Pakenham Village Tributes : Basil Truss

For many of us who remember Basil and came across him he walked down Fen Road would have the memory of a mild mannered, well bred, gentleman. A man whom, we remember would doff his hat as a mark of salutation to a lady when meeting. An always smart well attired man typical of the fifties era with an obvious military bearing.

A man from a different more ordered time than we know today which he was.

Basil was born in India in April 1922, his parents Richard and Alice were blessed with four sons Dickie, Donny, Basil and Teddy and daughter Jennifer. Richard his father was tragically killed in Afghanistan whilst fighting in the Indian Army in 1938 which was at that time part of the British Raj, when India as many other parts of the world owed its allegiance to the declining power of Britain as a major world player.

Basil's early education was in India as was his dear wife to be Pat.

Basil and his brother Teddy as they grew older were sent to England to further their education at the Salesian College in Chertsey where he stayed until his education was over. He returned home to India and in 1942 joined The Kings Own Bombay Sappers and Miners as an Emergency Commission 2nd Lt. He was 20 years old. Basil fought in Burma in the ferocious and difficult battles against the then advancing Japanese Army, in fact his 21 st birthday was spent somewhere in a dug-out in the jungles of Burma. Basil transferred to the Gurkha Rifles Brigade, those fearsome little fighters who can take a lot of the credit for turning the tide on the Japanese Army and altering the course of the war in the Far East.

The war over and he was released in 1947 as Captain 1/7 Gurkha Rifles and departed from Rangoon to England. He loved India, it was his birthplace and his home; he was fluent in the language and loved the people.

Both Basil and Pat's families were close friends with both families history revolving around the Indian Army and so one of Basil's first visits on his return to England was to Pat's family home. Recently Pat said "As soon as he walked into the room I knew he was the man for me". Pat and Basil married in 1950. Their two girls Gillian born 1952 and Kitty born 1955.

Basil trained as a Chiropodist and worked for Scholls in Sheffield and then transferred to llford as manager. Basil moved on to work for Hoover Ltd. in llford covering Barking and Chingford. Basil then moved to Suffolk with Hoover where they rented a house in Whepstead, moving on to Tostock where they bought a property. At this time Pat's father was living with them, then after the death of Pat's father they moved to Phoenix Cottage Pakenham, then on to their present bungalow in Fen Road, built by son-in-law Tony where they have lived for close on 20 years.

Basil has suffered with Parkinson's Disease for 15 years, had 2 heart attacks but still managed to potter about and he loved to feed his birds. For Pat it has been a long sad time, a time of caring and devotion looking after her once dashing young captain and devoted father to his girls, who gave generously to his beloved Gurkhas and whose final completed wish was to leave his brain and spinal chord for research by the Parkinson's Disease Society.

It rained when he was buried. Tears for a great man.

PV&CN - July 2014