A Little Bit of Peace and Reconciliation in Bromley
[ A Dedication to Lorna Mackenzie Driscoll ]
In November 2003 an article appeared in the Bromley News Shopper in which it was reported that Lorna objected to us holding our annual white poppy ceremony on Remembrance Sunday. She quite understandably felt angry that her husband Ian a former Prisoner of War in Burma during World War Two had suffered greatly and that the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had saved his life as well as many other POWs.
I and other peace campaigners were very upset to read this and as secretary of Bromley and Beckenham CND wrote to the press expressing our concerns and saying we have no intention of offending any one. Our ceremony remembers victims of all wars – both the military and civilians.
On the following Sunday, feeling very nervous, I plucked up courage to visit Lorna and her husband Ian a former local journalist, whose home overlooked Bromley War Memorial.
Ian answered the door and warmly invited me in to the front room to meet Lorna. They made me a cup of tea and made me feel welcome. I apologised for any offence we may have caused by holding our peace ceremonies and said I understood how they must feel. I also explained how my father a life-long naval officer had been torpedoed while serving on the Eagle during WW2 and lost many of his colleagues, and how my sister was red cross nurse and nursed the wounded at York Military Hospital.
So began my friendship with Lorna. She invited me for tea again with her sister Evelyn, and after that we would meet for lunch or tea in Bromley and send each other cards and messages.
We had many discussions about world events. Lorna stood by her view that the dropping of the A and H bombs was essential, but supported the reduction of the arms race and illegal arms trading, and said she appreciated my campaigning. She was also pleased each year that our white poppy wreath included red poppies as a sign of remembrance and respect. I would some
times wave to her during the ceremony as a sign that I understood her feelings.
After Ian’s death Lorna told me about the reissue of the book they had both written ‘ The Tiger in the White Bamboo ‘ about a PoW who hunts down one of his Japanese guard after the war. It is a gripping detective novel, but also illustrates the atrocities that took place. It enlightened my understanding a bit more and I was able to share this with Lorna.
Another aspect of our friendship, was our involvement with Bromley Civic Society. Lorna cared deeply about Bromley’s environmental heritage. We attended meetings and talks together with Evelyn and did several on duty stints at the lodge at the entrance to Church House Gardens which was a small heritage centre for a while.
Evelyn was very much a part of our friendship and though not well in recent months , was always glad to hear news via Lorna.
They were both pleased to know I did voluntary work for Bromley MS society, as Evelyn’s daughter very sadly died of MS. They gave very generous donations to the local group.
So what started out as a sensational article in the News Shopper, bore fruition in a friendship.
I last had a meal with Lorna on October 1st 2015. During the intervening time she hadn’t been in good health, but I used to pop in to the Diner’s Inn to see her from time to time and just before Christmas we made date to meet with her friend Ian for a meal on Friday Jan 13th . I remember saying -‘let’s defy superstition ‘, but ironically this was the date she died.
Some of my present campaigning is with Japanese people from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power station disaster action group who are very worried about the on-going effects of the contamination, as well as the repercussions of 1945.
What began as a little bit of peace and reconciliation in Bromley with Lorna Mc Kenzie, will carry on in some way.
Ann Garrett Ashley [ Jan 27th 2017 ]
Comments
Post a Comment