The 1921 Census: Worthing war veteran talks of his life over the past 101 years and says ‘we are so much better off’

As historic records from 100 years ago are published online for the first time, a Worthing war veteran has been chosen by Findmypast to help highlight how life has changed.
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Major Edwin Hunt, known as Ted, lives at Care for Veterans and he shared his story to coincide with the launch of the 1921 Census of England and Wales by Findmypast and The National Archives.

The 101-year-old retired waterman said: “It’s fair to say that we are so much better off than we were in the 1920s. People talk about the good old days but as I see it, we are altogether far better off, not so much illness and not so much poverty.

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“After two world wars, which cost so many lives, I’ve learned to forgive, to be more tolerant, because I certainly hope at my age that people are tolerant of my mistakes, of which there are many, far more often than there used to be.”

Major Edwin Hunt, known as Ted, lives at Care for Veterans and he shared his story to coincide with the launch of the 1921 Census of England and Wales by Findmypast and The National ArchivesMajor Edwin Hunt, known as Ted, lives at Care for Veterans and he shared his story to coincide with the launch of the 1921 Census of England and Wales by Findmypast and The National Archives
Major Edwin Hunt, known as Ted, lives at Care for Veterans and he shared his story to coincide with the launch of the 1921 Census of England and Wales by Findmypast and The National Archives
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Ted was born in Canning Town on March 23, 1920, and served as a sapper waterman in the Second World War before being appointed the first Queen’s Bargemaster in 1978.

Ted had twin sisters, Florence and Emily, and the family lived in a tenement where the front door led straight on to the street.

He said: “The step was always whitewashed. There were Wanstead Flats, open country, the sandhills and the lakes, Wanstead Park and the River Roding. Dragonflies I remember, stepping stones that went across the River Roding, lovely memories.

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“The whole district was, shall we say, a poor district and some of the children in my school went to school with no shoes. Of the 20 boys who were in my group, only nine survived the war.

“The other startling memory of the early 20s was on Saturdays we used to go with Mum to East Ham market and on Saturday mornings, there would be four old soldiers, each with one wooden leg, crutches, in the kerb singing their hearts out.

“What a difference to the way we treat one-legged amputees now. Just begging in the streets, singing for money. Terrible, terrible.”

Ted was living in his own home in Lancing before he moved to Care for Veterans, with support from ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.

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He said: “The staff at Care for Veterans cannot do enough for you. I am so well looked after and it is a pleasure to meet fellow veterans.”

Coming from a family of Thames watermen, Ted always wanted to work on the river and started his training at the age of 15.

With the outbreak of war, he soon joined the Army. He served at the Battle of Narvik between April and May 1940 and transported vehicles to Gold Beach on D-Day, where he commanded 15 of the Rhino ferries as a captain. He was awarded France’s top honour, the Legion d’honneur, in 2016.

Ted reckoned he always had a stoke of luck on his side. He went to Surrey Docks to enlist a month after war broke out but was turned away for being a year too young. His answer was to go back the next day and add a year to his age, so he was let in.

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In his memoirs published by ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, Ted said: “I joined on the 13th and I was sent to Norway. If I joined on the 12th, I would have been in a different company, killed on the way from Dunkirk.”

In his later years, Ted taught navigation and watermanship at the City & East London College until 1985. He retired from royal service in 1990 as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order, an honour given personally by the Queen.

Ted said: “I think more people now are interested in what their ancestors did and it is important because there’s a certain pride in the family name, pride in what Grandad went through and what Great-Great-Grandad went through, and it enhances one’s chance of doing a little better yourself.”

The launch of the 1921 Census has given insight into what life was like 100 years ago. These amazing stories and lives of relatives can be found only at findmypast.co.uk.