THIS IS MY LIFE- 18

18 – HAPPY FAMILY IN KUCHING BOYS’ HOME

Towards the latter part of 1964 we were asked to hold on at the Kuching Boys’ Home in addition to our responsibilities at the corps, while Captain and Mrs. Webb went for their homeland furlough in Australia at the end of their five-year term. Captain Janos Wasagam would stay at the corps quarters as the assistant.

The Webb family had just moved into their new quarters, built by the government for the superintendant. They were in there only for a few months. We moved into this brand new two storey building adjacent to the Home in the same compound. Originally the ground floor was a void deck, not walled up and partitioned into offices as it stands today.

During the week from Monday to Friday I went to the kindergarten with our two children. Captain Wasagam would have the place all opened to receive the kindergarten children. She also helped me at Home League and visitation of the corps comrades and friends. Once a week we even cycled to night class to study the National language – Bahasa Melayu.

We had about 50 boys in our care, ranging from preschoolers to teenagers. A housemaster, Wong Ah Nyian, and his wife, Chor Fah, the cook were the only lived-in staff members. Two young women came in daily to help take care of the little boys. In the evenings I would “open clinic” to give first-aid. Very often it would be only mosquito bites, a cut or two, at worse a boil.

Most of the boys went to school in the morning; others learnt a trade in the carpentry workshop, or helped in the vegetable garden and fish pond to supplement the kitchen requirements. My husband helped the bigger boys with their school homework in the evenings.

A couple of months later, a telegram came to say Captain and Mrs. Webb would not be returning to the Kuching Boy’s Home but at the end of their homeland furlough would be proceeding to the Singapore Children’s Home. We were to relinquish our corps duties, but stay on at the Boy’s Home full time. Major Vataya and Captain Piutunen were appointed to the corps.

We supported the corps as soldiers, my husband was the bandmaster and I was busy with the Home League. Between us we also translated for the corps officers.

One day a lady resident from the section for the elderly in the Children’s Home, also a soldier of the corps was promoted to glory. My husband conducted the funeral. A couple of our boys made a wreath from some wild flowers. She had no relatives; we with the older boys and a few elderly ladies from the Home were the mourners.

Before we could unpack our last box of our luggage, we were told to leave Kuching for Penang, this time to the Boy’s Home there. Captain Will and Mrs. Marjorie Davies with their daughters, Maureen and Jillian, were returning home to the England at the end of their term. A Dutch lady officer, Major Scherpenisse, serving on CHQ in Singapore was appointed pro-tem to Kuching Boys’ Home to await the arrival of Captain Keith and Mrs. Doreen Sharp from the UK with Paul and Estelle their two children. So we left Kuching on the Rajah Brook to Singapore then off to Penang by train.

There were a couple of young English National Servicemen who would visit the Home when off duty. They loved to play and have their meals with the boys. They must have been were lonely and missed their home and family! They always ended the day in our home for supper before going off to their barracks. Very often they seemed reluctant to leave. One of them used to stay till midnight, well past my bedtime! We did not realise what this meant to them till they made contact and told us in recent years.