Charles Henry Holbrook

He great nephew, Ed Heal recalls; "The first photograph is from Parkhill Farm in July 1937. Titled ‘Loading the Durant with Bracken’. We think he is at the wheel with his Father in the middle. This was an old Durant car resourcefully converted into a farm pickup.

 

The second is taken at a wedding in the late 60s with his wife, our Aunt Molly. The third is clipped from the local paper and includes his nephew, my Father.

 

He was a real character. As with most of his counterparts he mentioned very little about his wartime experiences until many decades after they were stood down. I do recall a story that he was injured by a Russian commando during unarmed combat training, resulting in a hospital visit. As the article shows he was an accomplished horticulturalist.  I understand he had some involvement in establishing the commercial growing of tomatoes on the Island during the war to plug the supply gap created by the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands".