Ted’s long passage to Australia began with a train ride. The moment became a significant memory for his younger sister, Annie, who was born after World War II ended.
“My first memory of Ted is of waving goodbye to him at a station,” she said.
“I was about three and with my nan and my mum. I still have an image in my head of him leaning out of the train window and waving to us as it pulled away.
“I felt quite sad but had no real understanding that he wouldn’t be coming back for 26 years.”
Ted and his younger sister, Annie
When he reached the port Ted boarded the Mooltan, which would take him to his new life in Australia.
As the ship reached the Suez Canal in Egypt, Ted looked out at the water and saw a face he didn’t expect to see.
“Ray must have known what time my boat would be coming through, so he came alongside it in the motor torpedo boat,” he said.
“He couldn’t come aboard — that was one of the rules of the Egyptians — but he tied up to the ship for a little while to say goodbye."
Ted's brother, Ray, in a boat tied to the Mooltan in the Suez Canal