Stuff you find in random books

Tweet

In the Wyalkatchem Museum was a lounge area with several relevant books on the coffee table. One of the books was on the history of co-operative bulk-handling (CBH). This organisation coordinated the receival of crops from farmers. Huge bins were built in a great many towns to take the grain during harvest. I picked up the book out of interest and flicked through it. It had been produced and edited by a friend of ours from Ravensthorpe days which was an added interest. One page really ‘spoke’ to me. It told the reminiscences of Imre Mencshelyi, who came to the area as a child after his parents emigrated from Hungary. Because of the isolation in the area, Hungarian was the only language spoken at home so his first day at the local school was a pretty horrendous experience. No doubt days 2 and 3 wouldn’t have been much better. But further down the page, it spoke of the conscription of his father into the Hungarian army at the age of 15. In 1945, together with 70,000 other Hungarians, he helped defend the city of Budapest against the Soviet Red Army. The 70,000 were trapped in the castle for six weeks and only 100 survived. Imre’s father survived but was injured and spent two years as a prisoner of war. I had never heard of this battle but my mind was boggling over the fact that 100 survived out of 70,000. The photo is another from the museum, showing a separator (separates cream from milk, butter churn and butter paddle.