These paintings and sketches have been put together by Fred Hawkes from the 1970s up to 2018.
His story
Frederick John Hawkes was born on the 20th May 1937 to his parents Arthur and Anne…he was the younger brother to his sister Florrie…so the family home in West Ham, East London became a little busier.
Two years later World War Two broke out and turned everyone’s life upside down…especially if you lived anywhere in the capital…so the family moved to Collier Row in Romford Essex.
Although a little safer the family would have still witnessed the war planes in the skies above.
Fred used to talk about the flying bombs or Doodlebugs as they were known; which made a funny sound from their engines as they flew.
People would pray that engine would keep going, sending the bomb somewhere else, because if it stopped the bomb would fall and explode…which it did one day, flattening the local cinema.
Fred attended school in Collier Row whilst the war continued and it was here that the children all called him Fred…maybe the teachers were the only ones that called him Frederick…and also his Mum when he misbehaved. He played in his street, Lynton Avenue, as a child, with his lifelong friend, Brian Cook
The war came to an end in 1945 and Essex and the rest of the world returned to some sort of normality…Fred took his Eleven Plus Exam…passed and moved on from Collier Row to Romford Technical School.
He did quite well there and became interested in engineering. Fred left Romford Tech after gaining an apprenticeship in engineering with a local firm Dawnays Limited
Fred served his apprenticeship with Dawnays, achieving his qualifications aged twenty-one…it was here that he met another good friend Robin Rolfe.
The apprenticeship delayed him being called up to serve his National Service by three years.
Then aged twenty one Fred joined the RAF and did his basic training at RAF Cardington, then served at RAF Locking in Somerset and RAF Trimingham in Norfolk, working on electrical and radar.
Fred was de-mobbed after serving his two years and returned home and to his job at Dawnays. He left Dawneys after a while and took a job with Ropeways before moving on to take a position as Plant Engineer at Ford`s of Dagenham.
In 1965 Fred transferred with Ford and took a position at their Swansea Plant, travelling home every other weekend…as you can imagine Fred and his girlfriend Vron missed each other terribly…so he asked her to marry him.
Following the wedding Fred and Veronica moved to Wales…in 1968 their son Nick was born and two years later Jacq was born and completed the family.
During his time in Swansea Fred studied for his engineering examination where he passed and became a Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers
The spring of 1970 saw the family returning to England, as Fred gained a position with a firm of consulting engineers…White Young, based in Stevenage.
The family lived with Veronica`s parents for a while before settling in the family home in Shefford.
Fred undertook his role as a structural engineer and this led on to a long term career…working not only in the UK but several parts of the world, including Libya and Japan.
In 1975 he was asked to carry out a project in Indonesia for several months, he was not keen as he would be leaving Veronica again and the children were only seven and five.
In the end, the firm agreed that the whole family could go, they were there for some four months, and in that time they travelled to Malaysia…Singapore for the Chinese New Year and went to Kuala Lumpur.
A memorable trip for the whole family and the children gained a wealth of knowledge and understanding of different cultures.
Back at home, the holidays were a little less exotic but no less memorable, they spent many happy times back in Wales…to the coast there on Gower.
They often rented holiday cottages on the east coast, at Mundesley, Cromer and Mablethorpe and when the children were older they went to Woolacombe in Devon. The other memorable holidays they took were on Thames cruisers, a boat on Loch Ness and many canal boats, where Nick and Jacq became proficient at opening and closing locks,
Nick remembers a special holiday with his Dad to Scotland in 1984 where they climbed Ben Nevis together…whilst Veronica and Jaq preferred a continental holiday in the sun.
Those UK trips were replaced as time went on with family holidays to Greece and Portugal.
Fred enjoyed his structural engineering and in the early 1990’s he was voted in as Chairman of the Institution of Structural Engineers at the Bedfordshire and adjoining counties branch. He was presented with his ‘gong’ at one of the many dinners he attended at the Swan Hotel in Bedford.
Fred worked at White Young for some twenty-six years becoming an Associate Director for the firm…but in 1996 he was made redundant.
He then worked for a former colleague Paul Day who had set up his own structural engineering company…Fred worked for Paul until he retired.
Retirement gave more time to spend with the family and to enjoy more holidays together…Fred and Veronica have taken trips together to Cyprus and Crete to name a couple, and also visited Fred’s niece in Spain. They spent their 40th wedding anniversary in Australia which was so enjoyable that it made them decide to go further afield to New Zealand and Canada.
But what of the essence of Fred, what kind of a man was he? When I asked the family that question, they said:
`Dad was a family man…dedicated and loyal to us, his work and to his friends.
He was also loyal to the Queen. At home every Christmas everything stopped at 3 o’clock as he watched the Queen’s speech, affectionately calling her “Liz”.
He was a popular person, especially at the pub on those quiz nights…he was amusing and enjoyed a joke.
Nick said:
“Dad was my hero”`.
When the grandchildren were asked about Grandad they said
“They loved Grandad, he was a lovely person – very logical and creative. He was great with art and engineering. He was just such a lovely person they understand why Nanny married him”
Fred had quite a few hobbies…one being painting…he was very artistic and you can see his work hung around the house and Nick made him this website so that others could see his work…he also painted for other people as well.
He liked those black and white war films and westerns…and his musicals …anything by Cole Porter or George Gershwin…his favourite was Rhapsody In Blue.
Fred enjoyed most sport, especially the rugby and the cricket…and then there was football …being born in West Ham and being brought up in Essex, it was no surprise what team he supported…The Hammers. Fred watched them at Upton Park as a teenager and Nick followed his passion for the team as he grew up and they both went to watch them in 1975 together.
In recent years they both supported them from afar via the TV, as they played in their new ground at the London Stadium…the claret and blue colours remain in the house in Shefford.
Fred came home and enjoyed watching the Cup Final with Nick, and spent his birthday at home in May with the family, but then he then returned to the hospital in June, and it was there that he sadly passed away on the morning of the 30th.
We must end Fred`s story there, but with happier memories of him…maybe on holiday with Veronica by his side…a night at the pub quiz…or simply at home with friends and family enjoying the friendly banter.
Enjoy his paintings and sketches on this website dedicated to his creative flair and big personality.
