No more for me a soldier's life, When all the fighting's done. I'm off back home to find a wife, And get myself a son. Please God, I'll have a daughter, too, I'll have to call her Susan If 'tis my dearest Susan who Will have me as her man. Then Sue will play with little John - For John it's sure to be - Whilst I with eagle eye watch on Lest one should graze a knee. A lovers' nest our little home - The children on the mat - Never more I'll have to roam: I often think of that. I often think of this the while I gaze at stars o'erhead, And, in muddy slit-trench style, I get me down to bed. How grand to watch the kiddies grow Without a thought of war Where I have been they'll never go - That's what I'm fighting for. By John Patrick Finigan, Holland 1944
John and
members of "The Coffee Club," used to venture down to Bournemouth
during the summer holidays and find summer jobs, John worked as a barman in the
pavilion. During the term time, there used to be dances or "hops," it
was at one of these that John first met Frankie Finigan. Frankie was an orphan
who was looked after by her aunt; mother Theresa (Or auntie Stella). There was
strong opposition to the marriage due to an age difference and John's rather
"Devil may care," attitude to life (see "A song to
Bacchus!") Any opposition merely strengthened the bond between them. A
memory of Frankie's was one of John and his friend marching along a street
underneath a blanket and holding daffodils, they were very drunk. Some very
touching letters were found after the death of Frankie and John, I have not
included any: the strength of feeling expressed is not one that should be made
public, as it is John's private feelings for
Frankie.
Frankie and John married as soon as they were qualified. John's mother gave them enough money to buy a small house and she also gave them some furniture. After a few months, Frankie was pregnant. The start of their family turned out to be Joan and Jane the twins, born in 1953. Jerry followed in 1955, Timothy in 1958, Mary in 1961 and Sarah in 1967.
Despite John's carefree attitude, he was a good man. He was a Roman Catholic, but not a very devout one, but during his college days he became more thoughtful and philosophical. It seems that he experienced a spiritual change during this time, partly because of his Divinity studies at college; (The equivalent of religious studies).
John
started off his career as a sports teacher; he then became a deputy head
teacher at St.Mary's Primary School in Croydon. The family then moved into a
Victorian terraced house of six bedrooms. It badly needed decorating, and soon
Frankie and John argued over interior decoration. An inevitable result tended
to be the most clashing and ugly combinations that one could possibly hope for!
John was in charge of a class of
less able children that were labelled "Retards."
John was good at increasing the children's self
esteem. He often used sport to boost the children's confidence and in this way,
John had very successful results with his pupils. John would put extraordinary
amounts of effort into the school's sports teams. This meant that the children,
in turn, put more effort into their sports, and St. Mary's had the best
football, cricket and Boxing teams in Croydon. Many of John's ex-pupils still
tell his children how much they owe him.
