Background - Part 4: Australia 2009

The worst and most uncaring action for a dementia-sufferer to endure, is to be removed from their familiar surroundings and all that they know, and from those whom they love and care for, to be placed somewhere entirely different where they know no one apart from a few family members.  That is exactly what the brethren did to my mother.  This was an act of cruelty.  Mum had absolutely no choice in the move to Australia, nor any choice in where she would be living.  It was decided for her.  She had verbalised after Dad died that she did not want to live with my brother and his wife; she didn’t like Marilyn’s bossy and domineering ways and she was not alone in this view.  Jean Gurr had promised us that Mum would not be made to live with them, yet this is what she was made to do.  This behavior demonstrates the control that exists within the brethren. 

My brother and other brethren claim that Mum chose to emigrate to Australia, but they have not provided a single piece of evidence in support of their claims.  I have a wealth of hard evidence to the contrary, which proves that they acted in a duplicitous manner and I am so grateful that I have been meticulous in keeping records.

Although my brother and his wife played a huge part in this diabolical conspiracy, it was in actual fact, a cunning plot, engineered and executed by the brethren.  Anyone who is naïve enough to think this is a 'family matter' and that my brother is just a bit unusual, is clearly deluded.  My brother and his wife were used as pawns in a particularly evil and cruel game.  Despite the fact that my brother told Dave on his doorstep last year, “I’m not anyone’s puppet,” that is exactly what he is.  The ordinary, basic brethren are loyal followers who will carry out instructions from above without question.  Normal, rational reasoning does not enter into it.  They are so brainwashed that they cannot see they are being constantly controlled.  There are levels, and each level is steered and managed by those above them.  Bruce Hales, is the man at the top, in ultimate control of his flock.  He is the universal leader of the EB/PBCC, also known by the brethren as: 'the man of God', 'the Elect Vessel', or ,'our modern day Paul'.   

If the carefully organised kidnapping of my mother was a result of my brother’s actions alone, then all the other brethren who lied to me and deceived me would not have been involved.  The brethren deceitfully concealed from me the fact that Mum was not merely going on a short holiday, but instead was being forced to move to another country.  To be deceitful is the same as lying, the brethren themselves preach this, yet it suits them to behave in this unChristian manner.

The following brethren are some of those who lied to us:

Jean Gurr :  She could have simply told me that she didn’t have my brother’s telephone number because he was now living in Australia.  But she didn’t.  She could have told me that Mum was in Australia.  But she didn’t. 

Dick Lynes:  Dave spoke to him on 25^th May 2009.  Dick mistook Dave for David Walker (where Mum had spent six months in NZ before being taken to Australia), and said “Mr Walker!” in a cheery greeting.  However, as soon as Dave explained that he was Dave Evans, Marion’s husband, Dick’s tone changed completely and he sounded weary, telling Dave that he had spent most of the day in hospital as he had something wrong with his leg.  Dave asked Dick if he could shed any light on what was happening with my mother and Dick said he wasn’t very up-to-date on the situation.  Dave asked Dick where Mum was and in a very slow voice, Dick replied, “She is.....being cared for.”  When Dave asked, where, Dick said he couldn’t give an address, as he didn’t know.  When Dave asked if Mum was in Australia with Clem, Dick replied very hesitantly, saying he thought she could possibly be there, but he wasn’t 100% certain.  He lied.  He knew exactly where Mum was.  Dave asked if Mum was returning to the UK.  Dick said he wasn’t aware of anything being fixed at that point.  The conversation continued in the same manner, with Dick telling lies, upon lies, upon lies.  Dave asked where in Australia.  Dick’s words were, “It’s errrmmm, cor dear, where IS it…?.....I think it could be…… New South Wales."

I also spoke to Dick, on 5^th and 8^th June.  He could have told me that Mum was in hospital.  But he didn’t.  Mum was admitted to hospital on 19^th May 2009.  When I asked him if he was aware that Mum was in hospital, he denied it, but in a strange and hesitant way.  An extract of the conversation went as follows:

Me:           When Dave first rang you, did you know Mum was in hospital?

Dick:         Not when…..no-o-o-o, I didn’t…… (pauses and whispers to himself as if struggling to think), I wasn’t aware of it at first.  I’m pretty sure that’s when you first rang, I couldn’t give you chapter and verse, but I wasn’t aware until I’d made contact out there and I’d tried once or twice, as you know, thinking that I had the right number and that they just weren’t in, because of the time that I rang.  No, it would have been later, I’m positive of that…

Me:           Mum’s been in hospital since 19^th May

Dick:         I hadn’t realised that, I’m sure.  Your call was a bombshell to me.  And, well, I hadn’t even got his number.  I hadn’t been in touch and I hadn’t heard anything.  It was since then, because somebody locally 'gave it' out [meaning, it was announced it in a meeting] at the same time as I found out that she was in hospital.  I had no idea.  That’s the truth.

I don't believe him.

Irma Daries:  On 29 April 2009, Irma told me that Mum had returned to the UK to live with my brother.  She lied.  However, in a later witness statement she denied this, claiming that it was a misconception on my part.  The main point is that she knew where my mother was but she did not tell me. 

David Daries:  In our conversation on 8 May 2009, when I asked him if my brother had sold his property in the UK and moved to Australia, he said he wasn’t sure.  He told me he did not know my brother’s address or telephone number in Australia, yet he and his wife had transported my mother there to be with my brother the previous month.  David even refused to give me contact details for Australian brethren so that I could contact them in an effort to get in touch with Mum.

Neil Kennard:  He telephoned and spoke to me on a few occasions.  He asked for a picture of us.  He told me details (incorrect as we later learned) about Mum’s medical condition.  He told me that he could obtain a medical report pertaining to Mum and send it to us.  I received an email from my brother that was sent from Neil’s email address.

For the purpose of this blog I have had to listen to conversations I recorded at the times they took place.   Hearing them again actually makes me feel physically sick.  Their stomach churning lies are unbelievable.  I am not exaggerating when I state that they have lied, manipulated and deceived, and it is just horrendous to re-live.

Sorry, I have digressed, but I wanted to include the above so that readers can have a better insight into the nightmare that was unfolding before us.

Referring back to being with Mum in Australia, we managed to visit her for six days before the brethren found out we were there.  Hospital staff told us that it was very rare that she received visitors.  

On the sixth day, when Jade was lying beside her grandmother on her bed and Mum was singing songs to us in Afrikaans that I can remember from my childhood, her bedside phone rang.  Mum answered the call, paused and told us it was a Mrs Trimmer.   She returned to the call and told Mrs Trimmer that her daughter had come to visit from England with her husband and children.  Within fifteen minutes my brother and a church elder, Neil Kennard, turned up.  Neil Kennard is prominent in the brethren leadership.  He is married to a first cousin of Bruce Hales, the universal leader of the brethren.

Neil and my brother were visibly surprised to see us.  They tried to be over-friendly in a way that came across as very false.  Neil kept querying when we had arrived, where we were staying and when we were leaving.  We gave nothing away.  Dave and I went to the nurses’ station to speak briefly and Neil followed us out and questioned us further.  He told me that it was my mother’s choice to be in Australia.  He told me she was not well enough to leave hospital.  By way of trying to explain to me how unwell Mum was, Neil told me she often doesn't remember people.  Since she had been taken to a country where she only knew a few family members and everyone else was a new person to her, this was not surprising.  Every time I tried to speak, Neil spoke over me.  Dave interrupted Neil, raising his voice, he told Neil that he had had his say and suggested that Neil listen to what I had to say.  Neil’s face went bright red.  He clearly was not used to being spoken to like that, but he did stop talking briefly.  I told Neil that Mum had been deemed medically fit by the Dr who was in charge of her care.  Neil then went on to tell me that Mum would be staying in Australia until she died and then her Will would come into effect.  I was absolutely astounded that Neil was speaking about Mum’s death and her Will.  What on earth did this have to do with him?  It wasn’t something I had raised.  Neil’s manner and attitude were absolutely dreadful. 

When we left the hospital it was late at night, and dark.  As we walked through the car park we were aware of someone ducking down behind the cars.  We realised we were being spied on.  As we walked back to the station we noticed a couple of cars with brethren in driving up and down the road at regular intervals.  We were followed to the station and onto the platform.  I think they were ensuring that we were definitely leaving and not returning, for that evening, at least.

From that point on, each time we visited Mum, her bed was surrounded by brethren.  There would be eight or more of them, seated on all the available chairs.  They would crowd around Mum’s bed so that we could not get near her and there was absolutely no recognition that we were Mum’s relatives.  They would just look at us and look away again.  This was obviously contrived by the brethren to make it very difficult for us to be with Mum.  On more than one occasion a nurse asked the brethren to wait in the common room so that the 'family from England' could spend some time with Mum.  On one of these occasions, two brethren ladies left the hospital building.  However, when we left some time later after spending time with Mum, we saw they were sitting in a car in the car park.  We went to tell them we were leaving, and I recall Dave said made some reference to them being on 'sentry duty'.  Three months later, one of the women, a Mrs Hyslop, provided an account of their visit to the hospital on that particular day.  It is full of lies and is written to deceive the reader into believing that my mother did not want us there.

One morning, we had just left our hotel on the way to visit Mum, when I received a call from Sandra Hall, the Social Worker, to say that my brother and his wife had taken Mum out at 08:00 that morning and had told the staff that Mum would not be returning until late that evening.  Sandra was most apologetic and said this had never happened before.  This must have been deliberately orchestrated to prevent us from seeing Mum.  In actual fact, we found out later, that on that particular day, hospital staff had previously requested to carry out an inspection on my brother's home, but he had said they were too busy to allow it to go ahead.

Sandra Hall became aware that my brother had obtained Mum's signature for a bridging visa application for an aged person.  This was illegal.  Mum had decreased executive function, so she did not have the capacity to make such a lifestyle decision (as per the Mental Health Act) and my brother did not have Power of Attorney.  As I have mentioned before, Mum was in Australia on a visitor’s visa with a return ticket to the UK.  As a result of Sandra's concerns for Mum, she made an application to the Guardianship Tribunal.  She recommended the appointment of an independent Guardian and a Financial Manager for my mother as she was a vulnerable person and susceptible to suggestions that were being made to her by my brother.  During a chat with Sandra when she expressed her concerns for Mum’s future, she told me that having had a private chat with Mum the previous day, Mum had excitedly told her, “My baby girl came to see me!”  She noted this in her letter to the Guardianship Tribunal and said it was important that my mother should not be separated from those whom she loved.  In my mother’s medical notes, there are numerous references to plans for her to return to the UK in October 2009.  Why, would this be if Mum had planned to emigrate to Australia?  It can only be because plans had been made to illegally take Mum into the country, but my brother and his wife needed to keep up the façade that she was only holidaying with them in order to protect their own immigration status.  Both versions cannot be true.

It was lovely spending time with Mum when we could, albeit, made very difficult by the brethren’s constant presence.  Mum’s dementia had the effect that she seemed to forget many of the brethren rules.  For example, one time when we visited she had some sweets and biscuits which had been given to her by one of her now frequent brethren visitors.  She insisted we share them and eat with her.  Many readers will know that brethren are forbidden from eating with non-brethren.  It did amuse us to think that this was not at all what the brethren had in mind when they brought her these gifts!  Another time she insisted that I sampled her soup.  She wanted me to see how delicious it was.  It was just beautiful to see Mum being normal, without her usual fear of what the brethren would think.

Mum and me

We tried so hard to bring Mum home with us and the hospital staff would have allowed this.  However, my brother held Mum's passport and ticket and would never have released these to us.  

On the 3^rd July 2009 our time in Australia came to an end.  We had seen Mum for the last time the day before and she had walked with us on her walking frame down the corridor to the double doors that led to the exit.  She kissed and hugged each one of us in turn and asked us when we would be back.  She stood and watched as we walked the difficult walk along the corridor and out of the hospital.  We turned and waved before we went out of her sight.  That is the last time that Jade and Zaine saw their grandmother.

On 3 July 2009 we were collected by our friend, Dave Tennent, and driven to the airport.  As the car pulled up at the airport, my mobile rang.  It was Neil Kennard.  He said that he would like to talk things over with me.  One issue I had repeatedly queried, was why I had not been told that my mother was going to Australia.  In this conversation Neil insisted that we knew Mum was going to NZ, "Because she had told you."  I pointed out that if Dave had not visited her, quite by chance, two days before she left the country, we would not have found out.  In any case, we did not know Mum was going to Australia, she only told us of a NZ holiday, which was all she knew.  Neil said to me, “I found out that someone else was going to tell you, except they knew you already knew.”  He said he could prove it to me.  Listening back to this recording I am without words.  My mother, unbeknown to her, was about to embark on a huge life-changing journey, and no one saw fit to tell me.  It was Mum who told Dave at the first opportunity she had.  If 'someone else' was going to tell me, when on earth would that have been?  When she was at the airport?  The absurdity of this awful situation hits me afresh as I share this with you all!

On the plane the realisation that I might never see my mother again, hit me.  It broke my heart.

.......... Coming soon:  Court Cases in both Hemispheres, Australia 2011 and Freedom for Mum at last