Son of My Father - Who Was My Dad? The Man I Never Really Knew

When I began writing Son of My Father, I realised how much of my dad’s story I never really knew. So much of who he was existed quietly in the background — unspoken, unseen. What I do remember, though, was his creative side.

From my memoir, Son of My Father

I know nothing about my dad’s childhood, his schooling, or whether he was academically bright or not. I don’t even know the name of the school that he went to. I’m not sure that I ever did. He probably left school with few if any qualifications. Questions like this were never the subject of conversation between us.

My dad did have a creative talent in that he was good at making things and painting. I would spend hours watching him put together model planes or ships — a Spitfire, Lancaster bomber or a warship. They were in kit form from a company called Airfix, which is still going strong today. He would then paint it, and they would either be hung from the ceiling in my bedroom or put on a plinth.

Occasionally, he would buy a kit for me to put together. I was hopeless at it; glue would get everywhere, and Dad would have to finish it. I simply didn’t have the dexterity to do it, at least not at that age.

He could paint too. On one of the walls in my bedroom, he painted a mural of all the vehicles from the children’s TV series, Thunderbirds. There were many comments at the time that it was FAB (anyone reading who remembers Thunderbirds will know the reference). Unfortunately, no photographs were taken of it at the time, so all that is left is my memory of it.

He did have a talent for painting…

This was his good side. That mural, those models, the smell of glue and paint — they all tell me that he could be a father.

It just didn’t happen very often.

Read more reflections like this here.

 

Image 1 — pencil drawing recreation

Image 2 — by Matias Luge from Pixabay