On his return from Germany and after a period of rehabilitation Ian started a Teacher training course, which is where he met his future wife Margaret, who had been serving in the Women’s’ Royal Naval service.

On qualifying, Ian took up a post in a school in Manchester, teaching Maths, and running a boys Rugby team, a sport he had enjoyed playing and joined a local Rugby team playing at the weekends. Margaret returned to her hometown of Derby, where she taught English and History, in a girl’s Secondary school. They met up at weekends and decided to get married in 1948 and set up home in a flat in Manchester. Ian’s enthusiasm for Rugby increased and he was eventually chosen to play for his home County of Cumberland, fitting in schoolboy Rugby matches on Saturday mornings. By the time he reached 40, he was “persuaded” to give up playing Rugby and he started to play golf with the same enthusiasm

Their son Stuart was born in 1950, Margaret giving up teaching for the next four years, Ian taking up teaching at an Adult evening class to supplement income. This enabled them to buy their first house. Margaret returned to teaching and a few years later retrained as a teacher of the deaf, in which field she remained until retirement. With the easing of restrictions on foreign travel, their first overseas holiday was to Brittany and Paris, which was most enjoyable. This was followed by visits to Austria, Switzerland and Germany by car and later by air to other Mediterranean countries.

Before leaving school, Stuart was offered the chance of going on an AFS scholarship, where he would live with an American family and go to school there, He lived with a family in California, near Los Angeles for eight months, going to school there and meeting students from all over the world and it was a wonderful experience for him. He returned to go to University to take a Fine Art degree, after which he taught in a Manchester school, before moving on to one in Yorkshire. California was in the blood and having previously met an American girl, he left England and did his masters degree and settled in California, marrying in 1980. They have two daughters aged 19 and 12. (2009).

Ian retired from teaching at fifty eight years of age, due to health problems and Margaret retired two years later, so they were free and able to spend time in California with their family and ended knowing a lot about the state of California and enjoying their family Unfortunately Ian’s mobility problems have made it impossible to endure such a lengthy journey any more and the family are unable to come over as frequently, but we have a long telephone conversation each Sunday and we are hoping to see Stuart and his eldest daughter for a few days in October.

Ian has been a member of the Manchester Rotary Club for many years and although he is unable to get to the meetings the members keep in touch and inform him of the activities, so at least he has contacts with the outside world Despite the trauma of being a prisoner of war, life has been good to him in many ways – including 61 years of a happy marriage, a lovely son and good friends and to live to 88 is an achievement in itself.

Ian and Margaret Hamilton April 2009.

Photo: Alan Frost

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