Anthony's Story
1912 - 1919
1919 - 1939
1939 - 1940
1941 - 1945
1945 - 1946
1946 - 1951
Reflections on Brooke Rule
1951 - 1970
1970 - present
Visiting Sarawak 1983 &1991
How 'Anthony's Story' came about.
Much material is already available regarding the historic relationship between the Brooke family and Sarawak.
Anthony felt there was quite enough written about Rajahs and Ranees of Sarawak, and only after prolonged and persistent nudging on my part did Anthony finally agree to contribute to this abundance by telling the story from his own perspective and in his own words.
He also decided to give some glimpses into his life after 1951, when his political commitment (but by no means his personal connection) with Sarawak came to an end.
It was a real labour, but a labour of love, for Anthony to dictate his story during the past couple of years, and with much fondness he looked back to his time in Sarawak, remembering the enduring friendships he made with the Sarawak people.
Gita
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If you would like to reproduce any of the material from Anthony's Story we would appreciate it if you would first write to request permission to optubrookiana@xtra.co.nz
First Years
Born in 1912, the youngest of four children with three older sisters, my earliest memories are of the disruption of family life, marked by the separation of my parents in the closing years of 1914-18 world war.
I cannot recall ever seeing my mother and father together. The break-up resulted in my developing a bad stammer, which persisted throughout my adolescence and into middle age when it gradually disappeared. This, however, did not affect friendship with my peers and I was lucky not to have suffered from bullying at school.
Gladys Palmer, Anthony's Mother
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Bertram Brooke, Anthony's father
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The four of us were brought up by my father and a nursing Sister, who joined us at the birth of Anne, the youngest of my sisters. We moved to two or three "boarding houses" on the south coast of England after our father was given charge over our up-bringing, until we finally settled into a house at Worthing "Bramble Lodge". It was to be our home for many years, and here I went to Worthing Boarding School around my 7th birthday. My subsequent education was Eton College followed by a year at Cambridge University.
Although my father in my younger years never spoke to me about what my possible future in Sarawak might be I was encouraged to study Malay and Mohammedan Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, preparing me for whatever might lie ahead.
Anthony as a child at 'Peace Manor'
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Growing up to be a young man
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Anthony at Eton
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