War veteran helps mark release of 1921 Census
Insight into what life was like in the 1920s
As historic records from 100 years ago are published online for the first time, a West Sussex war veteran has been chosen by Findmypast to help highlight how life has changed.
Major Edwin Hunt, known as Ted, lives at Care for Veterans in Worthing and shared his story to coincide with the release of the 1921 Census of England and Wales by Findmypast and The National Archives.
The 101-year-old retired waterman said: “It’s fair to say that we are so much better off than we were in the 1920s. People talk about the good old days but as I see it, we are altogether far better off, not so much illness and not so much poverty.
“After two world wars, which cost so many lives, I’ve learned to forgive, to be more tolerant, because I certainly hope at my age that people are tolerant of my mistakes, of which there are many, far more often than there used to be.”
Ted was born in Canning Town on March 23, 1920, and served as a sapper waterman in the Second World War. He was appointed the first Queen’s Bargemaster in 1978.
Ted had twin sisters, Florence and Emily, and the family lived in a tenement.
He said: “The step was always whitewashed. There were Wanstead Flats, open country, the sandhills and the lakes, Wanstead Park and the River Roding.
“Dragonflies I remember, stepping stones that went across the River Roding, lovely memories.
“The whole district was, shall we say, a poor district and some of the children in my school went to school with no shoes. Of the 20 boys who were in my group, only nine survived the war.
“The other startling memory of the early 20s was on Saturdays we used to go with Mum to East Ham market and on Saturday mornings, there would be four old soldiers, each with one wooden leg, crutches, in the kerb singing their hearts out.
“What a difference to the way we treat one-legged amputees now. Just begging in the streets, singing for money. Terrible, terrible.”
Coming from a family of Thames watermen, Ted always wanted to work on the river and started his training at the age of 15.
With the outbreak of war, he soon joined the Army. He served at the Battle of Narvik between April and May 1940 and transported vehicles to Gold Beach on D-Day, where he commanded 15 of the Rhino ferries as a captain.
He was awarded France’s top honour, the Legion d’honneur, in 2016.
Ted was living in his own home in Lancing before he moved to Care for Veterans, with support from ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, which has published his memoirs.
Ted said: “I joined on the 13th and I was sent to Norway. If I joined on the 12th, I would have been in a different company, killed on the way from Dunkirk.”
In his later years, Ted taught navigation and watermanship at the City & East London College until 1985.
He retired from royal service in 1990 as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order.
Ted said: “I think more people now are interested in what their ancestors did.”
The release of the 1921 Census has given insight into what life was like 100 years ago. These amazing stories can be found only at findmypast. co.uk