Mum had a passion for History which she shared with us from an early age. The Birmingham museum and art gallery was our second home, a place where mum had her dream job of Education Officer, where she met Dad and started the Museum Saturday club, which both Debbie and myself attended. We came to know the different galleries well, the pre-Raphaelites being a favourite, although nothing could beat the roar of the T-rex (I am sure it’s head moved), except maybe the City of Birmingham steam locomotive that moved on the hour in the Birmingham Science Museum. We also had frequent visits to the Natural History Museum at Cannon Hill Park with its collections of rare breads.

As young children we had regular visits to Liverpool and Lancashire to visit mums relatives and would stay with Uncle Jim at May Cottage in Newburgh, the Cottage that mum had been evacuated to. Mum’s account of her wartime experience (as well as Dad’s) is enclosed. We enjoyed many happy visits to Uncle Jim’s cottage and explored the surrounding area including the Liverpool and Leeds ship canal, where uncle Jim (mum’s uncle), his father (mum’s grandfather) and generations going back to the late 1700s had plied their trade as boatmen. Heirlooms from May cottage and the work of the boatmen adorned mum’s bungalow including a Vienna wall clock and a pair of Staffordshire dogs.

My O Level History project was about castles, we visited Chepstow and Warwick with School and then mum gave me a guided tour of Kenilworth Castle which I wrote up and submitted, the artefact kept by mum remains to this day. This visit to Kenilworth Castle along with many other visits to Castles, Stately homes and Industrial sites have instilled in me a love for history which I have been able to share with Fiona, Joshua, Samuel and Benjamin, all being keen knowledgeable historians.

When Mum’s grandchildren were small Nana and her grandchildren had numerous visits to Cogges Farm with Manor House and Walled Garden at Witney and The Oxfordshire Museum (TOM) at Woodstock. Cogges often had bread making and other living history activities to engage all ages as well as the beautiful walled garden which had been a favourite place for both Mum and Dad. TOM had dinosaurs!. At both, Mum shared her passion for history with the volunteers, with us and with her grandchildren. These were happy times.

Thank you mum for enthusing and sharing your love for history with us.

Andy