- Home
- Articles
- Anzac Day Stories
- Page 6
- David Hay
Resources
- Search Military records Find your ancestors in our military collection
- Browse Memory BankRead the stories in the findmypast memory bank
- History of Anzac Day Find out more on the origins of Anzac Day
- Military History Articles Read articles by Military experts
- Boer War Learn more about the Boer War
- First World War Learn more about World War I
- Second World War Learn more about World War II
- Korean War Learn more about the Korean War
- Vietnam War Learn more about the Vietnam War
- Photos View wartime photos
- Videos Watch videos on the wars
- Free Digital Magazine Download the findmypast and Inside History Magazine
- Ask an Expert Send in your questions for our experts
- Blog Read our blog and stay up to date
- Inside History Magazine Read about our partner in this project
Allan Semple
by David Hay
Story 21
A family memory from the UK, happier than many others; My mother, as a young child three or four years old, remembered during a visit to her grandparents, the Greens of Pound Cottage, Bishopsgate, Corby, Northamptonshire, UK. a young soldier from the Australian Forces calling to see them.
Mum, in her own words, was "spellbound" by this individual. The visit lasted until dark when the soldier offered to escort Grandfather and Mum back to her own home about a mile away . The journey was made with Mum sitting on the soldiers shoulders . She recalled that she felt she could reach the stars. The highlight of the journey was when the soldier paused outside the "Black Horse" pub so that Mum could blow out the candle that was in the lantern by the door. This apparently satisfied a childhood ambition. After that there was no recollection of any further visits.
The name given to the soldier was Allan Semple . I have no idea why he paid the visit. The possibilities are that he was
- a relative by marriage
- an acquaintance of an uncle that lived in Australia
- the result of a casual meeting whilst on active service
I have found some detail from the attestation papers which I believe refer to Allan. There is a note that he spent some leave in England prior to return for demobilisation in Australia. From other records he may have settled in Rosedale, NSW where he married Allen Irene Marie Stone. Both, at the end, were laid to rest in East Ballina Cemetery.
Story 21