Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Malcolm Watson was my beloved maternal grandfather. His wife, Kathleen Watson (later Kathleen Armstrong after Malcolm died in the War), was my cherished maternal grandmother.

Malcolm and Kathleen had two daughters, Diana and Stephanie. Stephanie is my mother. Stephanie and my father, Richard Thew (deceased), married and had two daughters, my sister (Sarah) and myself. Diana married and had four children (my beloved cousins Paul, Glynnis, Robert and Margaret).

My mother Stephanie never met her father Malcolm, who was shot down over Europe in 1944 when my mother was a baby. Diana only met her father Malcolm once, when she was a baby. My grandmother, Kathleen, raised Diana and Stephanie alone after Malcolm, whom Kathleen adored, passed.

My grandmother never recovered from Malcolm's passing. Kathleen spoke of Malcolm often, even after she married Alex Armstrong (a wonderful man who was father to Diana and Stephanie and grandfather to us). Malcolm was a constant presence in the lives of us all for decades after he passed and his memory lives on now.

Malcolm's parents also never recovered from Malcolm's passing, along with the passing the year before in 1943 of his two brothers, Maxwell and Leonard. All three brothers served in the Royal Australian Air Force together; Leonard from 1940 and Malcolm and Maxwell from 1941. All three died in WWII within a year of each other.

Penny Thew, 26 April 2025