My mum died in 2004 but in the last few years of her life she began to write a few words about her childhood.
Jack is very interested in family history so I have borrowed this diary from my brother so he can read the words she wrote.
Born in 1921 mum had a very odd childhood. Being the only child of fairly elderly parents in those days, 36 & 34 respectively her life was very sheltered & she had no contract with any other children. My grandmother wouldn’t allow her to go to school, teaching mum herself until she was eight & from then with a governess who later became my Godmother.
Mum was an intelligent woman so suffered greatly because of granny’s weird ideas & she became a very nervous child scared of everything.
This is just a small extract from her writings.
Thought you might like to have a glimpse of her words, I am going to ask my son in law to photo copy them so that each of us four children can have a copy.
Three good things:
1. Thoughts from the past.
2. Sellotape.
3. I know there were two more GT’s but I can’t remember either of them at the moment!
I’m tagging @quietpurplehaze as Hazel is an expert on parents diary’s & asked me if I might show a photo.
So interesting and a great read for you all . Its so good to find out about our family history - I regret in not finding out more when my parents were alive !
I'll bet this is so interesting to read, "standing in the doorway, thumbs in waistcoat". A priceless family heirloom. Your mother must have been very forward thinking.
@beryl it is very interesting Beryl, my mother was so dominated by her mother, slept in the same room until quite grown up, getting panicky when separated etc! My granny was tiny, a very formidable woman in a small outwardly gently package who ruled her daughter & husband completely!
@huvesaker It’s a wonderful thing to be able to read Boo, I knew the outline of course but to have it written down in her very familiar handwriting is lovely.
What a wonderful piece of your family history to have. She sounds so like my mother, born the same year, an only child of older parents and brought up much the same way. I also have a journal which we got her to write a few years before she died, such a precious memory.
That would be interesting reading.. it sounds like your Grandmother was what is more called a 'Helicopter' parent.. so not such a new term after all.. Your Mum would of been just a few years older than my Mum but in contrast she was on of 14.. and then her Mum died when she was 6 and pretty much bought up by her older siblings..
@julzmaioro your mum was a littke mum to bar siblings then....fantastic bu5bwhat a responsibility!
In one extract this diary tells how mum prayed 3very night for a brother or sister but as her parents slept in separate rooms from when she was two that was not going to happen! She writes she felt very cheated when she learnt the facts of life that they had let her keep praying!
What a treasure to have. It’s a sad story that your mum was so disadvantaged on the socialisation front, but I guess her parents thought they were doing their best for her. How lovely that Jack tak s such an interest in the he family history.
Thank you for sharing this, a wonderful memory of your mum to have. I think we all often have photos of loved ones but to have some writing of theirs is extra special.
Written with pen and ink - was just remembering blotting paper recently! Nowadays 36 and 34 is not old for having children. Your Mum sounds as if she was so lonely - I'm glad she eventually met your father and had you!
@carolmw@dide@Dawn Thank you, it is a wonderful thing to be able to read , how many times do we say we should have asked questions while we have our older members of family around us!
@quietpurplehaze I agree Hazel....so much comfort to be able to read the actual words. I suppose the onl6 thing better to have is the spoken word.
I have two cd’s of my aunt, my dad’s sister, speaking to a radio programme for Northumberland radio. She tells if her life in the Queen Alexander’s Royal Nursing Corp, torpedoed during the war & then as a District nurse & midwife around the Hexham area. It’s lovely to have.
@maggiemae Yes proper writing! It’s smudged a little here & there but very readable. I just wish she had written more & kept on with it....makes you think you should write about our own lives....I think of this as a sort of diary on 365 but it’s only on line so will probably die with me!
How wonderful to have these treasured words! So interesting to here how she was brought up so lonely! Heartbreaking that she prayed every day for a brother or sister! She must have been devastated when she learned the facts of life! You are so lucky to have these words from the past!
Thank you all for your interest, at the time mum thought it was quite a normal childhood & was very happy & very secure, it was only as she got older that the suffocating home life began to feel restricting. She joined the St John’s Ambulance, helping on Preston railway station as troops traveled around during the war. Then nursing & she met my father in Blackpool were they were billeted in adjoining hotels. He was a navigator in the RAF flying in Lancaster bombers. She was 21 when they married so escaped. She loved her father very much, he was her hero!
Strangely I have very fond memories of granny, she used to tell us amazing made up bed time stories, me & my eldest brother were transfixed!
What can I say? How fantastic that your mum took to writing these things down. I always think it's so sad that stories often live with the person, and disappear when they are gone. You've given us a really interesting insight into your mum's upbringing too. All quite fascinating. How wonderful that you and your siblings can share in the reading of these written memories of your mum.
How special is this. What a wonderful thing to have.my uncle kept a scapbook of all family and events and things on the village where we lived.jean has it..what a sad childhood,when it should be full of happy memories.even though i'm sure her mother loved her.love how she then met your father,and of course came to have you.we have just heard our best man died this week,happy times years ago. Then you lose touch.so have two funerals next week. Neighbour died too. Can't wait see the back of this year!
What a lovely keepsake. My Mum did the same towards the end of her life too and wrote down stories about her life. I photocopied her writings and have given copies to family members.
December 14th, 2018
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In one extract this diary tells how mum prayed 3very night for a brother or sister but as her parents slept in separate rooms from when she was two that was not going to happen! She writes she felt very cheated when she learnt the facts of life that they had let her keep praying!
I have two cd’s of my aunt, my dad’s sister, speaking to a radio programme for Northumberland radio. She tells if her life in the Queen Alexander’s Royal Nursing Corp, torpedoed during the war & then as a District nurse & midwife around the Hexham area. It’s lovely to have.
Thank you all for your interest, at the time mum thought it was quite a normal childhood & was very happy & very secure, it was only as she got older that the suffocating home life began to feel restricting. She joined the St John’s Ambulance, helping on Preston railway station as troops traveled around during the war. Then nursing & she met my father in Blackpool were they were billeted in adjoining hotels. He was a navigator in the RAF flying in Lancaster bombers. She was 21 when they married so escaped. She loved her father very much, he was her hero!
Strangely I have very fond memories of granny, she used to tell us amazing made up bed time stories, me & my eldest brother were transfixed!
Am tagging you into the above just for a bit of extra info if you’re interested!
Thank you all. X