Copyright © 1999 - 2006 Ronald M Penn
Cherry Blossom Shoe Polish
Dan & Charles Mason, pioneers of the shoe polish industry in Chiswick
The Penn's of Chiswick Products 5
THE PENN'S OF CHISWICK PRODUCTS Ltd Page 5 of 5
"In June 1944, I made a decision that was eventually to affect my whole future life. The three young laboratory assistants employed in the Chiswick Products laboratory, Tom Varley, Jim Brown and myself, all felt that we were being unfairly and harshly treated by the Chief Chemist. In retrospect, he was probably was not really as unfair as we thought, but he certainly was a strict disciplinarian. However, as a result of this, all three of us decided to volunteer for the Royal Navy to serve in the Naval Canteen Service, at that time, the only section of the navy that would take people who wore spectacles. Rather naturally, the Chief Chemist was far from happy at losing all his junior staff at once and made no bones about telling us so.
There is little doubt that the occurrence of "D-Day" on 6th June 1944, played quite a big part in the decision of Tom, Jim and I to join the Royal Navy and to get some of the action before the war was over. I remember "D-Day" very well. Our family, like many others, had been woken early by the sound of hundreds of aircraft flying over our home, some towing gliders, and stretching as far as the eye could see, so it was therefore not a surprise when the announcement was made that the long-awaited landings in France had commenced. I clearly remember that I was standing at my laboratory bench, making up a test batch of boot polish when at 9.32am, the voice of B.B.C. announcer John Snagge came over the internal public address system that was normally used to broadcast "Music While You Work" in the factory areas and important staff messages in the offices and laboratory. Although we had guessed that something big had happened, the announcement made by John Snagge that the invasion of France had started, still caused quite a stir everywhere, even among the normally rather sedate senior members of the laboratory staff, but even more so among the three junior staff members".
After volunteering for service in the Royal Navy Ron enlisted on 31st October 1944, and after serving for an initial period at Westcliff, did his basic training at Chatham Naval Barracks (HMS Pembroke). He was then posted to HMS Lynx, a shore base at Dover, Kent, where he served for seven months before being posted overseas. He joined HMS Reaper at Rosythe, Scotland, and travelled to Australia via Cherbourg, New York, Norfolk, Virginia, and the Panama Canal, before arriving in Sydney, Australia on 10th September 1945. Whilst HMS Reaper was in the Mexican Gulf, prior to entering the Panama Canal, the two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan that brought the war to a sudden end. Ron, with almost everyone on board the Reaper, attended a Thanksgiving Service held on the flight deck.
On his arrival in Sydney, Ron was transferred to HMS Golden Hind, a Royal Navy shore base at Warwick Farm and was later posted to waterfront area Wooloomooloo in Sydney. In early October 1945, he met a young Sydney Teacher's College student Betty Wearne, and Ron and Betty became constant companions whenever Betty's studies and Ron's naval commitments would allow.
Ron returned to England aboard HMS Indefatigable in July 1946, and almost immediately sent a cable to Betty to tell her that he would be returning to Australia at the earliest possible date. He obtained a position as a Laboratory Assistant at the London
School of Medicine for Women, and in March 1947, sought selection under the free passage scheme to Australia for ex-servicemen and woman.
Because his job was connected with the medical profession, Ron was given top priority for the scheme and sailed for Australia aboard RMS Orion on 3rd June 1947. His arrival in Sydney, Australia on 7th July 1947 is recorded on" The Welcome Wall" at Pyrmont, on the shores of Sydney Harbour, next to the National Maritime Museum. His name is inscribed on Panel number 010, Column number, Line number 023 of the wall. Soon after his arrival back in Sydney, Ron obtained a position as a Laboratory Assistant in the newly created Department of Veterinary Physiology at the University of Sydney.
Ron and Betty in Sydney on 7th July, 1947
He remained with the department for forty years, being involved with the practical class teaching program, various research projects (including the very early days of the deep frozen storage of bull semen and artificial insemination in cattle) and the management of the department. He retired from the University of Sydney in September 1987 having progressed to the position of manager of the department in which had started work forty years earlier.
Ron has used his retirement to enjoy being with his wife and family, to continue his role as a leader in the Scout movement that he commenced in 1963, and in writing a family history book that will make sure that his three children and two grandsons are fully aware of their English heritage. However, his ties with Chiswick are stronger than ever and he greatly appreciates the new friends that he has made in today's Chiswick via the internet and the opportunity to reacquaint himself with some old ones.
"PENNing a History" is currently being prepared for limited publication in Sydney, Australia.
Ron Penn can be contacted by email at rmpenn@bigpond.com
June 2006
The title "PENNing a History" is Copyright ©1990 - 2006 Ronald M Penn all rights reserved.
