Multiple complaints were sent to the ‘Tax Man’ almost 100 years ago

Commemorations will be greatly subdued due to Covid-19 restrictions but there’ll be some small, private, socially-distanced gatherings and commemorations in homes with a lot of online and streamed events.

Roamer-readers are cordially invited to e-mail details of local activities, and your VJ Day memories and accounts, to [email protected].

In a moment, a most unusual WWII assignment and a hilarious complaint sent to the tax office almost a century ago.

But first - Friday’s brief introduction to 100-year-old Tommy McBrien from Enniskillen included his service with the RAF in the far East in 1939.

“I was one of the lucky ones who got out of Singapore in 1942,” Tommy explained in a book called ‘Enniskillen In the Rare Ould Times.’

There’ll be more of his wartime memories on this page between now and the VJ Day anniversary, but he recalled buying a camera while he was in Singapore and the Rare Ould Times book is packed with wonderfully evocative photos he took when he got home.

One shows two smiling girls, Rosie Williamson and Bridie Gordon, walking down Enniskillen’s Water Street.

The parked car (singular!), hewn-stone kerb and roughly paved foot-path are vividly reminiscent of days long gone.

Staying with times past, a most amusing complaint sent to the tax office almost a century ago arrived in Roamer’s mailbox recently, sent by Florence Chambers from Dromore.

An enthusiastic member of the Banbridge Historical Society, Florence has shared more than a few intriguing tales on this page in the past.

She explained how she discovered the letter, written by her father on November 1, 1921.

“We were clearing out an old piece of furniture and found this in the back of a drawer.”

Florence added: “My father had a quirky sense of humour and enjoyed ‘fighting’ the ‘Tax Man’. He was born in 1889. The letter has a few creases but I was afraid to iron it out in case it disintegrated!”

Attributed to Mr Gus Bust, on behalf of Horace Greyballs at the delightful address - Fuddler Villa, Belfast - here’s her father’s letter in full, with all of its masterful mirth and eloquent exasperation!

“Dear Grab,

“With reference to the Weekly Envelope Scheme in connection with the Drown-the Devil Church, I find myself unable to continue subscribing to this fund for the following reasons:

“I have been held up, held down, sand-bagged, walked on, sat on, flattened out and squeezed.

“First, by our Income Tax, Super Tax, Excess Profits Tax, War Loan, War Bonds, War Savings Certificates, Automobile Tax, and by every society and organisation that the inventive mind of man can invent to extract what I may or may not have in my possession.

“From the Red Cross, St Dunstan’s, the Children’s Homes, the YMCA and the YWCA, the Double Cross, the Black Cross and every hospital in the town or country.

“The Government has governed my business so that I don’t know who owns it.

“I am inspected, suspected, examined and re-examined, informed, required and commanded so that I don’t know who I am, where I am or why I am here at all.

“All I know is that I’m supposed to be an inexhaustible supply of money for every known need, desire or hope of the human race; and because I will not sell all I have and go out and beg, borrow or steal to give away.

“I am cussed, discussed, boycotted, talked to, talked about, lied to, lied about, held up, hung up, robbed and damned near ruined; and the only reason I am clinging to life now is to see what the hell will happen next.

“I hope that I shall not be troubled any further in this connection and that you will remove my name from the list.

“Yours faithfully,

“Gus Bust.”

And finally today, as promised earlier, a most unusual WWII account.

“I came across the name of Geoffrey Bing,” a reader’s e-mail began, and continued “his father was the cleric who founded Rockport School.”

A short biography with the e-mail threw light on the Rockport connection, as well as revealing what must surely be one of the most remarkable (and mind-boggling) military duties in the history of war.

Geoffrey Henry Cecil Bing (1909–77) was a barrister and politician born on July 24. 1909 at Rockport School, Craigavad, Co. Down.

He was the son of Rev Geoffrey Bing, the Anglican clergyman who founded Rockport in 1906, and Irene Bing (née Duke).

Geoffrey junior was educated in Tonbridge, Oxford University and Princeton University, and worked as a lawyer in Gibraltar, Ghana and Nigeria.

He made a very substantial mark on history, in law and politics, and was Attorney-General in Ghana under President Nkrumah.

He authored two significant books, became Labour MP for Hornchurch in 1945, and according to his biography, during WWII Geoffrey Henry Cecil Bing “served in the Royal Corps of Signals, testing experimental parachutes.”

The mind boggles! How were experimental parachutes tested, and was there a prototype? Doubtlessly, weighted dummies were used, but someone had to make the first jump!

If anyone has any more information please send it to Roamer’s e-mail address.