Hongkong Bank
Jesselton
Dear Mum, Dad and Alan,
It has been a very busy week both inside and outside the office and we have been resting this afternoon. This morning I took Caroline to see the Queen's birthday parade at 6.45 am and watched the Navy, Australians, Gurkhas, Police (in white & red) dress, in a fine ceremony with a lively band. Then shopping and golf and an afternoon's sleep. During the week have finalised the paper work for the take over by one of our agencies as head office for Brunei State and am due to fly up there on 25th and return on 26th/27th to talk things over with the Brunei manager and make sure things are understood for the switch in accounting. Have thoroughly enjoyed this piece of business as it has been a change from routine and is a rare thing to occur at all, so that I have felt that everything was my own work. Apart from that it has been a proving point that I know this particular job well enough for my own satisfaction. This may seem curious but as is quite usual we are self taught in new departments and without having anyone else's work to compare with can seldom be absolutely sure everything is tied up.
Similarly in Inward Bills in Calcutta my proving point was the strike when I had to do everything normally done by clerks as well as my own job. The enclosed card was the invitation to a pretty heavy RN session on Thursday evening. The destroyer was lying off the point and we went out on the Governor's yacht "Petrel" to be taken aboard with all due ceremony and entertained very fully indeed. Being the flotilla leader the ship carried an extra number of Lt Commanders and odds and ends and there seemed to be as many hosts as guests. Last night we had dinner with Mary and Martin Coren who were entertaining four seamen and passed a most enjoyable evening. They were a good bunch of chaps were obviously felt at home right away and were not at all shy. but talked of everything under the sun and did not want to leave when the time came up. We have our do to-morrow - 4 CPOs and a dozen other people to curry tiffin - expect the children will have a lot of attention. They are full of life just now but Adrienne is being treated for worms and Caroline has a rash - but these things are very normal here and modern medicine is very good for clearing things up in a few days. Susan is fighting fit and very energetic kicking hard and lifting her head, smiling and chattering to herself and still consuming vast quantities of milk at breakneck speed.
Wed. Have just received Caroline's card which is a beauty. The curry tiffin went very well and we left to watch a football match at 4.30 - so four hours of entertaining passed off seemingly quickly. They eat everything and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Last night was an early one and we slept very well indeed.
I enclose the photos which are ok. The mountian is over 13000' which is big by any standard.
Cheerio for now and love,
Peter.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
8th June 1959
Written on a HSBC Jesselton airmail letter
Dear Mum Dad and Alan,
Many thanks for your letter. We have greatly enjoyed our weekend, at Kota Balud. It is not in the hills but we had to travel along many rising twisting narrow roads to cross several hill ridges to get there. We passed through lovely countryside and had good weather. On arrival we found Army around connected with the Seato exercise and saw lines of Battleships at sea from a nearby hill. We were near the 13000 for mountain and could see it clearly. In the early morning the river below the Guest House, ducks, cows and surrounding greenery made it seem to be a part of Switzerland in summer. Several Jesselton people were there so we had quite a party and went around the market on the following day. Margo said she felt that we had been away for a long time - the children were in fine form when we returned to them and did not seem to mind - though were very excited when we arrived. Do not understand how Ian had not backed any horse as he had confirmed it before it was scratched - perhaps you have mixed it up with Ken Rices bit. Still do not know the result as it was not in the local paper.
Shall be pleased to have "Adventure in ? " When you have finished with it. We are invited on board an RN destroyer for cocktails on Wednesday and will be entertaining 4 officers to curry tiffin on Sunday. So we shall be very navel this week. Have taken more photos - mainly of the country so stand by - they will be ready some time in the next few weeks. Have had an enjoyable day on the final reorganisation of accounts - it only remains till July to see if they work. As I dont have to do much I can always blame the other officers if they dont carry out our instructions, which is a happy position to be in.
Cheerio for now and love from
us all Peter.
Dear Mum Dad and Alan,
Many thanks for your letter. We have greatly enjoyed our weekend, at Kota Balud. It is not in the hills but we had to travel along many rising twisting narrow roads to cross several hill ridges to get there. We passed through lovely countryside and had good weather. On arrival we found Army around connected with the Seato exercise and saw lines of Battleships at sea from a nearby hill. We were near the 13000 for mountain and could see it clearly. In the early morning the river below the Guest House, ducks, cows and surrounding greenery made it seem to be a part of Switzerland in summer. Several Jesselton people were there so we had quite a party and went around the market on the following day. Margo said she felt that we had been away for a long time - the children were in fine form when we returned to them and did not seem to mind - though were very excited when we arrived. Do not understand how Ian had not backed any horse as he had confirmed it before it was scratched - perhaps you have mixed it up with Ken Rices bit. Still do not know the result as it was not in the local paper.
Shall be pleased to have "Adventure in ? " When you have finished with it. We are invited on board an RN destroyer for cocktails on Wednesday and will be entertaining 4 officers to curry tiffin on Sunday. So we shall be very navel this week. Have taken more photos - mainly of the country so stand by - they will be ready some time in the next few weeks. Have had an enjoyable day on the final reorganisation of accounts - it only remains till July to see if they work. As I dont have to do much I can always blame the other officers if they dont carry out our instructions, which is a happy position to be in.
Cheerio for now and love from
us all Peter.
26th May 59
Written on a HSBC Jesselton airmail letter
Many thanks for your letter and also my birthday present. The tie & socks go well with my green suit and the cravat is a very good design. I have backed Peterman for th eDerby for the name only and Kim Rice has done Lindrick (his name is Kenrick so it is no special tip) through Ian Macleod as I thought it not worth Dad bothering this time. What do you fancy? Went to a Christening on Sunday - the church here is new on modern lines and very beautiful. Shall be arranging Susan's soon and have asked Donald and Dorothy to be godparents. Golf Club dance on Saturday was successful with a good dinner. We left at 3am on Sunday morning. There had been a terrific thunder storm in the afternoon and the outside arrangements were a little damp but did not effect the result in the end. Last night we were out to dinner with Dr Pan - a Chinese gentleman who has a very large collection of orchids and met about twenty other people including a New Zealand Group Captain who is on the SEATO exercises a few miles from here. We hope to go up there for a weekend on 6th June (Kota Belud) but don't know if we will see anything. Queen's birthday on 13th, we are invited to the Governor's reception. There will be a load of army in by then for the new training grounds and two RN ships visiting. Hope to take Caroline to the parade which should be colourful. Have got a cine-film in for developing so will be sending it shortly. Shows lots of the children Paddling Pool, Sea, Beach, Hills, Margo & Self so hope it comes out. Have got a good book to read which you must order at the library "Inside Russia Today" Very readable and your type of interest - I can't put it down - by John Gunther. Susan has slept through to 4.30 -5.30 the last couple of nights so hope she continues. She is in fine form and still well behaved. Jesselton remains a fine spot it seems too good to last!
Cheerio for now and love,
Peter
P.S. If I win on the Derby I really will get that projector!
Many thanks for your letter and also my birthday present. The tie & socks go well with my green suit and the cravat is a very good design. I have backed Peterman for th eDerby for the name only and Kim Rice has done Lindrick (his name is Kenrick so it is no special tip) through Ian Macleod as I thought it not worth Dad bothering this time. What do you fancy? Went to a Christening on Sunday - the church here is new on modern lines and very beautiful. Shall be arranging Susan's soon and have asked Donald and Dorothy to be godparents. Golf Club dance on Saturday was successful with a good dinner. We left at 3am on Sunday morning. There had been a terrific thunder storm in the afternoon and the outside arrangements were a little damp but did not effect the result in the end. Last night we were out to dinner with Dr Pan - a Chinese gentleman who has a very large collection of orchids and met about twenty other people including a New Zealand Group Captain who is on the SEATO exercises a few miles from here. We hope to go up there for a weekend on 6th June (Kota Belud) but don't know if we will see anything. Queen's birthday on 13th, we are invited to the Governor's reception. There will be a load of army in by then for the new training grounds and two RN ships visiting. Hope to take Caroline to the parade which should be colourful. Have got a cine-film in for developing so will be sending it shortly. Shows lots of the children Paddling Pool, Sea, Beach, Hills, Margo & Self so hope it comes out. Have got a good book to read which you must order at the library "Inside Russia Today" Very readable and your type of interest - I can't put it down - by John Gunther. Susan has slept through to 4.30 -5.30 the last couple of nights so hope she continues. She is in fine form and still well behaved. Jesselton remains a fine spot it seems too good to last!
Cheerio for now and love,
Peter
P.S. If I win on the Derby I really will get that projector!
Friday, November 6, 2009
6th May 1959
Written on a HSBC Jesselton airmail letter
Dear Mum, Dad and Alan,
The first news of supreme importance is that Adrienne can now walk! She staggered her first few steps last week and found it so much fun that she has kept going. She can now be seen to be pretty tall - certainly taller than Caroline at similar age and of course fairly beefy though some of that surplus fat has already gone. Thank you for the brush set for Susan, it was very good of you. It is difficult to say what toy Caroline would appreciate. She likes things with a touch of realism so that she can copy Margo with the baby. A toy iron perhaps - but she has a lot of things she doesn't bother about. The tricycle is in daily use still and I am shipping in a paddling pool from Singapore so that they can splash about by the house. We seldom manage to take them down to the beach and in any case there has been a flock of jelly fish about lately. Thank you too for my birthday card - we are having 1/2 doz people to dinner to-morrow to celebrate. Caroline does speak sentences a lot of which is difficult to understand but she does improve and has a lot to say. She knows a lot about the servants, & the gardener and trots off by herself to the Accts house down the hill - it was some time before we knew she was doing this as we couldn't follow her recital of events. Glad Alan & Donald are to go to-gether - Imagine they will get around a bit and really see things. Dons A50 sounds OK. I notice that you are planning your trip to Scotland and confusing the issue with everyone elses movements. Alan can look after himself, you ought to know that by now. When you have the house report your absence at the police station, it doesn't matter if the whole road is empty so just go when you wish. We laughed at Mauds' comment on Susan's birth announcement. The only other Briggs in Borneo is a "Justice" so they should not get us mixed up. Have just got a new record from Hongkong - "Carmen Jones" from the film sound track. It is a beauty and at full volume is very lively! Am very glad I bought the record player as there is not much on the wireless. Susan continues to progress she is putting on plenty of weight and is a good length. (height) Margo is fit and had a successful inspection at the hospital. Ian having golf lessons from a friend at the Golf Club and it makes an improvement. I won a cigarette lighter at a dance last week and a few days later a packet of tees at darts on a club night but no more Premium Bonds just yet! Cheers for now and lots of love from us all Margo Peter Caroline and Susan. X (by Caroline)
Dear Mum, Dad and Alan,
The first news of supreme importance is that Adrienne can now walk! She staggered her first few steps last week and found it so much fun that she has kept going. She can now be seen to be pretty tall - certainly taller than Caroline at similar age and of course fairly beefy though some of that surplus fat has already gone. Thank you for the brush set for Susan, it was very good of you. It is difficult to say what toy Caroline would appreciate. She likes things with a touch of realism so that she can copy Margo with the baby. A toy iron perhaps - but she has a lot of things she doesn't bother about. The tricycle is in daily use still and I am shipping in a paddling pool from Singapore so that they can splash about by the house. We seldom manage to take them down to the beach and in any case there has been a flock of jelly fish about lately. Thank you too for my birthday card - we are having 1/2 doz people to dinner to-morrow to celebrate. Caroline does speak sentences a lot of which is difficult to understand but she does improve and has a lot to say. She knows a lot about the servants, & the gardener and trots off by herself to the Accts house down the hill - it was some time before we knew she was doing this as we couldn't follow her recital of events. Glad Alan & Donald are to go to-gether - Imagine they will get around a bit and really see things. Dons A50 sounds OK. I notice that you are planning your trip to Scotland and confusing the issue with everyone elses movements. Alan can look after himself, you ought to know that by now. When you have the house report your absence at the police station, it doesn't matter if the whole road is empty so just go when you wish. We laughed at Mauds' comment on Susan's birth announcement. The only other Briggs in Borneo is a "Justice" so they should not get us mixed up. Have just got a new record from Hongkong - "Carmen Jones" from the film sound track. It is a beauty and at full volume is very lively! Am very glad I bought the record player as there is not much on the wireless. Susan continues to progress she is putting on plenty of weight and is a good length. (height) Margo is fit and had a successful inspection at the hospital. Ian having golf lessons from a friend at the Golf Club and it makes an improvement. I won a cigarette lighter at a dance last week and a few days later a packet of tees at darts on a club night but no more Premium Bonds just yet! Cheers for now and lots of love from us all Margo Peter Caroline and Susan. X (by Caroline)
6th May 1959
Written on a HSBC Jesselton airmail letter
Dear Mr and Mrs Martin,
Thank you very much for your letter, it is good to hear from you. Susan is doing very well and is much the best behaved of the three, and putting on weight, sleeping and doing all the right things without too much fuss. Adrienne is walking now and consequently is in a continuous pickle. Caroline on occasion acts in grown up fashion and tells her off, but for the most part she is up to her neck in trouble too. They have great fun with the cat and two kittens and a giant Boxer which visits us daily and are in perpetual motion from the moment they awake to bedtime. (Even then they manage not to sleep for some time.) Margo is fit and has made a grand recovery. Mainly, I think, because Borneo is such a very pleasant place after Calcutta. I myself feel 100% fitter than I did there. The morning and Night Sky of Borneo is full of beauty. We have the grandeur of the hills behind us with one large mountain sticking up into the clouds and to the front the sun flames down setting in flashes and streaks of brilliant colour. Rain last week (the first for months) formed rising clouds below the house and water sheeted down into the thick vegetation which surrounds us and the cracks in our driveway widened. The lightening kept the phone ringing and eventually cut off the electricity for several house. A week before we had a minor forest fire opposite the house and Margo dialed '999'. They soon had it under control but nearby houses were a bit scorched. Never a dull moment. The children take everything in their stride, even the blasting which is going on, one a nearby hill. The builders are trying to find rock on which to build the Governor's house and at 5 pm daily they use another stick of dynamite. This has been going on since we arrived and the hill is getting flatter and flatter, but so far no rock. Our best wishes to you and to Joyce & Tom, Rita & Fred,
Margo, Peter, Caroline, Adrienne and Susan
(The Martins were neighbours of my grandmother and lived at 74, Tamworth Park, Mitcham, Surrey UK. The other names in the best wishes were also neighbours.)
Dear Mr and Mrs Martin,
Thank you very much for your letter, it is good to hear from you. Susan is doing very well and is much the best behaved of the three, and putting on weight, sleeping and doing all the right things without too much fuss. Adrienne is walking now and consequently is in a continuous pickle. Caroline on occasion acts in grown up fashion and tells her off, but for the most part she is up to her neck in trouble too. They have great fun with the cat and two kittens and a giant Boxer which visits us daily and are in perpetual motion from the moment they awake to bedtime. (Even then they manage not to sleep for some time.) Margo is fit and has made a grand recovery. Mainly, I think, because Borneo is such a very pleasant place after Calcutta. I myself feel 100% fitter than I did there. The morning and Night Sky of Borneo is full of beauty. We have the grandeur of the hills behind us with one large mountain sticking up into the clouds and to the front the sun flames down setting in flashes and streaks of brilliant colour. Rain last week (the first for months) formed rising clouds below the house and water sheeted down into the thick vegetation which surrounds us and the cracks in our driveway widened. The lightening kept the phone ringing and eventually cut off the electricity for several house. A week before we had a minor forest fire opposite the house and Margo dialed '999'. They soon had it under control but nearby houses were a bit scorched. Never a dull moment. The children take everything in their stride, even the blasting which is going on, one a nearby hill. The builders are trying to find rock on which to build the Governor's house and at 5 pm daily they use another stick of dynamite. This has been going on since we arrived and the hill is getting flatter and flatter, but so far no rock. Our best wishes to you and to Joyce & Tom, Rita & Fred,
Margo, Peter, Caroline, Adrienne and Susan
(The Martins were neighbours of my grandmother and lived at 74, Tamworth Park, Mitcham, Surrey UK. The other names in the best wishes were also neighbours.)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Undated but probably end of March 1959
H. & S.B.C. Jesselton
Dear Mum, Dad and Alan
Very many thanks for your letter, am glad you are pleased with all your grand-daughters, they do seem to be quite a bunch at the moment. I brought Margo and Susan home on Thursday, both in good order. Margo seems very well and Susan is behaving herself - sleeping and eating better I think, than the other two did. Margo is not attempting to fee Susan herself and this makes life a lot easier. The baby gets the right quantity of food at the right time without complications. The birth was without instruments, but was a sideways one - and two stitches so it was not very easy. However, the rest in hospital did a lot of good and the initial recovery & contraction all in good order. And Margo looks very well in herself.
Ian certainly gets on with things - it certainly is an honour to be Master - and wise of Henry to make the trip - I sympathise with the lumbago its a rotten thing to have. Thanks Dad, for your note - expect you are busy in the garden just now and hope the spring and summer are worth while - think you are due for a hot one. Am including a few photos which I haven't enlarged yet but expect they will come up under a magnifying glass. Am pleased with the childrens'. Managed the full shot of the house, but from a distance of 1/4 mile being the nearest convenient point. The small building to the right is the garage and the end of our drive which comes in from the road somewhere out of the picture to the left. It does look a bit jungly doesn't it? We had a snake quite close to us and of course plenty of monkeys. But the thing that worries us is a harmless flying beetle about the size of a walnut which crashes against the screens and emits a screetching buzz. A lizard fell on Margo last night and fell down the back of her dress but was got rid of without difficulty. Otherwise things are ordinary but we could do with some rain. This Easter weekend we have had four days holiday and two games of golf have left me a little sunburnt. Thursday night I went to a Chinese wedding dinner and ate all the usual good things then spent Friday in a slow recovery.
Am taking some pictures of Susan and will send them shortly - we think she will look like Margo but at the moment seems different from the other two so our threesome will be quite a mixture.
Cheerio and love from us all,
Peter.
Dear Mum, Dad and Alan
Very many thanks for your letter, am glad you are pleased with all your grand-daughters, they do seem to be quite a bunch at the moment. I brought Margo and Susan home on Thursday, both in good order. Margo seems very well and Susan is behaving herself - sleeping and eating better I think, than the other two did. Margo is not attempting to fee Susan herself and this makes life a lot easier. The baby gets the right quantity of food at the right time without complications. The birth was without instruments, but was a sideways one - and two stitches so it was not very easy. However, the rest in hospital did a lot of good and the initial recovery & contraction all in good order. And Margo looks very well in herself.
Ian certainly gets on with things - it certainly is an honour to be Master - and wise of Henry to make the trip - I sympathise with the lumbago its a rotten thing to have. Thanks Dad, for your note - expect you are busy in the garden just now and hope the spring and summer are worth while - think you are due for a hot one. Am including a few photos which I haven't enlarged yet but expect they will come up under a magnifying glass. Am pleased with the childrens'. Managed the full shot of the house, but from a distance of 1/4 mile being the nearest convenient point. The small building to the right is the garage and the end of our drive which comes in from the road somewhere out of the picture to the left. It does look a bit jungly doesn't it? We had a snake quite close to us and of course plenty of monkeys. But the thing that worries us is a harmless flying beetle about the size of a walnut which crashes against the screens and emits a screetching buzz. A lizard fell on Margo last night and fell down the back of her dress but was got rid of without difficulty. Otherwise things are ordinary but we could do with some rain. This Easter weekend we have had four days holiday and two games of golf have left me a little sunburnt. Thursday night I went to a Chinese wedding dinner and ate all the usual good things then spent Friday in a slow recovery.
Am taking some pictures of Susan and will send them shortly - we think she will look like Margo but at the moment seems different from the other two so our threesome will be quite a mixture.
Cheerio and love from us all,
Peter.
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