Obit from Across the Pond

It is no secret that the British style of obituary writing is a style unto itself. A decade ago Marilyn Johnson wrote about this in her book on obituaries, "The Dead Beat." And long before that there was an  A-Head piece in the WSJ  by Kyle Pope telling us about the obscure deceased in England who in death have achieved more fame at their passing than they did when they were breathing.

Never forget. And the Brits will never forget WW II when Hitler nearly came ashore, but couldn't, so he bombed the crap out of them instead, hoping they'd give up.

My daughter, son-in-law, and the two grandchildren went to England this past February, just before all the virus outbreak took hold. I asked her to bring me back a hardcopy of a newspaper, but she forgot. On her return she did however become an online subscriber to The Times, and The Sunday Times from London.

Sharing her logon, I've been given a front row access to daily obits, British style. Checking out the paper on Friday I watched a montage of the figures observing two minutes of silence celebrating V-E Day, 75 years from May 7, 1945.

There was a flyover streaming plumes of red, white and blue exhaust; Prime Minister Boris Johnson standing in place at 10 Downing Street; Prince Charles in a kilt laying a wrath at a memorial while a single bagpiper played. As Charles placed the wreath you caught just a glimpse of his watch, jutting out from his French cuffs. Certainly an expensive watch, with lots of buttons and complications. Brand unknown. Camilla also placed a wreath.

Poor Charles. He looks so old. His mother is living forever, so his reign is deferred until her demise. And that will be some obit.

The British will never stop reliving WW II. Just check out a PBS Masterpiece series, and invariably it will be a story about the war, or the hardship of shortages after the war. Other than the British incursion in 1812, The United States has never been invaded. You have to consider the planes from 9/11 to be a bombing to get a feel for what the British endured on a daily basis for years.

When I was resting at home on the morning of  9/12, after miles of walking after making my way out of Tower One and the 29th floor on 9/11, my wife brought the papers in. And there was the NYT headline, top line, U.S. ATTACKED.  Of course I saved the paper, but I've never been able to really accept the headline.

I'm sure the senior editors probably debated vigorously what it would be, and came up with that. And on 9/11, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be a repeat on 9/12. Except that all the planes had been grounded, and there really was no invading force, even as inept as the recent one that tried to overthrow the government in Venezuela. In my head I've never been able to wrap my head around the terrorist actions being described as being invaded. But, as they say now, it is what it is.

The Times obits are not bylined. They don't necessarily favor eccentrics, but when an 8th Earl of somewhere passes away, you can bet there are aspects of their life which we Yanks would consider eccentric,

Retired colonels and veteran's of all stripes are favored, so who better to honor with a full-Monty obit on Friday, May 8th, a day after the 75th anniversary of V-E Day than William 'Terry' Clark, 101 years old and a highly decorated RAF veteran. Mr. Clark passed away on V-E Day.

A read of the obit makes you realize how many types of war aircraft there were. It is hardly all Spitfires. I count no less than three aircraft that Clark served in as a navigator, gunner and radio specialist; a Blenheim, Bristol Beaufighter and a Turbinlite Havoc.

One oddity served up in the obit is that Clark first wanted to enlist in the British Navy, but they required vaccinations in anticipation of service abroad. It seems odd that service in a plane that could possible be shot down or crash landed in enemy territory would waive vaccinations for the crew members. He was deathly afraid of needles, so he opted to be with the RAF.

I remember in the '60s before I was declared 4-F, I wanted to enlist in the Navy. However, I worried that my dog-paddle swimming would keep me from training for the Navy. Once the 4-F draft code was assigned it became a moot point as to whether I'd pass their physical.

My father wanted to enlist in the Navy during WW II. His older brother was a career officer, so I would have imagined it would have been a slam dunk for his enlistment. He probably did as well. I did come across a letter turning him down. He might have wanted to go in an officer and they said no. I don't really know the reason, and as usual, we never ask our parents enough questions before it is impossible to get the answer. So, it was the Corps of Engineers in the Army, since he had an engineering degree.

The British obit leaves nothing worth mentioning out. Thus, in the narrative for Mr. Clark we learn he tried "to  rejoin the RAF after being dismobbed, but was turned down because he had become deaf in one ear as a result of fracturing his skull when he fell off a bar stool."

How ignominious to learn that Clark fell off a bar stool when he swiveled to catch a look at "a particularly attractive member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force who had just walked past him and he lost his balance."

Survive being shot at at 10,000 feet by the Germans but felled by a woman looking good in a uniform. No matter. He did make it to 101 years old.

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