My Brother (part 1)

My brother Tony (Anthony David) was 9 years older than me and was born while my parents were living in Gibraltar. I can remember that he was in a musical show held at my junior school (Corpus Christi), I think it was based on the 'Ralph Reader Gang Show' and he was in the chorus singing 'All the nice boys love a sailor'. That I can remember but when ........... that I do not know!!
I remember losing the key to the front door one day after school, I had to wear it round my neck 'cos he couldn't be trusted to look after it. I had dropped it down the drain in the kerb (don't ask me why ......... I was only little!!). Several friends tried to help me get it back but we all failed and then round the corner came my big brother. He lifted off the drain cover and put his arm down into that murky water and retrieved the key, what a hero!!! We all applauded and his street cred went up!
When I left Mrs Creanen's class and went into the first Junior class - with such an awful teacher - I came home crying and cried and cried. My mother told me to try to cheer up as it was Tony's birthday and his friends would be coming round and I didn't want them to see me crying. So I dried my eyes and went downstairs to Tony's 16th Birthday party and sat down. Several hours later it was decided that no-one was coming to his party - his birthday was 23rd July.
At some point about this time there happened an horrific scene - to my small mind. I heard shouting and came upstairs, my mother was on the landing shouting at my father who was in Tony's room. As I looked through the open door into the room, my father brought a chair down onto my brother's back and then my mother brought me down stairs. Years later I found out that my brother stole, not only from my mother's purse but anything he could lay his hands on (in retrospect - I think all children pass through a stealing stage which must be handled with love). This time he had taken his stamp collection - worth quite a bit of money - and he had 'sold' it to one of his school friends and it was the final straw for my father.
There is another memory of him see 'Queen's Coronation'
As soon as he was old enough, my brother joined the Royal Artillery and only appeared now and then. After we moved to Hall Green, he was only home occasionally, I can remember the pride I felt as he stood to attention, in his 'dress uniform', when the National Anthem was played at the cinema. He came home for my sister's wedding, and sometimes afterwards - another proud moment when he accompanied me to church, once again in his dress uniform. He was posted to Gibraltar (one time bringing me a pair of pink silk pyjamas and slippers in a beautiful pink silk case). Then he was posted back to England, and we saw very little of him - he was my hero.
I was about 14 when he came home with a wife and child. It was a shock to 'the grown ups', my parents had bad feelings about her but she was Tony's wife ........... Pat stayed at ours with baby Jackie, who was about 12months old, after Tony went to Germany .......... she wasn't a nice person - but saying that, she was young, in a strange town with unknown people. She wanted the single life and resented the baby at times. Happenings that I cannot write here, but I think that we were all relieved when she eventually went to join Tony in Germany. They had three more children, Patricia, Dawn and Anthony Jr. We received letters and a couple of photos over the years, but they never came home to us.
In 1968 Tony came back into our lives, dishevelled, distraught and sitting on Ena's doorstep. He had come home from work to find Pat in bed with his best friend! He could remember very little after that until Ena came home and found him on her doorstep.