Joan Serjeant

Story

I was born in West Kirby, and brought up in Heswall on the Wirral Peninsular in Cheshire, U.K. I survived the second world war, and afterwards developed a wanderlust to see the world. By 1960 I was married to an ex Japanese prisoner of war, and we had a son and a daughter. My husband was finding it difficult to settle into civilian life, and it is only in recent years that I realised that he was suffering from post traumatic stress, because of his experiences on the Burma railway.

My eldest sister had been a Queens Alexander Nursing sister during the war, and whilst serving in Italy had met and married an Australian air force pilot. I was one of five sisters, next to the eldest. Soon my next youngest sister also went to Australia, and married a man on the land, near Swan Hill. My husband and I decided that we also would emigrate and seek a better life, than we were living.

So we sailed on the old ship Orontes in July 1960, and enjoyed a lovely holiday for five weeks.

We sailed into beautiful Sydney harbour, and so began our life here. My husband never did settle into civilian life and soon joined the Australian Army. Sadly eventually we divorced, and in 1977 I subsequently married a Senior lecturer in Chemistry, serving at Duntroon and A.D.F.A ..

Twelve months after our arrival here my youngest sister and her family followed me out here, and twelve months later, my Mother and Father also joined us.

I am a widow now and I shall always be thankful for the good life I am still enjoying here, in the Lucky Country – I love Australia.

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