Henry ‘Hal’ Chavasse (b. 1933) (Part 1)

Track 1: Henry ‘Hal’ Chavasse’s ancestral background, and places of residence over the years. Track 2: Whitfield Court, where his family lived and farmed for twenty years. His father’s wartime experiences in the Royal Irish Fusiliers. Track 3: His mother’s forebears, the Perceval-Maxwells, who came from the North of Ireland. His grandfather, Henry Perceval-Maxwell, was land agent for the Lansdowne Estate at Dereen, Co. Kerry. Track 4: The purchase by his mother in 1944 of Cappagh House from the Ussher family. Track 5: The sporting life in the area and hunting with the West Waterford Hounds. The staff who worked on the estate. Track 6: He was commissioned in the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1954. His assignment to Kenya and Uganda in the 1960s. Witnessing the onset of independence in East Africa, and his meeting with Idi Amin. Track 7: His posting to Northern Ireland from 1964 to 1967, and meeting his future wife Claire in Armagh in 1957. Track 8: A discussion on the system of colonialism. Track 9: An old family photograph album. His feelings about Irish nationality. The recent Troubles in Northern Ireland, and his Garda escort while visiting Co. Waterford. Track 10: His father’s involvement with the Dungarvan Show, and with Macra na Feirme. Track 11: His own service as Defence Attaché in Mexico from 1977 to 1980 and in Colombia from 1981 to 1983. Track 12: Family photographs and some stories of his ancestors.