Abuse, homelessness and the journey to Medicine Hat – local man shares life story in new book

Joe says he became an orphan after his mother gave him up.

He was adopted but sadly he didn’t get the happy childhood he dreamed of. Joe says he was regularly abused, neglected and starved by her.

“His mom beat him unconscious at five years old,” said Mark Miller, Joe’s son. “That’s when he decided to leave.”

After enduring two years of abuse, at just six years old Joe ran away.

With the constant fear his adoptive mother would find him, Joe spent the next five years begging and stealing his way across India.

“9,000 miles I traveled on foot and train just from town to town to town, Joe said.”

In January 1945, Joe crossed a field during his journey across India.

He ran into a group of British Second World War soldiers playing football. One soldier named Nelson Taylor immediately took a liking to him.

Joe became his ward for the rest of the war, something Mark calls Divine Intervention.

“There’s millions of orphan children in India and for him to be led to an Airforce base camp and then to meet Nelson and to have him kind of take him under his wing was huge,” Mark said.

Taylor was determined to adopt Joe and bring him back to London after the war.

Through letters, the orphanage said his adoptive mom released her claim on Joe, allowing the Taylor family to adopt him.

Joe’s life changed forever.

“To sleep in a bed, that was unbelievable,” Joe said. “Previously I was sleeping on the street, at railway stations, wherever I could find a nook I could be safe.”

But his new life didn’t come without challenges.

“Imagine, I’m 11 years old and I’m going to my first school. I couldn’t read, I couldn’t write,” Joe said. “I could hardly speak, just a few words of English.”

Joe’s unwavering determined spirit persevered.

Despite all the barriers, he did well in school and graduated at 15. He started working at the London Electricity Board.

He soon became a husband and father to two.

Joe’s journey continued when he was offered a job at Western Co-Operative Fertilizers in Medicine Hat.

In 1973, he and his family moved to Alberta and have been here ever since.

“I may not be rich, I may not be important, but I have lots of love around me,” Joe said. “My wife, my kids, my grandchildren and my granddaughter as well.”

From a street kid in India to a Hatter with a family, Joe hopes his story will inspire others to never lose hope.

He is working on part 2 of his book and hopes to release it by the end of the year. Part 1 can be found here.

by Teagan Rasche

Abuse, homelessness and the journey to Medicine Hat – local man shares life story in new book

Our Community