“There is no such word as ‘can’t.’ When there’s a will, there’s a way. Yes, you can fit a square peg into a round hole.”
Frank sculpted this piece, along with a “square peg” that he could magically fit into all three holes. It was his emblem that anything’s possible if you have the will.
This creed governed Frank’s life, damaged the lives of others, and came to infect Rob in a surprising way.
Square Peg is an 8-episode podcast that tells the following true story:
In 2017, Frank Carver, a one-eyed English septuagenarian and somewhat lovable provocateur, accidentally emailed someone he’d never met. That someone was Rob Collins, a kind and reliable 43-year-old suburban dad from Virginia.
That email would change both of their lives.
The email was meant for a British blogger. But instead, Rob heard the story.
Frank said that when he was in the Army, over 50 years ago, he was viciously assaulted by a fellow soldier, and that attack left him nearly blind at 17 years old.
Oh, and the alleged attacker was Frank’s older brother.
But the crime was “covered up,” and while Frank had already sued the British military over this—the case even reached the country’s High Court of Justice—only recently had Frank decided to bring criminal charges against his brother.
Meanwhile, Frank had been diagnosed with cancer and felt he was running out of time to right this wrong.
So despite having no journalistic experience and some doubts about the details of the story, Rob decides to investigate the case and help Frank in his quest for justice.
Two years and many detours—including a psychiatric evaluation in Berlin—later, Rob's self-funded quest for the holy grail of getting justice for Frank concludes... and Rob, struggling with what it all meant, realizes he gave Frank what he really needed.
That's how, in the end, it wasn't Frank’s son or his siblings, but Rob, suburban dad from Virginia, who officiated and was the only speaker at Frank’s funeral in 2019.
And the big question remains:
who was left more affected by this relationship, Rob or Frank?
The Fateful Email
The email that started it all. It was intended to reach a British blogger named Rod Collins. But Frank mistyped, and it was sent to Rob Collins, a corporate video producer and suburban dad. The email reads:
Subject: RAF Waltham
Hello Rob and a very pleasant day to you.
I came across your web-page whilst researching RAF Bimbrook; looking for a lead with hope of making contact with former RAF squaddie, Cindy Tweedie.
However, to my reason for contacting you. I saw RAF Waltham whilst reading through the Bimbrook page and could not figure out whether or not RAF Waltham stretched its boundary across the fields to Holton le Clay? My Grandmother used to live in Holton, next door to a skunk farm, where she opened a fish'n chips shop and cafe. The bungalow had an unfenced back garden that backed onto an airfield with a huge black 'hanger' on site. I was 10 years old at the time and spent many a school holiday there, roaming around the airfield picking up unused bullets from surrounding fields, and stepping on the odd unexploded 'butterfly' bomb whilst jumping across several dykes.
If you can confirm the connection with RAF Waltham and the airfield I once played on, then I will revisit for a look around.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincere regards,
Frank
Tele: 01724 852——