celebrities who have met me: a child of the lost empire

John D’Eathe, a child of the British Empire, tells his life story and expresses his thoughts on the decline of the empire through fascinating and often humorous interactions with celebrities who have met him.

What became of the British Empire? It took over a thousand years to assemble but just his lifetime to dismantle. A century ago it was the greatest domain ever, directly controlling a quarter of the world and its population. Even as the book opens, during the Second World War, Great Britain still dominates over eighty countries. ’Celebrities’ features our ’Child of the Empire, ’ a little English boy first encountered fiercely defending Britain and its possessions from attack by the Germans. It was an era of intolerance and violence and he was born into a society influenced and prejudiced in many ways. His life was to see a great deal of change. The War won, he is schooled in a strict system preparing him for service in the world-wide Empire.

From those modest beginnings he succeeds, and goes on to enjoy the Imperial life, initially lording it over others in the colonies. He meets a fascinating array of characters along the way, some well-known, and at the highest levels of their calling but all contemporaries in the developing dramas of their time. He watches with fascination from the security of the post-colonial Canada, as the other nations of his fading imperial world progressively claim their independence. Then, Canada withdraws, patriating its constitution, and at the end of the century even his revered Hong Kong is gone to Communist China. He then observes the newly independent countries finding their lone, contentious ways to prosperity in the new world order. Sadly his respected Queen Elizabeth dies and he reluctantly admits the sun has indeed set on his British Empire.