Our recent letter, inviting memories of Sven, published in the Cornish newspaper St. Ives Times & Echo has brought a heart-warming response from Suzanne Newton of Carbis Bay.
She writes: "I am aged 92, so there are not many people left in St. Ives who would remember Sven. My family have had a lifelong connection with St. Ives and post 1943 my Mother and I would spend every summer holiday in the town with friends. My mother (Eileen Cross) was an artist and we would often go to the St. Ives Arts Club.
"I have to say that I (famously!) danced with Sven there one night. I was probably 14 at the time and Sven was in battledress, presumably on leave."
Suzanne, aged 14, on the quay in St. Ives, our letter in the St. Ives Times & Echo and Sven on leave in 1944 with his daughter Janet.
"Later, we would often see Sven in striped shirt and beret about the town. I had a special friend who would often keep an eye on his wife and family. My mother was visiting when Sven and Juanita, Sven's second wife, left St. Ives with the caravan and she related to me that it took an age to get it up the hill and out of the town! Mother later retired here to Church Place (opposite The Crypt which Sven & Guido Morris renovated). I also have retired here, because I do not wish to live anywhere else on earth!"
Suzanne, encouraged by her mother, grew up to become an art teacher in South London and is now a member of the St. Ives Art Club, keeping up with them on Zoom!