Stanley Walter Beer; a life
Title
Stanley Walter Beer; a life
30th June 1920 - 15th February 2018
Description
A biography of Stanley used as his funeral address.
Date
2018
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Two typewritten sheets
Conforms To
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
MBeerSW176975-210410-060001, MBeerSW176975-210410-060002
Transcription
[inserted] Edited Funeral Address. [/inserted]
[underlined] Stanley Walter Beer: a life
30th June 1920 – 15th February 2018 [/underlined]
Born in the East End of London, registered in the sub-district of Limehouse, so a real Cockney, Stan grew up in a family with an older sister, who died in infancy of diptheria, [sic] two younger sisters, and younger brother. Stan’s father, Walter Archibald, a Printer’s Compositor by trad,e [sic] later became a Master Printer. His mother, Ellen Elizabeth, looked after the family. School photos show Stan as a solemn little boy, but with a hint of the dry wit which would make itself known in later years. He learned to play the violin at school and there were school trips to Devon with the school orchestra. (I was told that he won a scholarship to Grammar School, but the family needed his in-put financially.)
He left school at 14 and went to an apprenticeship as a panel-beater and spray-painter with a company based on the Commercial Road where he was at the outbreak of World War II. This was a reserved occupation, so joining up could not happen until he had completed the apprenticeship. He left with very positive references and joined the Royal Air Force. Training took place all over the country and he was eventually posted to Gillingham in Kent. There he set eyes on Peggy, a Leading Wren based in Chatham, and determined to marry her. This he did in October 1942. He was posted to Skipton and lived for some time in Thirsk. They were there when their daughter was born in 1946, hence her arrival in the Bishop’s Place which was being used as a nursing home.
In the RAF he qualified as a Wireless Operator in January 1943 and as Airgunner in February of the same year. He was posted to Bomber Command, where the survival chances were about 1 in 2. His flight log book shows missions over Germany, France and mine-laying over Brest. After de-mobilisation, the Canadian airmen with whom he flew were keen for him to emigrate to Canada and join them there, but Stan was not too keen on the climate: the cold and damp of the East End of his childhood had created a fear of chest ailments. Being in Bomber Command was made almost an issue of shame after the war, and Stan never really talked much about his experiences. However, his log book shows some long and dangerous sorties, including damage to the Halifax bomber after the Peenemunde raid in August 1943 which led to an emergency landing in Stradishall. Obviously he was very lucky to survive, as so many men were captured or died as a result of these raids. Many South Africans were not really interested in a war that had been fought in another hemisphere.
A future in the UK was going to be difficult for a man with a wife and child, so Stan decided to follow up an advertisement for employment in the motor industry in the Union of South Africa, then a part of the British Commonwealth. His interview took place in September 1947 and in November of that year he was on his way to Cape Town. His wife and child were to follow once he had secured a permanent address, so in April 1948 they joined him, settling in a suburb of Johannesburg which supportive of Germany and Hitler’s National Socialists during the war years.
[page break]
As far as work was concerned, Stan soon moved from Herbert Evans, the paint and finishes company he originally worked for, to Plascon Paints, a new South African company started up by Sol and Sammy Rudner, two Jewish brothers. Stan became well-known as the industrial finishes expert and joined the board of Directors as one of the international members, along with German, Swiss and Dutch experts in the field.
After a number of years, their daughter having returned to the UK, the decision was made to return to England, where there were now grand-children to be enjoyed. They settled for a time in Willand, but the warmth and sunshine of SA beckoned and they went back there for about 8 years, before finally settling in Exeter at Kingsgate, where they made good companions during their last years.
[underlined] Stanley Walter Beer: a life
30th June 1920 – 15th February 2018 [/underlined]
Born in the East End of London, registered in the sub-district of Limehouse, so a real Cockney, Stan grew up in a family with an older sister, who died in infancy of diptheria, [sic] two younger sisters, and younger brother. Stan’s father, Walter Archibald, a Printer’s Compositor by trad,e [sic] later became a Master Printer. His mother, Ellen Elizabeth, looked after the family. School photos show Stan as a solemn little boy, but with a hint of the dry wit which would make itself known in later years. He learned to play the violin at school and there were school trips to Devon with the school orchestra. (I was told that he won a scholarship to Grammar School, but the family needed his in-put financially.)
He left school at 14 and went to an apprenticeship as a panel-beater and spray-painter with a company based on the Commercial Road where he was at the outbreak of World War II. This was a reserved occupation, so joining up could not happen until he had completed the apprenticeship. He left with very positive references and joined the Royal Air Force. Training took place all over the country and he was eventually posted to Gillingham in Kent. There he set eyes on Peggy, a Leading Wren based in Chatham, and determined to marry her. This he did in October 1942. He was posted to Skipton and lived for some time in Thirsk. They were there when their daughter was born in 1946, hence her arrival in the Bishop’s Place which was being used as a nursing home.
In the RAF he qualified as a Wireless Operator in January 1943 and as Airgunner in February of the same year. He was posted to Bomber Command, where the survival chances were about 1 in 2. His flight log book shows missions over Germany, France and mine-laying over Brest. After de-mobilisation, the Canadian airmen with whom he flew were keen for him to emigrate to Canada and join them there, but Stan was not too keen on the climate: the cold and damp of the East End of his childhood had created a fear of chest ailments. Being in Bomber Command was made almost an issue of shame after the war, and Stan never really talked much about his experiences. However, his log book shows some long and dangerous sorties, including damage to the Halifax bomber after the Peenemunde raid in August 1943 which led to an emergency landing in Stradishall. Obviously he was very lucky to survive, as so many men were captured or died as a result of these raids. Many South Africans were not really interested in a war that had been fought in another hemisphere.
A future in the UK was going to be difficult for a man with a wife and child, so Stan decided to follow up an advertisement for employment in the motor industry in the Union of South Africa, then a part of the British Commonwealth. His interview took place in September 1947 and in November of that year he was on his way to Cape Town. His wife and child were to follow once he had secured a permanent address, so in April 1948 they joined him, settling in a suburb of Johannesburg which supportive of Germany and Hitler’s National Socialists during the war years.
[page break]
As far as work was concerned, Stan soon moved from Herbert Evans, the paint and finishes company he originally worked for, to Plascon Paints, a new South African company started up by Sol and Sammy Rudner, two Jewish brothers. Stan became well-known as the industrial finishes expert and joined the board of Directors as one of the international members, along with German, Swiss and Dutch experts in the field.
After a number of years, their daughter having returned to the UK, the decision was made to return to England, where there were now grand-children to be enjoyed. They settled for a time in Willand, but the warmth and sunshine of SA beckoned and they went back there for about 8 years, before finally settling in Exeter at Kingsgate, where they made good companions during their last years.
Collection
Citation
“Stanley Walter Beer; a life,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 29, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/40913.
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