Yes ,it hits home especially at such a family orientated time as this.
Mine is my father’s sister,5 years younger than he and left to look after her Dad andtwo older brothers when her zmother died,she was 14.
Had no life really,keeping house and Grandad thought she had enough to do without having a job too,so she did not meet many friends which she would have done at work.
Married the quietest gentlest man you could imagine.
No children but she was a fantastic knitter,those familiar with complicated knitting will be able to visualise the lovely feather and fan stitch,she knitted my sister and I lots of things.
She looked after Grandad and her batchelor brother,was very interested in sport ,and loved snooker on T,V.
When her husband died I sorted out affairs for her and got some help as they had been too proud to ask for any.
Used to living very frugally,through the depression of 1920 ‘s and 30’s .
I used to get her pension for her and would give it to her,she would say get my handbag please and put it in.
I never did but gave the unopened
bag to her and went to the Kitchen and made Coffee.
I felt she needed that privacy.
When she died I was on a school trip that day,the call from hospital came about 8-30 am.
I phoned the teacher with whom I worked and explained,(there has to be a certain percentage of adults to children for safety reasons and my absence would have meant the trip may have to be cancelled.)
However someone else stepped in and I went to the hospital some time later after a long traffic jam delayed journey.
Sadly she had died,but I had been there the evening before.
To tell the truth I really think she was dead when I was phoned.
No one missed her ,her father and both brothers had died years before.
Simple service and no fuss.
But the marriage was a good one and so although they were not church goers the only thing I could think to do was to have their names put in the book of remembrance for their wedding day at the local church.and each Sunday nearest that date their names are read out.
.I put flowers there on the Sunday nearest their anniversary and that is all I can do,just a little remembrance of two modest people .
However——— when I had to open the handbag,feeling incredibly guiltyI was so surprised,she had saved up a considerable amount over I don’t know how many years.There were no others besides my sister who refused to visit or attend the funeral and who thought auntie’s husband quote,” a nobody”,
So I shared it with a near neighbour who had been very good to the old couple.
At that time we had to have extensive repairs to our big old house( we must have had the worst surveyor ever!)
They were going to cost almost as much as the house.
Boy did auntie’s nest egg come in handy.I had no idea they had anything.
Very modest by most standards but amazing for two such people.
No one but me remembers them at all.
On a policy .taken out by Grandad for her there is a signature of a witness,
my grandfather’s sister whom at the time I had no knowledge of.
Most documents were lost in the blitz of December 1940.
So there I remember her fondly and with great gratitude.
Viktoria
But no one else does,sadly.
