This small house in Bromley, London, is the residence of poet Phan Thanh and his wife. Thanh is the son of bourgeois Phan Nam Anh (later renamed Phan Hoa Sinh), a renowned silk merchant in Hanoi who followed President Ho Chi Minh from the early days of the resistance war against French colonists.
Thanh, now in his 80s, said the Phan family owned large silk shops in Hanoi. In September 1945, in response to the leader’s appeal, his father and many other capitalists donated money and gold to the Government during Gold Week from September 17-24, 1945. This was an important turning point, changing the life of businessman Phan Hoa Sinh when he decided to follow the resistance war with aspirations to defend and liberate the nation.
During the nine-year resistance war from 1946 to 1954, Sinh was honoured to live and work with the leader and many of his comrades at the Viet Bac base.
"After the donation, my father became enlightened and followed President Ho Chi Minh and the resistance war," said Phan Thanh. "He learned a lot from the late President, especially from his working style and simple and humble life. Before that, he was a wealthy and proud bourgeois. The family had cars, drivers, and wealth. After joining the revolution, he changed completely," Thanh added.
This period left him with many beautiful memories of Uncle Ho and valuable lessons from him, and profoundly changed the thoughts and lifestyle of the wealthy Hanoi bourgeois.
The patriotism of Phan Hoa Sinh, a bourgeois who gave up material things to follow the path of national liberation of President Ho Chi Minh, inspired poet Phan Thanh, creating his bond with the Vietnamese people at home.
After living in the UK for nearly half a century, the poet still looks to his roots, especially his hometown, Hanoi.
Thanh has published many books of poetry about Hanoi. He also regularly returns to Vietnam and participates in cultural and artistic programmes and activities./.
