Remembering Jeff Scholey

[HarryScholey]

Hi thankyou for those stories. My dad and auntie sat reading your posts last night and 'Crapper and Napper' made us all laugh!

They would be very keen to know more stories about Jeff! Let us know if there would be any opportunity for them to have a chat with any of you!

 

My Dad, Harry Scholey, said to mention that it would have been my uncle Arnold (who died young in 1994 with heart problems) sat with my grandad at Geoff's parents' home. They were always together.

 

Thanks and we very much look forward to hearing from you.

[Texas]

Another small anecdote on Jeff. Anybody remember him going on about his 'Sheaffer' fountain pen? He was really proud of that pen. Again, it would be the late 50's, and he took it to Australia with him 'cause he would write occasionaly and the letters were always in ink, well written, and obviously by a 'proper pen'. I remember they were quite expensive back then. It's nothing really, but I can never hear or read about 'Sheaffer' pens without remembering Jeff.

I also remember walking down the Moor on the way to the old 'Locarno'. It was about the time when the Russians put a dog in a big tin can and sent it around the moon. There was Jeff, Kenny Hartley, Barney Cummings and myself. We'd had a couple but not stupid, serious bets were placed on who would land on the moon first, Russia or America. I don't remember who my money was on, and Barney, being the most trustworthy, held the bread.

I think the sum was about a fiver. Actually, I think my money was on Russia and now I'm the only one left, can I claim?

[janinebird]

Hi, i'm a bit late coming to this, I hope there are still people reviewing it....I am Janine (Geoff's daughter)

 

It has been so wonderful today happening upon this forum, reading your stories has made me smile and helps keep my dad alive....I miss him so much, even all these years later.

 

If anyone is out there it would be great to catch up, I definitely have stories to tell... It would be great to catch up with my cousins and uncles/aunts if you are out there too....a bit like my dad I went into a wilderness after I lost him.

 

But am back now

[janinebird]

Texas, I remember his fountain pens, he always had a beautiful hand...he believed that writing was an art, probably something that gelled for him when he spent time in Japan. Unfortunately dad was a fabulous letter writer (when he got around to it) you would have pages and pages of very fine blue almost tissue paper like pages, with his strong artistic writing style, he would tell funny anecdotes, urge me to do well at whatever I under took and always said to me "Carpe deum" he certainly did and I try to live that way myself...

[janinebird]

Texas, It was Jeff's brother who migrated to Australia while still a teenager (15 or 16) under some Big Brotherhood Scheme and it was he, according to Jeff who was working in the cane fields. If anyone has ever heard of the Big Brotherhood Scheme maybe they could enlighten me.

Jeff and I were pretty close for about three years. I had known him for quite a while being both from Pitsmoor (Jeff from Crabtree) but it wasn't until we were both out of the army around 1955 that we got together. My recollection was that Jeff was stationed on a US Airbase in Korea and got to know a few US Airmen, one of whom, a staff sergeant (Frank Lustig) from Columbus Ohio, was later stationed at Brise Norton, Oxfordshire. Jeff and I on a few occasions, would meet up with Frank and another airman, who's name I don't remember, in London for a weekend.

I recall on one occasion that the guy who's name I don't remember was wearing his uniform and I was advised by a young lady I was dancing with in the Hammersmith Palais to beat a hasty retreat and we did.

Jeff and I had planned to sail to New York and enlist in the US Airforce, however things didn't work out that way and I fell in love, got married and Jeff went to Australia to join his brother. But I did finish up living in the States (via Canada) where I am now happily retired.

Some years later around 1989 / 1990 I was working in Brisbane and tried to contact Jeff without success. I did manage to contact Jeff's brother who told me that Jeff had returned to Sheffield and was living with a woman there. He didn't tell me why he left but I got the impression that he had left under a cloud. He did give me an address to write to but sadly I never got a reply.

During some of my infrequent visits to Sheffield I tried to get in touch with Jeff through other friends but without success. I did learn from one friend that Jeff was playing the tenor.

I found a letter just recently that I received from Jeff when he was working in Blackpool for the season, must have been 1958. I have many happy memories of our friendship and some of the things we got up to in our youth. It was a great period in my life and it's sad to think that we will not meet again but that's life I guess.

 

Hi Gerry,

 

I was in the passport off today and they asked me my dad's D.O.B so I thought perhaps I could look it up via google and there I found your wonderful thread about the early life and times of my dad, it has been such a wonderful surprise to find that people have such happy memories of him, I have lots of stories from his time in N.Z where he met and married my mum the result of which was me (his daughter) and my younger brother. It would be wonderful to catch up with you and hear more of your times together....

 

I hope you receive this

 

Kind regards

 

Janine

[fleetwood]

Hi janinebird - Thanks for your PM, first of all I found it most interesting and probably the last thing that I thought I would ever receive, although I realise these type of things are happening all the time. I'm going to choose to reply to you on the forum as I'm sure other people will want to connect with you and will ultimately make for less duplication etc. As I have mentioned before I first met Geoff as a youngster when I used to visit my grand parents and aunt and uncle who lived close by and what I have gathered (from forum info) that must have been only when he came in with his dad Sam who incidentally was a good friend of my Grandfather, I don't believe they lived there at the business premises and makes sense that I don't remember him at any schools that I attended in the area. Again as I have already mentioned on the thread I remember Geoff and his sister Beulah who was a couple of years younger but not any other siblings, I would see him very infrequently as I reached my late teen years and even less during my army service but do recall some connection after and I seem to remember we had this common interest in jazz. It might have been at one of these later meetings that he said he was thinking about emigrating and I'm sure he was talking Canada at that time, now I know that didn't happen (it did for me though). The rest of Geoff's story (times ,dates where and when etc) is only what I have been able to glean for myself off the forum and is still a bit of a mystery to me, so I will say so-long for now janinebird, I would be most interested in finding out from you a rough itinerary of sorts of Geoffs departure and return to the UK.

[Texas]

Another little anecdote. I remember Jeff once turning up at the City Hall dance wearing a pair of dark shades. He had the really short crewcut and cool suit and these shades, the epitome of cool. Nothing by standards of today, but mid-50's, whoa! And it was dark down there.

[simonscholey]

Its funny reading these posts yes geff had two children one girl & me he left us....I was around three at the time.....I suppose he thought it would be a good idea to run back to Sheffield & raise someone else's kids...oh well I met him when I was 28 he was an old man with a bad hip & an even worse drinking & smoking habbit...he spent most of the time going on about how hard it was for his kids in Sheffield...witch in fact weren't his kids...he left us to struggle in life with our mum in newzealand...thats about it really just thought these people on here might like to know a bit more about the man they speak so highly of....thankfully I am the father of two sons now & would never leave them high n dry no matter how hard things get..guess he taught me something after all....how not to be a father..

[Texas]

And, no doubt Simon, he went to his maker knowing what mistakes he'd made. I've personally got no illusions about the human condition. And Jeff was human like the rest of us. You probably only remember him as the 'old man with the hip problems, the drinking and smoking habit'. Not a good picture.

Surely, as you've read the posts on this thread, you haven't seen anything that could be regarded as evil and without redemption. Jeff, your dad, was a good guy basically and would not have done any harm to anyone. His only sin was weakness and we've all got some of that.

[simonscholey]

Texas...I never said nore believe geff was Evil.....he made his choices in life & lived with the consequences......he is gone now.....I cryed when he passed away even though I never knew him this was very strange to me......I used to as a child blame myself for his leaving this blame turned to anger as I got older.....then I just forgot about him as he did me....I suppose.

Thanks for your reply im sure a lot of people including yourself were a bit shocked by my post...but I think I am entitled to tell it like it is & my only point of reference is absence.