My Grandma was born in 1893; for me, she was a wonderful link with the past.
Her father, Wilson Silver Thompson, was born in 1860, in Ulverston. He was in love with a young woman called Jessie and wanted to marry her, but they had a falling out, with the result that to get over his broken heart, my Great-grandfather went off to sea for several years, in steam-assisted ships.
He reached Brisbane, and wanted to settle in Australia, but then came the news that his mother was very ill, so immediately he started the journey back to England. He got home in time, and before she died, his mother introduced him to Elizabeth Fraser; the legend has it that she put Elizabeth's and Wilson's hands together in hers, and said, "It would make me very happy."
Wilson and Elizabeth were married for 10 years, and had four children: three girls and a son, Henry. Sadly, he died in infancy, but Maud, Alice and Win all survived, and lived long lives. My Grandma said she had been told that when her mother found out she was expecting another baby, her reaction was always, "My arms will be full again...." so I think she must have been a very loving lady.
When my Grandma was 6, her mother died of erysipelas, leaving her father a relatively young widower, with three young daughters to look after. His next course of action was to remarry - and he chose his first love, Jessie.
It was Jessie who decided that she did not want to bring up three children from her husband's first marriage; he could keep one. Wilson told Jessie she could choose which daughter would stay at home with them, and her logic was impeccable. Maud, being the eldest, could remember her Mother; that could prove awkward. Win, the youngest, was still quite the baby, and was probably too much trouble; my Grandma, Alice, at 6, was old enough to do more for herself and, most importantly, she could not remember her Mother. Maybe it was the shock of Elizabeth dying so young, but whatever the reason, my Grandma was always sad that she had no personal memories of her mother.
Maud and Win were sent to live with a maiden aunt and uncle - Elizabeth Fraser's brother and sister. From all accounts, their home life was spartan and, even allowing for the way of life at the time, the sisters were not allowed much freedom.
On the other hand, my Grandma did not have a happy childhood either, living at home with her father and stepmother. Jessie resented her husband's previous life with Elizabeth, and my Grandma was not well treated by her - she was physically beaten for misdemeanours, and heavily bruised on many occasions. As she got older, her father discovered what was happening, things improved; but life was still hard for a little girl.
Maud and Win never married. I know many young women never found a husband after the First World War, but I fear Maud and Win put much of that misfortune down to the fact that they had not been allowed to remain at home with their father. My Grandma was the only one to get married -otherwise I would not be writing this blog! She also had three children: Austen, who was born in 1917; my Mum, Phyllis, born in 1919, and my Uncle John, who was born in 1923.
In 1938, still only 20, Austin died of pneumonia, and in 1943, my Grandfather had an accident at work. He fell hit his head; he was conscious, and taken to hospital for observation, but in those days, not many investigations were carried out/ There was internal bleeding, and he died a few days later.
My Mum had married my father in 1941; in 1943, he was a prisoner of war in Germany, so it was just my Grandma, my Mum and Uncle John who stuck together as a family, and carried on.
The war ended in 1945; I was born in 1946, and then followed bitterly cold winters in 1946 and 1947. My father was offered a job out in East Africa, and so it was decided that the best idea would be to go abroad, escape the weather and rationing, and get some sunshine in our bones.
Despite all that life had thrown at her, my Grandma was determined to make the best of everything; her glass was always half-full. When her son John also decided to take up a Government job abroad, Grandma was game to go with him. She started a whole new career as a governess, teaching children at home until they were old enough to be shipped off back to boarding school in the UK.
She was ready for anything. She was a truly inspirational lady.
And this is a poem I wrote as a tribute to her:
The Last Of The Old Victorians
The last of the old Victorians.....
With her, they broke the mould;
Advanced in years she may have been,
But she was never old!
Adventurous to the last degree,
Intrepid as she flew
In jumbo jets and steam railway sets,
But fear she never knew.
She said, "When you reach my age,
You know the worst may never be."
She did not rise to meet disaster,
But accepted stoically
Everything that life threw at her;
And though at times she cried
When memories engulfed her,
Usually she just smiled.
She was the one who went abroad,
Adventurous to the core;
Who learned to smoke at 52,
And shocked the family bore
By her outspoken truthfulness;
She never held it back,
But said what she thought - it came out pat -
Perhaps she lacked a little tact!
But you could always turn to her;
She was always on your side,
Encouraging, suggesting,
"Take that helter-skelter ride!"
The last of the old Victorians.....
With her, they broke the mould;
Advanced in years she may have been,
But she was never old!
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