Today would have been the birthday of my father, the man I admire most in the world, the man who overcame unbelievable odds in life to become a hugely respected soldier and member of society. I posted this status about him last year and apologise for re-posting it but I just wanted people to know. My father was born in Guyana, South America. He was beaten repeatedly for being left-handed and had his arm tied behind his back at school and forced to use his right. Subsequently, the trauma of this led to him having a stutter throughout his life. My dad came to England as a very young man back in 1956 with the Ivan Brace Jazz Band, who were fairly successful back in Guyana, South America. He settled in Tottenham but the band never reached its expectations and went their separate ways. He found a job working in the Robinsons jam factory (a brave move for a black man back in the 50’s if you remember what the Robinsons jam logo was). He met my mother after posting a lonely hearts ad in a London newspaper, they married in 1958 (another brave move as mixed race relationships were unheard of back then). My dad joined the British army becoming one of the very first black men to represent the British forces and enjoyed 22 years serving all over the world including 3 tours of Northern Ireland, Germany & Gibraltar. He adored the royal family and one of the highlights of his life was meeting the Duke Of Kent in the 70’s. He found it a huge wrench to leave his beloved Royal Fusiliers and when he was pensioned out he joined a security team policing the army barracks in Colchester until the day he died in 1997. His funeral was almost with full military honours with soldiers & officers from all over the country in attendance, I will never forget the lone piper playing the final salute as he was lowered into his grave. My dad overcame a lot of adversity and was loved by many, he was also the bravest man I have ever known. I miss him now as much as I ever have, and look forward to the day we meet again in Heaven. 23924602 Sergeant B.E. Brace, My Dad. We Salute You. God Bless
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 10:30:30 +0000
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