Victor Gandey
| Town/City | Cowra, NSW |
|---|---|
| First name | Victor |
| Last name | Gandey |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 1926 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1951 |
| Submitted by | John Gandey |
Story
Victor Gandey
Victor Gandey, was born in Fulham in 1926, left school in 1939 at age 13 years due to the war, and trained as a plumber, part during and part after the Second World War. He joined the Royal Navy in 1943 at the age of 17 years. First with the Fleet Air Arm then transferred to the Aircraft Carrier, HMS ‘Ocean’. His tour of duty took him form the ship\’s naval base in Scotland to the Mediterranean Sea. Ports of call were Gibraltar, Malta, Greek Islands and North Africa. Vic was demobilised as an Able Seaman in 1947 and returned to his family in the bombed out city of London.
Ivy Gandey (nee Read) was born in Tottenham in 1925 and left school in 1939 at the age of 14 years. Ivy was directed to war service in various factories in London. She lived at home with mother, Jessie Read, and father Charles Read who also served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. Together the family endured six years of bombing and war with Nazi Germany.
Victor and Ivy met in Trafalgar Square on 8th May 1945 when the whole of London was celebrating Victory in Europe (V.E) Day at the end of the war. They were married on 6th April 1946 at St Ann\’s Church, Tottenham, London. John was born on 17th June 1948 in Kingsbury and Irene arrived on 27th November 1950 in Walthamstow.
Due to the devastation in London and with a sense of adventure, the family was granted approval to immigrate to Australia. They left Tilbury Docks on 14th June 1951 on Orient Line RMS ‘Otranto’ a 26,020 Ðton passenger ship. Leaving family was extremely difficult however, the last sightings of the White Cliffs of Dover was heart breaking. The ship travelled down the English Channel through the Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Ceylon and arrived in Melbourne in July 1951 in the middle of an extremely cold and wet winter. Feeling alone on the other side of the world with her son of three years and daughter of eight months in Preston Migrant Camp, left Ivy suffering severe home sickness which was to last for over ten years.
Certificate of Registration as an Australian Citizen C (2) No. 101 was granted to Victor Richard Gandey with the inclusion of his two children, John Kenneth Gandey and Irene Joyce Gandey, on 3rd March 1954. Certificate of Registration as an Australian Citizen C (1) No. 1118 was granted to Ivy Jessie Gandey on 2nd August 1956.