Royal encounter

Rob Keeble

Member
Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Up in the great white North (yeah right !!! after yesterdays heatwave) our national broadcaster the CBC is inviting viewers to post their pictures related to encounters with the Royal Family.

As you may or may not know, Queen Elizabeth 2 is celebrating her diamond jubilee this year and with her being Head of State in Canada the CBC wanted to get the ball rolling in the celebrations and build a wall of pictures of Canadians encounters with the Royal Family. We have just had Prince Chales and wife. over here on a visit in honor of the celebrations.

Now i have to admit i have had to somewhat modify my attitude and thoughts regarding royalty given the Queens status in my new country of choice. So with this more positive attitude towards Royalty and in consideration of my Dads lifelong love and service to all that is Royal Family related I took the bait and today joined the CBC community news site and uploaded my own Royal Encounter story.

You can see the picture of my Dad, taken inside Buckingham Palace back in 1993, with the Queen pinning the MBE upon his lapel along with my article related to the picture and my royal encounter by clicking here.


He did not have an easy life at all. I dont think many of his generation did. But they did what they had to do when it was neccessary and they did not whine about it.

Can you imagine getting kicked out of home at age 13 with poor education at best having been shunted from pillar to post around a vast undeveloped country, all due to his father being a railway guardsman on the railways back in the day.

We have chatted about why people start their own businesses after loosing jobs, well many times its because there is no alternative, in his case when he was booted from home (my grandfather was not a nice guy) along with his brothers, the Royal Navy recruiting sign was a shining light of hope. After a couple of fillings (lol that was the requirement then) he was in and signed up and off to the UK for training. Spent the best part of his youth in the Navy on the high seas.
He is quiet an amazing man still around and retains all his wits soon to be 95 years old. Will be interested to see his reaction when he opens the link i sent him to the article. It will be good for a laugh i bet.

To all us spring chickens out there spare a thought for all our old timers.

The aspect that i never thought of until my Dad mentioned it to me while we were chatting one day, is that when you reach a ripe old age, many of those you have known in life have passed on. As you get older the world becomes more and more foreign with all the changes you have to digest and your contact with people you know and can relate to shrinks. He talks of the loneliness at being the only one of his group around today. His one last remaining friend of his generation is a German survivor of the Battleship Bismarck which he met with several times after the war. Today they keep each other company through frequent telephone calls. Who would ever think that a person you faced in battle would one day become your dear friend. But they can relate to what they went through. It did not matter which side they were on.

here is a pdf of a drawing he made showing his guide to success.
View attachment Dads 5 attitudes.pdf


Enjoy
 
Permission to use his Guide to Success, please? I look for inspirational things for my congregation. This more than qualifies, along with his story as you related.

Thanks, Rob. I will duly attribute it to him so please supply his full name if you/he will grant me permission.
 
That is very cool Rob, you must be very proud of your dad, for so many things, but also that he broke the circle and did not turn out like his father.
Wonderful story for sure!
 
Thanks for sharing Rob. Your dad shares his birthday with my daughter too! He got a few years on her...she'll be 7 this July.
 
Great story Rob. I think military service is still a beacon of hope for many and a great character builder for young people at a formative time in their lives.
 
Rob, That was a very inspirational and fitting tribute for your father, please wish him a happy birthday from us.

I have an uncle that used to say "you know you're getting old when you have more friends dead than alive". It's has to be hard when you get to the point that those that can relate to you most are no longer around. I visit the WWI memorial here in KC a few times a year and see the camaraderie of those that served and are visiting the memorial. They could have never have met one another before, but immediately bond as if they've known each other for years.

I hope you don't mind, I'll be putting a copy of the "Guide to Success" framed on my wall. :wave:
 
Rob,

That is fabulous. Thank you for sharing. Your father sounds like a great person. As far as that goes, so do you.

The "hand" is going up on my wall.

Enjoy,

JimB

P.S. Wish your father a Happy Birthday from another "Old Timer" who knows what it is like to see his list of friends shrink.
 
Last edited:
Thank you all for your very kind comments. Just some feedback when my Dad opened his email and clicked on the link i sent him he was absolutely delighted. But Carol when i told him you were gonna take his hand picture.... well lets just say you made his day. Yeah he is quiet a character to put it mildy. Thanks again.
 
Top