have ye got me back jimmy

Untitled Part 10

                                                                                     Chapter Ten

                                                                         Who Would Have Thought

My Mother passed away five years after the war ended. Alice and I had three children, Jimmy now 7, Emily 5 and a half, and Gracie was 2 years old. I had managed to get back into Ravenscraig to complete my welding apprenticeship. It's amazing what stripes on your arm can do. In the years that followed I wrote constantly to the Ministry of Defense along with the resident Commander at Lympstone and stayed in touch with what little family Shamus had left, but no one knew anything or at least they were not saying. At the age of 25 young Jimmy emigrated to Australia, married a local girl and settled in a suburb of Melbourne. Emily was married with one son Duncan and Grace was a career girl attending Glasgow University studying Law. All in all life was good for many years. But then in 1985 at the age of 62 Alice died of a brain Tumor and my world collapsed.

After the funeral in a conversation with my son he suggested that I come and stay with him for a month or so in Australia. Everything was too mixed up at the time so I left it that I would give it some thought. The next few weeks were a blur I had to learn so many things that Alice had done and I had taken for granted. But time passed as time does and I became more comfortable with my situation, so comfortable in fact that I decided to take Jimmy Junior up on his offer and visit him in Australia. Quick goodbyes to my daughters and I was on a plane bound for Melbourne.

Australia was amazing, Jimmy had his own little building firm with half a dozen employees and was doing well. Alice had visited him on two previous occasions but I had stayed at home due to work commitments and finances. I spent day's on end with my grand-children Louie aged 12 and Ben aged 14 and we had some great times. On my third week it was Louie's birthday and a Sunday barbecue was arranged. Many people attended these gatherings as out-door living is all Australians want from life. We were sitting around having a beer, just a group of men chatting about anything and everything when a middle aged man named Colin Stuart mentioned that he had been a Captain in the Marine Corps. This instantly got my attention and I began asking him all-sorts of questions about his service. During one of his answers he mentioned a Colonel O,Leary. I stopped him instantly."Shamus O,Leary? I asked, "did you say Colonel Shamus O,Leary? 

"Yes" he replied, "he was my Commanding Officer, a huge brute of a man but a fairer human being I have never known"

"I knew someone of that name" I said, "What of him now?

"I believe he lives in a place by the name of Torpoint in Cornwall" he answered, "just over the river from Plymouth, I know no more than that"

I did not sleep for two day's, it had to be him there could not be another fucking Irish Marine by that name, and a Colonel if you like. I was bound for Plymouth. I arrived at Heathrow Airport and caught the first available train for Pensance passing through Plymouth. I booked into a Hotel for the night and the following morning hired a car and drove across the Tamar Bridge to the small Naval town of Torpoint. I asked at the local Post Office and with no hesitation was told the address of the Irish Colonel. I banged on the door, a woman answered."I am looking for Shamus O,Leary does he live here? I asked.

"Yes he does" was the reply, "I am doing some cleaning for him you can find him two streets down he run's a bar called the Little Leprechaun, good luck" and she closed the door.

The journey passed very slowly as I pondered what to say, but then again what will he say. Will we recognise each other, I felt sure I would recognise him. Suddenly there it was the Little Leprechaun looking just like a Guiness Bar in Glasgow. I smiled when I remembered his poem of the same name. Opening the door all was quiet which was strange as there were at least 15 men sitting and standing around the Bar.