Fighters All

Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7063, 24 January 1933, Page 9

Fighters All

THE SIX HOLBROOKS A PROUD FATHER Who is Britain’s proudest father? Surely ho is Arthur Holbrook, the 82-year-old father of tho Holbrooks. The Holbrooks are soldiers and sailors all, and every one of the six sons and also tho cheery, vigorous father, who, when he was 61 wanted to fight in the great war, has made his mark in the world.

It was a great occasion at the Landau Hampshire Society’s dinner, when the father took wine publicly for the time with all the members of his family. He who tries to persuade tho Holbrooks to talk about themselves has a hard task. But Sir Arthur relented when ho was asked to talk about his six valiant sons. He described them briefly and proudly in the following terms: — Lieut.-Colonol A. E. Holbrook, D. 5.0.: Ernest. He should have been a civil engineer—but he joined the army for the South African W’ar, and —well he stayed in the army. Rear-Admiral L. S. Horbrook (who recently retired from the command of the Australian Naval Squadron): Ho should have been a lawyer. He was always an argumentative cuss. He argued me out of it and became a sailor. Lieut.-Colonel Clauro V, Holbrook (now managing director of tho Triumph Company, tho cycle manufacturers in Coventry, and Deputy-Lieut-enant of Warwickshire): He’s been awarded the C.B.E. Yes, ho has done fairly well. Commander Norman Douglhs Holbrook (who was awarded the V.C. for diving his submarino under five rows of mines and torpedoing a Turkish battleship : Yes, ho always wanted to be a sailor; a miracle he ever got through the war.

Major Alec Wellesley Holbrook: The clever one of the family. Captain N. Worslcy Holbrook: My youngest. He bad tho most wonderful esoapes of them all. When his observation balloon was falling in flames he jumped 4000 feet in a parachute and landed unhurt. We daily thank God.

Those who did not disbelieve Sir Arthur when he gave his age in 1914 as 49 instead of 62 may bo excused, for even today ho looks a young man. He joined the volunteers at the age of ten as a drummer-boy-