My Family History - Part 9 - Uncle Ted & Aunty Jan

I don't recall the specifics, but I believe Uncle Ted was the next brother older than my dad Cyril. In any event, Ted was the Brown who inherited running of the China Construction Company, following the Brown's return to Hong Kong, perhaps not the immediate post-WW2 period, but certainly the 1960's period. That was when my siblings were there, prior to my birth. In the late 70's my parents went back again, that time just with my sister and me in tow, and not in the employ of the Brown company. 

But those are other tales for another post. Here we're talking about Ted and Jan. I don't remember a whole lot about Uncle Ted. I do recall meeting him at least once, when we came back from HK on holidays in the early 80's. He died sometime later that decade, while we were living overseas. I saw Aunty Jan again years later, in the early 2000's at Phil's house. Sadly, she is no longer with us either. Such is the inexorable march of time. 

I didn't have any photos of Ted and Jan myself, so I asked cousin Phil to send me some. Check these out. First is one of my parents (on the left) with Ted and Jan on the right. I suspect this was at some HK club back in the 60's. 

The next one is in the same timeframe, and likely also in HK, with my parents in the middle, flanked by Ted and Jan, and some other guy on the left.

They were a good-looking, well-to-do bunch back then. I never knew my parents at that age, as I was an accident, and they were already a fair bit older when I was born. But I wouldn't change anything of course, as I have written about before. Life has taken me just where it needs to.

As for Ted and Jan, well I don't have a lot of memories. Other family members do, not always fond ones either. But for the person I am thinking about, well most of what comes out of his mouth is negative anyway, so it's hardly a surprise. I think Ted did lead a pretty extreme life though, one that was pretty heavily booze-infused too. That was a common trait of the Browns. My dad was no good on the drink, but fortunately he didn't partake all that much, especially in my childhood. I remember one story about Ted, stopping at the pub on the way to the post office mid-morning. How much of that is true I don't know, but it is somewhat in keeping with what Phil describes about his own childhood in his book The Kowloon Kid. In many ways, Phil's and my own families upbringing were very similar, and very much Hong Kong infused. That my family did it twice says something. For my dad it was even more times, with him having lived there as a child himself too. Ted and Jan, like all that generation, are gone now. The sole survivor is my mum. It's sad, especially reflecting back on old childhood memories when there were a lot more people in the family. But it is also life. I am at terms with that. It would have been nice for my kids to have met some other members of the family, but at least they have met some.