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- BIOGRAPHY
On 16 December 1923 Gerald Marcus was born in Perth but spent his first few years in Carnamah where his father was secretary of the Road Board. In 1927 the family returned to Perth and there his brother Dixie Clement Glaskin was born to be followed by two more brothers and three sisters. Gerry was almost 21 years older than his youngest sibling, Hilary.
As a child he was very fortunate to be surrounded by loving relatives, parents, all four grandparents as well as the five sisters of his maternal grandmother. In his dying days and under the influence of morphine he would call out for his mother, Dixie and his great aunt Fan. He had a great relationship with his mother and he understood the terrible difficulties his father endured during the depression years.
Gerry would often joke about how people chose their friends but God chooses their relatives and he could not understand all the choices made for himself. He was a very good student and obtained a scholarship but aged 15 he had to go to work to assist in the maintenance of his ever growing family.
While still at school the head-master had received a letter from The Netherlands, from a Dutch boy asking for a penfriend and this letter was handed over to Gerry. A friendship, only interrupted by the Second World War, which lasted till the death of this Dutch boy, Sjoerd Steunebrink, in 1997. Gerry recorded this friendship in his book 'One Way to Wonderland'.
'He used to work as a clerk in the Soap Factory in North Fremantle, where my father was Works Manager. When Gerry left to go to the War, Dad told him his job would be there when he came back and said, 'But don't come back here. You can do much better.' Dad was right, he did. To me he was unfailingly kind and helpful in his almost bullying way, as he was with most other writers. He wanted the best for all of us.' (Ethel Webb Bundell)
At the beginning of World War Two he enlisted in the Navy and was present in the Java sea battle. In a horrendous accident he had both arms broken. He was then taken back to Western Australia and placed in a hospital. There he befriended another sailor who was confined to a wheelchair. They would read stories and soon Gerry remarked he could write better ones. His friend challenged him to do so and, as Gerry's arms were in plaster, this friend wrote what Gerry dictated. The stories were sent to the West Australian newspaper and they were printed.
While in the Navy he exchanged passionate letters with a girlfriend but that relationship came to an end when meeting a Naval friend who showed him identical letters he had received from the same girl.
Once he could use his arms again, he went to Sydney where he changed his name slightly and tried to join the Air Force. He was sure, with his damaged arms, he would not pass the physical examination but fate, in the form of a distant relative, came to the rescue. While in a queue for various physical tests he approached the horizontal bar, knowing his arms to be too weak to lift himself from the ground. However, before he reached the bar he was approached by an officer and asked if he was a Glaskin from Western Australia and, when he said yes, was introduced to a Sergeant Ronald Glaskin, also from Western Australia, who turned out to be a cousin of Gerry's father. While chatting Gerry kept an eye on his place in the queue and when they had passed the horizontal bar, excused himself and continued with the tests. He was accepted and was sent to Canada for training.
In Canada he met Norma, they became engaged but Norma broke it off when she realised that Gerry had no liking for the cold climate of Canada and intended to return to Australia, which he eventually did. While in the observation dome of a plane, they hit an air pocket, and the plane dropped dramatically and Gerry hit the ceiling of the plane sustaining damage to his neck and spine. This damage was, in 1967, exacerbated by a surfing accident and as a result had to use a surgical collar for the rest of his life.
After the war he took several months off work and, while living in his grandmother's beach cottage, wrote his first book 'A World of Our Own' about service people returning to civilian life after the war. However, it would take several years before he could get it published and was then awarded the Commonwealth Literary Award. However, he maintained that the 'Seekers' had pinched his title for their famous song.
'Our acquaintanceship with Gerry went back a very long time--to the 1950s (actually it was 1946). My mother (Dame Mary Durack Miller) often mentioned Gerry's unfailing kindness, and how over our various family tragedies, he was always the first to offer---not just condolences--but real assistance. It was a pity that his movements were so restricted in his last years and that consequently we did not see more of him.' (Patsy Millett)
He was sent to Singapore and found he liked it. For a short while he was employed by Wearne Brothers, and started a friendship with Foster Wearne, who had survived a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. This friendship ended in the 1970s when Foster died. After leaving Wearne Brothers he joined a stockbroking firm, Lyle & Evatt in Singapore and after a period became a partner in the firm.
However, he had to restrict his financial holding in the stockbroking firm as he had to buy a house in Perth for his father and mother and his two younger sisters. His father had spent several years in Japan after the war with the occupying forces, his health had suffered badly because of working in cold storage rooms. Gerry kept on paying off the house and as well had to buy furniture for his family.
In Singapore he continued writing and approached another writer, Han Suyin, famous for her 'A Many Splendoured Thing', and the title song of the movie of this book is known by almost everyone 'Love is a many splendoured thing.' From Singapore Gerry moved to The Netherlands and then returned to Western Australia and Han Suyin moved first to France and then to Switzerland but they kept in touch and Gerry's last published book 'A Many Splendoured Woman' is the story of his friendship with her.
'My recollections of Gerry spanning these years (1956-1960) are of a handsome, athletic young man in the prime of his life when he was in Singapore working as a stockbroker. He used to come over to Johore Bahru where I was living with my first wife (Han Suyin) quite often, and as you know, he got on with her very well. So my memories of him will always have that golden haze about them.' (Leon Comber)
While water skiing in Singapore he was befriended by several Chinese water skiers and one of these, Harold Tay, remained a friend till the end.
'Gerry was one of the most important people in my life, and whatever our ups and downs, I will always remember him for so many good things that he gave me as a friend. We met in 1960---and there are so many moments and shared experiences that have raced through my mind recalling times over those forty years---whatever ups and downs I feel we were bound by ties which were more like 'family'---or closer really! Without a doubt, the best thing that happened to Gerry in all those years was meeting Leo!---and I was there when it happened ---seems like yesterday!' (Peter Hurford)
With the publication of his books his reputation as a story-teller and brilliantly descriptive writer had increased, and his books are now translated in France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan and the Scandinavian Countries. 'Flight to Landfall' and 'A Waltz Through the Hills' won him even greater popularity. Later in life he wrote three books on 'lucid dreaming'. He also wrote a book called 'Two Women', the second half of which was a combined effort between Gerry and his 90-year-old grandmother, preserving her memories and this book became a treasure for the Glaskin family.
'I'll always remember his tan, his smile and hearing him typing above me at the Elizabeth guest house in December 1957 in Singapore.' (Jill Crommelin)
Aged 34 in Singapore, he was one of three people who caught meningitis, the other two died. The doctors maintained he would not see 40 and was told to get his papers in order. In later years, almost with glee, he would tell what the doctors had said and added 'and here I am aged (up to 76), and all those doctors are dead.'
Much of 1959 and 1960 was spent in Perth, because Gerry's mother was dying of a kidney disease. In her dying days and shortly afterwards he was bullied by another friend, the late Ruby Beecham, to finish his book 'A Waltz Through The Hills', which became a Heinemann classic, and was eventually made into a film with Ernie Dingo in the main role. Later in 1960 he made a trip through the north-west of Western Australia with Paul Lee, who originally came from Malaysia. They had been brought together only because Gerry had been talking about wanting to make this trip but not alone and when Paul heard about this he volunteered. Gerry and Paul had a very adventurous and, at times, dangerous journey, which Gerry recorded in his 'The Land that Sleeps'. Paul Lee also remained a lifelong friend.
As Lyle & Evatt had been embezzled several times, he decided that when he had a certain amount of money in the bank he would quit. He did this and went to Europe where he wanted to live. England was too difficult tax wise and Spain and Greece too awkward language wise. 'I want to know whether the neighbours have a domestic or whether the house is on fire,' he maintained. As a result he settled in The Netherlands where he continued writing. In Amsterdam he met Edgar Vos. Edgar, who was the son of an acquaintance in Singapore, is an extraordinary person, who had also spent time in a Japanese Prisoner Camp in what is now Indonesia. In January 1999, Edgar visited Gerry in Perth as they, too, have remained life long friends.
'My favourite memory of Gerry comes from our early years in London. It must have been about '63 when Gerry visited us briefly for coffee one morning at a small flat we then had in Chelsea. He swept in wearing a long black overcoat and, at a fetching angle, a black Russian fur hat. Our cleaner, an old Cockney lady, was just finishing up when Gerry arrived and as I saw her out she whispered to me 'That's the handsomest man I've ever seen, is he a film star?' I told Gerry that and of course he was delighted.' (Ron Baddeley & Alan Seymour)
Even though living in The Netherlands he would frequently return to Western Australia, usually by ship as this made working easy by not having to worry about meals. In 1966 on one of these ships, he met a couple, Pieter and Rae van Aalen, as well as their three children. They became friends and the friendship with Pieter ended when he died. Rae and her three children also remained friends with Gerry till the end.
About 1967 he received a message that his father had had a stroke and regarded it time to settle back in Australia. However, his father moved in with a lady friend and Gerry exchanged the house for a flat in Cottesloe close to the beach. However, he decided to make one more trip to Europe and again stayed in one of the flats of Edgar Vos's building. One evening he had made an appointment with a Canadian Professor to meet in a nightclub, but the Professor did not turn up. On the dance floor he spotted a couple dancing and realised the male was consoling the obviously distressed female. Through a friend present, who also knew the male of this couple, he was introduced and found out this couple were only acquaintances and the girl had just received distressing news. The male of this couple, Leo van de Pas, told him about his interest in history and genealogy but was working in a bank.
Gerry who, because of his broken arms, had trouble with typing and therefor suggested that Leo van de Pas come to live in Australia and work as his assistant. After some hesitations Leo travelled to Australia and worked full time fo five years with Gerry before joining MMA while still helping with Gerry's work. Leo became his constant companion and, in the last few years, his carer. Their friendship spanned almost 32 years.
'When I went to the UK in 1976 you both gave me introductions to Peter Albany, with whom I stayed and to Ronald Strauss, with whom I worked and to Peter Hurford. Those introductions ultimately led to meeting up and eventually living with Ron Tonn. So you both have a lot to answer for! But I wouldn't have changed any of it. Gerry's and your impact on my life has been considerable and I know that I'm all the better for it. I also know that Gerry had a significant impact on other peoples' lives and now they must be all reminiscing like me and feeling some sense of sadness and loss.' (Ross Symonds)
'He was such a good and kind friend, and a wonderful mentor to me. I learned so much from him, and continue to do so as I re-read his books.' (Rob Cover)
'Gerry was always very kind and supportive towards me. I remember him sending the letters I sent from England, back to me with spelling and grammar corrections, as I suffer from dyslexia. He was also very helpful and bridging a gap between me and my parents, when we did not communicate at all effectively. And of course that lovely antique camera he gave me when he realized my interest in photography. I remember Gerry showing up for dinner looking very smart in a trench coat, and his love for Chablis I think, and of course those pop up sunglasses he wore in Bali. A very clever and very very kind man, I will miss him.' (Tom Warden)
In his last years he was still actively working and produced several more books as well as assisting Leo van de Pas with his genealogical and historical ventures. Through this he met up with many distant Glaskin relatives, in England as well as in Canberra and, in Perth, David Buchanan, a second cousin once removed, who has been another person who retained a friendship with Gerry.
'So very sorry to hear about Mr. Glaskin. Strange as it may seem I had just finished reading again 'A Waltz Through the Hills' which he gave me in 1973. Treasured memories of days gone by.' (Mrs. E. Blount)
'I was saddened but not surprised to receive your letter of Gerry's death. I could not imagine him happy in a nursing home. A man who packed three lives into one could not be happy to live on the sideline. As you say, it was a release from pain. But from your description he faced that difficulty with the kind of courage only those who have lived as they wished to and have accomplished what they set out to do can have.' (D.Jason Cooper)
Gerry was an extraordinary person who enriched the lives of those he touched. On 11 March 2000, at 03.05 in the morning, he died in Perth's Hollywood Private Hospital.
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