I am sorry it's been a while since I have posted anything about the family history. It is a 'fits and starts' kind of hobby and I can go months without doing any research, and then become obsessive again.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I spent a lovely afternoon with Auntie Shirley and one of my cousins, Tracey. Auntie Shirley is the eldest child of my gran, and my dad’s eldest sister. She kindly gave me a lot of photographs and memorabilia related to our family history, all of which I will share on the family website pretty soon. It is not just mine to know about, but all of ours. Some of it makes me feel quite tearful, particularly letters sent to her from our Grandad when he was in hospital with lung cancer, and I will share these too.
So, here's a little taster about our Gran, and there will be more on the website soon (probably too much and you'll get bored).
My paternal Gran was Mildred (Millie) Jane Crouch.She was born on 1st March 1916 at Triangle Cottages, Grafty Green, Kent. Here she is with her beloved brother Arthur outside Triangle Cottages.
Gran was one of four children born to Charles William and Frances Louisa (born Weller) Crouch who were married on Christmas Day 1912. I believe a lot of people used to marry on Christmas Day because it meant they could have a couple of days off work to celebrate their nuptials. A long time ago, Gran’s brother Arthur (great uncle Arthur) gave me a rolling pin and bread board that Gran’s mum was given on her wedding day in 1912. I keep it out of the way as I am a bit worried it has wood worm! (it is full of tiny holes). Anyway, Gran had an older brother Arthur, a younger brother Leslie and a baby sister Alice. Alice died of TB in 1923 when Gran was only about 7 years old. Her mother followed with the same illness a few years later, so before Gran had even reached her 11th birthday she was without her mum. As a result, she always confessed to be a rather sad and miserable child; not surprising as she loved her mum dearly and missed her terribly. The below picture shows Gran and her brothers outside Boughton Malherbe School. What an amazing photograph! I wonder if they were told not to smile :(
OK that's it for this blog! You'll have to keep an eye out for a website update if you want to read and see more. I have some memoirs Gran wrote for me about 20 years ago; all her diaries (how many times could she clean someone else's windows!?!); AND details on her exploits into publication! Who knew ... but our Gran actually did have her 15 minutes of fame!
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