My father was born on the 14th February 1916. He was the only son of his famous father, Herbert Henry “Dally” Messenger, and Annie Maud McCauley, born Carroll.

Being the son of a famous man is not easy. My father had to struggle to feel he had an identity in his own right.

What I am most proud of is that he was a very good man. My father did not enlist for World War II as a soldier. He had two toddler sons and was engaged in essential services. My parents divorced when I was young, so his life (and my mother’s) during those war years was very difficult.