Robert E Hill

Robert Eric Hill when about 16Robert Eric Hill when about 22Robert E Hill when about 26Robert E Hill with Maureen Margaret Jolly
Robert E Hill with belly dancer in Lebanon in 1962 aged 45Robert E Hill at about 50Robert Eric Hill when about 56 in QatarRobert Eric Hill when about 79 in Sri Lanka

Robert Eric Hill was my father.

Robert E. Hill lived from 1917 to 2002. During that time he saw lots of change and visited many places.

When he died I found his war diary and various jottings which I have edited into this site.

I did not know my father that well – my parents divorced when I was young. In fact, I once worked out that the total time I spent with him after I was 7 (1959) until he died (2002) was less than 2 years, though, thankfully, we became much closer in his later years, albeit arguing and fighting royally from time to time. However, in the last 10 years of his life I did learn more about him and his life – including the fact that he had a brother – even my mother did not know this until it came to light in about 1996!

So when I became the executor of his will and had to go through much that he had it was a bit like having the answer to the question “what did you do in the war Dad” answered. He rarely talked about it and only twice discussed the Lancastria with me – he found that very hard and basically never swam again in his life after that experience.

This is not a biography but snapshots of his life. As you will learn if you get in to it he was fond of cars; I think they gave him a hobby in all the years he was alone after he and my mother divorced. In fact they remarried in 1999 after my stepfather died – it was my Dad’s way of making sure my mother would have his pension when he went and that has been a godsend to her. Enjoy his story.

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