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Levett, born in Alfriston, East Sussex, enlisted in 1943, and whilst posted to the British Liberation Army, took part in the liberation of Germany. He then returned to England, working in electronics and developing an interest in the new entertainment of the time - television.
My aunt Florrie paid us a visit, bringing with her, her daughter Joan and a friend named Winifred Dupont. I got on very well with her and paid a number of visits to her home in London. She wasn't very happy living in London with her mother, who was divorced and when I asked her to come and live with me in Sussex, she agreed and we settled in at 'Southdown'.
This happened before my divorce from my German wife was finalised so we could not get married. My grandmother died and Florrie asked Freddie if he would like to move up to London and live with her. He agreed and we had 'Southdown' all to ourselves.
I had a letter delivered by Registered Post from the Divorce Court in Germany, saying that Ruth was suing me for divorce and asking me if I would contest the case, offering me a German lawyer to attend the court on my behalf.
I accepted the offer and actually won the case. When I went to a solicitor in Seaford to find out if I was divorced under English law, he said that it all depended on whether we were resident or domiciled in England, and it would have to go to the High Court to decide.
When he looked into it he found that I could get Legal Aid, so we went ahead. The case was eventually heard about a year later, at the Admiralty Division in the Strand. Although we lost the case on appeal, because the judge had fallen asleep during the hearing, a divorce was granted.
Early one morning, there was a knock on the back door. When I answered it, I found a policeman holding a summons for me. It was to attend a hearing at Portsmouth Magistrates Court. Ruth was suing me for maintenance for Angela. This was completely out of the blue.
This was the first thing I had heard of her for a number of years, since she had gone with my young daughter to Germany for a visit and simply not returned.
I agreed to pay 12/6 per week maintenance for Angela, which was a lot of money at the time. I also asked and was granted access, at reasonable times to be agreed. Although I went on numerous occasions to Portsmouth, it always turned out to be inconvenient and Ruth had just gone out. I never saw my daughter again for over thirty years.
In 1954 Frieda found she was pregnant and in February 1955 our daughter Carolyn was born. I enjoyed pushing her around the village in her pram. Our son Stephen was born in the September 1956. Both children got on well together. They loved to play with a box of wood screws, which I used, for work, forming them up like soldiers, on their heads.
Ron Levett, 2001
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