Douglas & Agnes Thurston - Ingrid 1956

parents/daughter

In this deeply affecting conversation, I speak with my Auntie Ingrid about her parents (my grandparents) —Douglas George Thurston and Agnes Franziska—whose improbable love story unfolded amid the devastation of post-war Germany. Douglas, a British soldier known affectionately as “Busty,” had survived the horrors of being a Japanese POW during the Fall of Singapore. He rarely spoke of it, once telling Ingrid simply: “There’s no glory in war.” Agnes, a German woman with a commanding presence and a generous heart, made sure no one ever left her home empty-handed.

Their story is stitched into the fabric of 20th-century history. They met in occupied Germany—Agnes reportedly chose Douglas because “he looks like he can get us food”—and built a life together in Britain, raising bilingual children who spent summers with German relatives despite the lingering post-war prejudice. Their household was a blend of cultures, resilience, and quiet defiance.

The most poignant moment comes in the telling of their deaths. Agnes died suddenly at 57, upon hearing that Douglas was critically ill after surgery. He followed her 15 months later. Ingrid’s grief is palpable: “I was angry for a long time that I was so young when she died… that my children didn’t see her.” Yet through her recollections, we glimpse the legacy they left behind—values of hard work, compassion, and quiet strength.

It’s a story that reminds me how love, even in the toughest of times, can forge something enduring. And how memory, when shared with tenderness, can illuminate lives that might otherwise fade into history’s margins. I came into the conversation with a few familiar threads, but I uncovered so much more--details, emotions, and stories about my grandparents that I'd never known. It deepened my understanding of who they were, far beyond the fragments I'd grown up with.

Send us a text

“Follow Longtime Ago People wherever you get your podcasts.”

Have a story echoing through time? I’m listening—300 words or fewer.

Instagram @longtimeagopeople

Click here for RSS Feed

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."