheshire Regiment. After the fall of Rome, a month later, he was to guard German and Italian prisoners of war. (See picture B2). He was directly involved with the handling of prominent German officers, including Kesselring and Mackenson. Our Dad told us tales of playing harmonica duets with Mackenson, who had been sentenced to death. He promised Our Dad his harmonica upon his death, but his sentence was reprieved and he was moved to another prison.

He was to remain in Rome until 1947, during which time he met Marcella Travaglini. Many English soldiers fell in love with the local girls during this time, and Our Dad was no exception. They became engaged, and when Our Dad was demobilised in the summer of 1947 it was intended that she move to England. Meanwhile, however, Our Dad had returned to his job at the Bear Brand factory, (pictures C2 & C3), and resumed his local social life.

He was awarded four medals for his war service, (picture B3) From left to right they are the 1939-45 Star, the Italian Star, the Defence Medal (for service in the Home Guard) and the Victory Medal, presented to all on active service at the end of the war.

In 1948, at Cygnet House, a dance hall known locally as “Ciggy House”, he met a young girl from Old Swan, who had served during the war in the NAAFI. She was “Nancy” Douglas (later to be known as “Our Mam”). It was not long before they were engaged.

On 9th September 1950 they married at Brougham Terrace Registry Office in Liverpool, (picture B4). They lived in Vale Road with his parents at first, then briefly in Southgate Road, Old Swan, with Our Mam’s family. Their new house in Halewood Drive, Woolton, was completed in 1951.

Shortly after moving in, Our Dad sneaked into a house in Layton Road, which was still under construction, to take a picture of the back of the house, (picture B5). His Uncle Dan had built the garden shed for him.

During the 1950’s Our Dad and Our Mam spent their holidays in Barmouth, North Wales, travelling there on their motor scooter, YKB 94, (picture C1).

Around 1960 he volunteered for the Special Constabulary, and was given the number A223(S). He was deployed mainly for special events and parades. (He is on the back row of picture C4, at Hatton Garden Police Station).

He had three sons. Terence was born in December 1957 but died the same day. I was born in November 1959 and John was born in May 1962.

Meanwhile, he continued to work at Bear Brand, completing twenty-five years’ service and receiving his gold watch in 1966. Picture D1 was taken at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool on 13th May 1966, with other long-serving Bear Brand employees, known as “The 25 Club”.

However, the following year redundancies were announced and Our Dad left to become a traffic warden. This meant that he had to give up his role as a Special Constable. He was given the number 366 and was based at Allerton Bridewell, working the Penny Lane and Allerton Road areas.

One of his duties was to supervise children crossing the road outside local schools. He was mainly involved with Dovedale Junior and Infants School where photograph D2 was taken around 1969. Does anyone know who the little girls are?

Our Dad rejoined the 26th Liverpool Boys’ Brigade, and is pictured (D3) in the rear of the band at the Woolton Rose Queen Parade in 1979. He became a fully qualified Officer in 1981.

On 9th September 1984 John and I surprised our parents with a cake to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary, (picture D5). Our Mam was becoming increasingly disabled by this time, and Our Dad took early retirement from work in 1985, at the age of 61, to look after her.

On 27th August 1988 John married Kerrie Watson and moved to Widnes. Then six weeks later, on Sunday 9th October, tragedy struck. After a very short illness, Our Mam died in Broadgreen Hospital. She was buried at St Peter’s Church in Woolton.

On 2nd April 1989 I left Liverpool to live in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Our Dad continued to help out at the Boys’ Brigade, and joined the Age Concern Lunch Club in Woolton Village.

On 25th May 1989 he visited Crich Tramway Museum where he is pictured (E1) at the controls of a tramcar.

At the Age Concern Lunch Club, he met a widow, Chrissy Chambers, and they began seeing each other regularly. On 22nd June 1991 they married at St James’s Methodist Church, and Our Dad moved into her flat in Dovercroft, a multi-storey block off Vale Road on the site of the fields in which he had played as a boy. John and Kerrie now moved back into Halewood Drive, and had an extension built on the side of the house.

Liverpool’s last tram had run on 14th September 1957, but one “Green Goddess” - number 869 - was being restored at the Crich Tramway Museum in Derbyshire. On 25th July 1993 it carried passengers again for the first time. Our Dad is seen with Chrissy on that day, (picture E3).

The following year, on 1st August 1994, we took him to the Eden Camp War Museum, where he is pictured with one of the trucks he drove during the invasion of Italy fifty years previously, (picture E4).

In December 1994 he was admitted to hospital with what appeared to be a minor prostate problem. Early in 1995, extensive tests revealed that he had cancer. He kept active, however, attending the Lunch Club, going to dances, working as a bingo caller at another pensioners’ club and assisting at the Boys’ Brigade. He spent Christmas 1995 in Dewsbury with my family.

In the spring of 1996 he was admitted to the Marie Curie Centre (formerly Sunnybank Hospital) in Woolton. His condition improved for a while and he was allowed home. In May he made a final visit to the Age Concern Lunch Club.

On Tuesday 25th June 1996 he visited John, the last time he would be seen in Halewood Drive, and five days later he was re-admitted to the Marie Curie Centre. In the early hours of Tuesday 2nd July 1996 he passed away. He is buried, with Our Mam, at St Peter’s Church, Woolton, only a few yards from his own parents’ grave.

After his death a book of his poetry was published, from which the poem below is reproduced. This was the last poem he wrote and it was directed at his second wife, Chrissy. He wrote it in the spring as the daffodils were in bloom, and he realised that he had entered the last few months of his life.