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56
July 2010
A Life So Far
as told by
Peter Collyer
(The Priory 1947-48, at Broome Hall 1948-50 and s'Heerenberg
1950/51)
(source : Peter Collyer)
now living in Australia
(family photos below)
I celebrated my 79th birthday on the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians — a day after Pentecost. (I was born on Pentecost Sunday in 1931). In our era, many of us entered training with the White Father's in our teens. I was only 16 yrs old and left when I was 20, just starting to mature as an adult! Nevertheless, that training was most beneficial to our subsequent lives and I feel sure that many of us would have proceeded to play roles in management and leadership in many ways. After those 3 yrs and 10 mths as a WF Seminarian at The Priory, Broome Hall and s'Heerenberg Novitiate (1947-1951), I returned home to Croydon on 1st July and was called up for National Service in September into the Royal Artillery. I did basic training at Oswestry, then undertook a clerical course at Woolwich Barracks, after which I was appointed to MO2 at the War Office in Whitehall by Feb 1952. I helped to fight the Korean War and Malayan Communist insurgency from behind a desk until Sept 1953, gaining 2 stripes as a full bombadier NCO. By July 1952 I had met Rosemarie Bassett while both of us were serving in the Parish Legion of Mary. We became engaged in 1953 and married in July 1954. I spent thirty two years with ICI Chemicals: 8 years at Millbank, London and twenty four in Adelaide after our migration. I retired in 1989 as SA State Credit Manager South Australia/ Northern Territory, a position I held for some twenty of those years. During that time I had served on the SA State Council of the AICM (Australian Institute of Credit Management — my professional institute) and was elected SA State President 1986-1988. In the 1970's we lobbied the SA Government who enacted credit law reform some 10 years ahead of the rest of Australia. |
Our marriage has been blessed with a son Charles, now Associate Professor, and five daughters including Fran. Both Charles & Fran are academics at the University of Sydney, New South Wales. Our two eldest daughters, Marianne & Christine, are primary teachers in SA schools; the two youngest, Catherine & Jacqueline, are graduate nurses. Catherine works in the Alzeimers/ Dementia field in Melbourne. She has been published in the British Medical Journal in the UK. Jackie is a coordinator in Pediatrics at the Adelaide Women & Childrens Hospital. Rose and I are blessed with ten grandchildren. Of the six who are adults, two are married. (Riley married Vanessa in Hong Kong in Dec 09 and we flew there to be present. Erin married Takeshi here in Adelaide in Feb 10, their counter celebration was in Nagamo in Japan in April). The four youngest are still in primary school. Three of our granddaughters are also teachers. My wife Rosemarie taught for 21 years herself in SA primary schools, after Jackie reached school age. Now she helps with Childrens' Liturgy during Mass on Sundays and is a member of our Parish Pastoral Council. I drive for Meals on Wheels, with 20 years service since retirement from full-time work. I am also a parish pastoral visitor responsible for over twenty households, taking frequent Communion to three of them who are too sick/ disabled to get to Mass. Ten others to whom I took Communion have died and we participated at their Requiem Masses. So Rose & I both stay busy and are Readers and Eucharistic Ministers at Mass etc. PS I correspond regularly with Ken Mortimer (a fellow seminarian) who married a Lebanese lady, whose brother is a married Maronite Priest. Ken has led a busy career at Notre Dame University in Beirut, lecturing and editor of the French/ English University magazine for some years. |
 (source : Peter Collyer) Peter and Rose with seven of their grandchildren on the occasion of Rose's 80th birthday Return to Top |
Riley married Vanessa in Hong Kong in December 09 |
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 (source : Peter Collyer) Rajasthan |
