Lincoln Shortwave Club

///////////////////////////////////////////
Fritz (Fred) Bennewitz G6BPH

Posted: 02 Apr 2020 07:08 AM PDT
http://www.g5fz.co.uk/silent-key/fri...nnewitz-g6bph/


Lincoln Shortwave Club - Bringing Amateur Radio to the Community


As you may know mourners have been restricted to close family at funerals
so it was not possible for Fred’s friends to attend his service in person
but thanks to modern day technology we were able to watch this on the
internet. Below is a copy of the tribute read by Michael, one of Fred’s
sons.




Dad was very clear in his wishes that this Eulogy should be
a celebration of his life so today Im going to do my best to do just that.




But firstly and sadly this celebration has had to be
curtailed immensely due to the CoronaVirus pandemic but thankfully with the
aid
of technology Grandchildren Stephen, Nina, Claudia, our cousins in Germany
plus
close friends are able to join us over the internet. Its not what Dad would
have wanted but am sure he would have understood.




Today were here to celebrate the life of one of the kindest
most caring & gentle men you could ever hope to meet who at the same time
was gifted with a supreme intellect.




Dads intellect was such that during his entire life he was
always regarded as way ahead of his time . and ahead of his time is a
common theme Ill refer to many times today.




In his life hed been a farmer, Electrical Engineer,
soldier, husband, father and grandfather plus expert in Electronics and
lecturer at Bradford Technical College for over 40 years!




In retirement his technical interests didnt stop either. As
well as joining the Facebook generation I recall a few weeks ago him arguing
with British Gas about his smart meter because it didnt work. He knew why
and
told British Gas it wouldnt work where they had put the meter and the reason
why but would they listen!!..Would they thump (in his words)!




While sorting out the house we found around 10 Hand
Cream/Soap dispensers, 6 large bags of toilet paper, Lots of Paracetamol, at
least 20 Frozen meals as well as sufficient supply of biscuits to feed an
army.





Again ahead of his time I wonder if Dad knew how CoronaVirus
would hit us and left us plenty of provisions behind! Nostradamus eat your
heart out! At Bradford Technical College Dad was one of the first in the
country to teach about Colour Televisions and VHS Video recorder Technology.




Many times we would run into Dads ex-students, some of who
became lifelong friends and would have been here today, who told us of their
immense respect for Dad, his knowledge and teaching abilities and often
spoke
of his changing their lives.




He was indeed a pioneering expert in his area and was
consulted by several large companies like Thorn EMI/Bairds on product
development again ahead of his time.




In 1972 Dad completed his MSc research on Low noise
Parametric Amplifiers. At the time we had no clue what such a thing was but
if
I tell you they are now known as LNBs and are fitted to every Satellite Dish
in the world that will give you an idea of the impact of his work, again
ahead
of his time.




This work remained typically unrecognised apart from in a
few small circles. He was at the same time a very modest person. But apart
from
technical subjects his major love was for Sun, Sand, Sea and …………… Sangria!




Every summer (usually the day after term finished) we all
were packed in the Dormobile Camper Van and headed off for either Spain,
South
of France or Italy to enjoy the long hot summers by the side of lakes or
coast.





At that time Suntan lotion was very expensive so I remember
cooking oil was used instead . which meant we basically all fried!! Little
did we know at the time!




Of course no summer holiday would be complete without a
visit to Germany to visit family. You will see some records of those visits
in
photos which I sent round.




Family was always very important to dad and as kids my
brother Richard and I were brought up to be able to communicate with our
German
cousins and more importantly establish a bond over many years with family in
east Germany, despite the huge difficulties in visits and communication.




Indeed I remember a visit there in 1968 nearly got us into
trouble when we almost got locked behind the iron curtain! If you remember
1968
saw the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia and we all watched in silence as
the
Russian tanks passed in front of us. Only Dad initiating a quick exit back
to
Berlin prevented that lockdown from maybe becoming a reality!




Dad made sure that Richard and I got the family grounding
and education we needed, giving us the skills we needed to launch us into
the
wide world.




Dads contacts were especially important in helping us to
get apprenticeships, education & careers in the Electronic Sectors for both
of us, to which we owe him an immense debt of gratitude.




His mottos like Work first before play and
Kopf hoch, auch wenn der Halz dreckig ist! are embedded on our
ethos! In English that means chin up by the way appropriate for today
dont you think!




As you know Dad grew up on a farm at the East side of the
River Oder (which is now Slubiche in Poland) and came to Britain as a PoW in
April 1945 at nearly the end of the second world war.




He was captured after the Battle of Arnhem (near Apeldoorn)
by Canadian Solders, while dad was repairing radios for the LuftWaffe.




Typically Dad didnt notice the German Troops had retreated
and left him behind!




I wonder if his father was also ahead of his time because
when Dad was called up in 1944 his dad predicted he would not come back to
Germany after the war ended and indeed that proved correct but not for the
reasons he might have imagined.




The story is while Dad was stationed at Shelf Hall Camp in
Yorkshire as a POW he was admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary with an ear
infection when he met the love of his life Annie who was a student Nurse
there.





Anne & Fred soon discovered they had something in common
which was losing both fathers as a result of mustard gas injuries sustained
fighting in the First World War.




Scarily both fathers were in the trenches at the Battle of
the Somme at the same time, ironically on opposing sides fighting each other
for whatever purpose. Such is the futility of war.




Dads English was not too good at first but clearly
communication worked as they managed to meet in Shelf Woods regularly
despite a
non fraternisation ban, which fortunately got lifted in 1947 allowing Dad to
marry the love of his life.




Also while mum and dad were courting mum acted as guarantor,
making sure he got back to camp, allowing dad to attend college and 5 learn
his
profession in England (having already qualified in Germany). The guarantor
apparently had to be an English person which suited them of course.




A local businessman called Fred Peel realised the German
POWs were good workers and employed a lot of them in his business. He
obviously
took a shine to dad and put his talents for Electrics to good use. This
meant
dad was able to learn on the job as well as, with mums help, go to college
to
study.




Dad managed to get a short leave of absence for 24 hours
which allowed mum & dad to get married on 8th May 1948 however he had to go
back to camp afterwards and was even reprimanded for being late by the camp
commandant!.




After the war repatriations began and local POW camps were
ordered to close by the end of 1948. Fred Peel stepped in again to help
newlyweds mum & dad and offered them free accommodation in a caravan on his
farm. Such was his respect, admiration & generosity towards mum & dad.




At the time mum & dad had only £5 in total to their name
so you could justifiably say they started out with nothing!




As you all know the rest is history and mum & dad were
together until the very end, and have celebrated over 72 years of happily
Married life.




Dad you are an inspiration to us all. Your love, dedication
and care for mum showed NO boundaries and we are immensely grateful for your
love, support and guidance throughout our lives.




I hope you can look down on us with pride you are a hard
act to follow.




All our love, Wife Annie, Sons Michael & Richard,
Grandchildren Stephen, Christina & Claudia, and finally Great Grandchild to
be, currently nicknamed Baby Bump Bennewitz!

Lincoln Shortwave Club - Bringing Amateur Radio to the Community