1955 -1957 (And some family history going back further).

I was born 2nd June 1955, in Catterick Camp, North Yorkshire, England.

Named Carol Pearce.

My father, Thomas Augustus Pearce, was in the Army, The Royal Signal Regiment to be precise.

He was born in South East London on 18th November 1929. 

Dad died suddenly and unexpectedly when he was just 62 years old, just 4 days after his birthday. He had a heart attack.

Dad had 2 brothers and one sister. Joanie, Derek, and Jimmy.

Aunty Joanie and Uncle Jimmy, sadly, are no longer with us.

Granddad was also in the Army. He fought in the 2nd world war . When he was de-mobbed, he became a bin man. He used to turn the gas lights on and off too!

Nan was a Civil Servant.

From left to right, Uncle Bill, (Aunty Joanie's husband), Nan and Granddad.

The name Thomas Augustus Pearce goes back many generations. My father, his father, his father before him, and so on, were all named Thomas Augustus Pearce.

As a matter of  fact, word down through the generations has us believe that the old song 'Tom Pearce, Tom Pearce'...... otherwise known as 'Widecombe Fair', speaks of one of my ancestors!

Widecombe Fair

Tom Pearce, Tom Pearce, lend me your grey mare,

All along, down along, out along lee.

For I want to go to Widecombe Fair.

Wi' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer. Peler Gurney,

Peter Davy, Dan'l Whidoon. Harry Hawk,

Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

And when shall I see again my grey mare?

All along, down along, out along lee.

By Friday soon or Saturday noon,

WI' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, etc.

Then Friday came and Saturday noon,

All along, down along, out along lee,

Tom Pearce's old mare hath not trotted home

WI' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, etc.

So Tom Pearce he got up to the top of the hill,

All along, down along, out along lee

And he see'd his old mare a-making her will,

Wi' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, etc.

So Tom Pearce's old mare. her took sick and died,

All along, down along, out along lee.

And Tom he sat down on a stone and he cried,

Wi' Bill Brewer. Jan Slower, etc.

But this isn't the end of this shocking affair,

'All along, down along, out along lee.

Nor, though they be dead, of the horrid career—

of Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, etc.

When the wind whistles cold on the moor of a night,

All along, down along, out along lee.

Tom Pearce's old mare doth appear gashly white—

Wi' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, etc.

And all the long night be heard skirling and groans,

All along, down along, out along lee.

From Tom Pearce's old mare In her rattling bones

And from Bill Brewer, Jan Stower, etc.

Folklore in Devon,

tells the story of Tom Pearce's grey mare. 

It is possibly one of the most famous. 

The story is very sad and speaks of cruelty by a team of inconsiderate men.

These men expected Tom Pearce's grey Mare to carry all of them to Widecombe Fair.
Of course, their collective weight would have been too much for her, 

so.... they killed her.

There is a stable, which is said to have once housed the 

grey mare. 
It is by the old mill at Sticklepath. It is said to be made of granite. 
Investigations reveal that a
Bill Brewer did, in fact live in Sticklepath, and the
much respected Pearce family operated the local millfor something like three decades.
The Pearce family, it was said, were great
benefactors to the village. 
Most importantly , there was a definitely a 
Tom Pearce in the family. 
A man of his position would certainly have owned
a horse.
 where better to keep her? 
I would have kept her close to the mill!



(information received by googling Tom Pearce - Grey Mare).






During the war, my Dad and his brother Derek, were evacuated to Devon...(Coincidence or what! Lol!).
Dad started training as a farrier. 
Before he finished his training, he had to return to London where he started training as an electrician, there wasn't much call for farriers in London!
Dad then joined the Army at age 18 years.

My mother, Erika Pearce, nee Erika Bonse, was born in Hilden, near Düsseldorf, in Germany on 16th January 1929.


Mum has one brother karl August and 3 sisters. Inge, Annaliese and Ilse.
Tante, (Aunt),  Annaliese and Tante Inge are regretfully, no longer with us.


Opa (Granddad), was in the German Army, and fought in the first world war. Opa was shot in the chest, he was lucky, he survived. 
Opa lost 2 of his brothers in the war. He didn't like to speak of it, so that is all that I know of his experiences during the fighting.
Opa was too old for the second world war.

When he left the Army, Opa joined the Council, and then became a fumigator to combat illnesses like diphtheria and other killers.
Oma (Grandma), was a seamstress.

This a picture of (from left to right), Mum, me, Oma and Opa.

According to some research and family tree investigations......it has come to light, that my mother's family escaped from France during the French revolution.
They were called  'Le Bonse',  (there should be an apostrophe over the 'e' in Le Bonse, but my keyboard wont let me put one on!),  when they left France, escaping over the Dutch border, and had to change their name to Bonse when reaching Germany.
My Mother's Great Granddad had to sell his title in order get work.


Mum explained to me that during the war, in Germany, all school aged children were expected to join the 'Hitler Youth'. If you had been to one 'Hitler Youth' meeting after being coerced, and never went to the second meeting, the Police would come and fetch you ensuring future attendances.


There was an Army Officer that lived in the flat below my Mum's family. When he was on leave.
Opa and this Officer met in the gardens one morning. 
The Officer lifted his arm and said 'Heil Hitler'.
Opa responded by saying 'Good Morning', (in German).
The Officer said that if Opa didn't say 'Heil Hitler', he would be reported to the S.S.
Opa said 'Kiss my Arse'.  Opa was reported.

As luck would have it, the war was all but over, so there were no real consequences to pay, but there was a real fear that Opa would end up in a concentration camp initially.
The Officer in question, spent the last years of his life in prison for war crimes. In fact, his wife had to divorce him in order to change her name or she would not have been able to work in Germany again.


Mum and Dad met in Germany in 1953.. Dad was posted there, and Mum was working as a waitress in a club for Army personnel. It was called the 'Cross Keys'. My Dad had just been made up to Sergeant.

This is a picture of my Mum and Dad when they were courting. This was taken in Düsseldorf.

Mum and Dad married in London in 1954. They married at the Registry Office on Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle, South East London. Dad was still posted in Germany, but they came to England so that Mum could meet Dad's family and get married.

This Mum and Dad's wedding photgraph.

Dad had already met Mum's family.


After the wedding, they returned to Germany for 1 year.
Dad was then posted to the Middle East, but because Mum was expecting me, he took a posting to Catterick Camp, North Yorkshire instead. 
I was born! ..........................(And not created, much to my disappointment....hmmph).

Me. when I was about 8 months old.

We stayed in Catterick until I was 2 years old. 

Me, one of my best photo's..........

We then went to Hong Kong.


More tomorrow.