HE HAS old-fashioned British politeness and his accent shows a hint of his homeland Myanmar, but at 93 years Herbie Charlesworth is firmly rooted in New Zealand.
He says his Catholic faith helped him to adjust to the Kiwi lifestyle after emigrating: he has recently celebrated 58 years’ attending the same church in West Auckland.
Mr Charlesworth still attends mass daily at St Mary’s Church in Avondale, where he serves as an altar boy, keeps the younger altar boys in line and gives communion to the sick every Sunday.
An Anglo-Indian born in Myanmar (Burma), he decided to move to New Zealand with his wife Theresa and daughter Penny, after the British handed the country back to the Burmese in January, 1948.
His mother and younger sister Gladys (85) also made their way over. His elder sister Elizabeth (97) and her son, Bruce, followed with his middle sister Cherry (91) to make the journey with her husband Victor.
“We were all from British stock and, of course, they didn’t want us,” says Mr Charlesworth.
The Charlesworths, like many with English heritage, were given a choice to go back to England or relocate to Australia or New Zealand.
He says they chose New Zealand because his aunt’s family had settled here. He also worried about Australia’s colour policy and discrimination. “One of my sisters is quite dark so we feared she would be ostracised.”
This upheaval came after the turmoil of war and rebellion. Mr Charlesworth had been in the thick of the allied action in Burma.
At the age of 19, he enrolled with the British Army’s Indian Auxiliary Force, serving the Upper Burma Battalion.
He transferred to the Burma Intelligence Corps and was quickly promoted because he was familiar with Myanmar and could speak both Burmese and Hindi.
Later, when Myanmar was over-run by tribal groups, Mr Charlesworth recalls one of their colonels coming asking him to join them.
“I am a Roman Catholic and I made an oath to serve the government,” Mr Charlesworth told him. “I don’t care who the government is, I made a promise. [Maybe] when you over-run the government, I will work for you.”
With tough times in their homeland, the family finally arrived in New Zealand on Easter Sunday in 1950.
They thought New Zealand was wonderful, with plenty of jobs and accommodation.
“You walked down the road and the first person would say ‘gidday mate’,” says Mr Charlesworth. “Those days are gone.”
He still carries with him aspects he learnt from the Burmese culture, cooking traditional curries for his family at social occasions, but considers himself a New Zealander.
“No one else has got a passport like mine: it says British subject, New Zealand citizen, because I served in the war with the British,” he says.
His house displays memories of his former home country and pictures of many who have passed away.
His fondest memory of Myanmar is Christmas – “Burmese had great respect for others religion. My mother made sure we did too.”
Pinned on a wall in his home is a Benemerenti certificate, an award given by the pope. Few in New Zealand have earned this distinction; Mr Charlesworth gained his for the many years’ service to St Mary’s.
Ask why he continues his work for the church at his age, and he says: “Nothing is useless in this world – not even me!”
Mr Charlesworth looks back to mass in the early days, when the church’s original Vatican cups were used. The baptismal bowl some of his family were baptised in still sits on the altar.
His deepest connection with the place is the memories he holds of his family.
He recalls his wife and daughter accompanying him on Sundays and the first communion of his nephew Bruce – all of whom are now deceased.
PICTURES: TOP: Herbie Charlesworth with his gandmother and cousins; (centre) Grandmother Grace Charlesworth with Clarence, Willie, Herbie and Elizabeth (all standing), James sitting on small chair and Theresa Claire on chair (c.1920s).
MIDDLE: At home in Maymyo (standing) George Charlesworth and Herbie Charlesworth holding Patricia Anne Charlesworth. (sitting) Sisters Gladys and Elizabeth Charlesworth, friend Rupert Platel and Annette Rose Charlesworth, 1941.
ABOVE: Herbie Charlesworth during a recent reading at St Mary’s Church, Avondale, Auckland.