As esteemed Rootschatter and bon viveur, Keith Bateman, celebrates his birthday today, I thought that perhaps it was time to reflect back on his life.
Born in 1925, Keith's childhood was spent in the shadow of the General Strike. After much training from his mother and father, he spent his early years avoiding debt collectors and census enumerators by hiding behind the sofa whenever there was a knock on the door.
It is a habit that has continued to this day, although he may be found on the 1971 census only because he confused the knock on the door of the census-taker with that of Nobby Baker, his erstwhile Pools collector.
During the war, Keith enlisted with the 17th Herefords, only afterwards realising that this was in fact a rare breed of cows rather than a regiment. He spent his war years in a quiet field in Somerset.
A keen reader, the post-war years saw Keith getting a job in the Cheshire County Council library service, where he achieved the highest honour that can be bestowed on a librarian, the
Philip Larkin Silver Toad, in 1963.
In the early '70's, Keith developed a taste for foreign travel, and since his retirement in 1985 he has spent barely a month in the UK each year as a concession to the Inland Revenue.
His postings to Rootschat from across the globe are always keenly awaited by his many readers.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEITH!______________________________________________For a more accurate acount of Keith's family history, readers could do worse than consult http://www.batemans-history.rootschat.net/ which is a cracking site!
