A New Life – Part Two
1960
On the 4th February Anne suddenly appeared in the middle of the morning to say her father, Mr. Flynn, had died in his bed, such a shock for her. She phoned Ray Benson and they went straight down to Ringwood. His funeral was held at the Dulwich R.C. Church, so Mrs. Flynn stayed with us, as well as Anne, but she went back to Ringwood after a week to try and make a life for herself down there.
Dick had a prostate operation in April, which basically was the beginning of his cancer trouble.
Sally left school in July and found a job for herself at Gamages after we had another holiday at Hordle with Win and Jack. Whilst there we went to see Maggie and Bertie again at Cowes. Sadly Maggie died on the 11th November, three months after that visit, leaving Bertie to fend for himself.
1961
On Easter Sunday 2nd April Mr. Heath, our priest at our Camberwell Church, collapsed in the middle of the service, which was awful as the church was so full of visitors. So the Church was closed and he died on the 10th May and was buried in Albury graveyard.
We had a letter from Chris on the 17th May to inform us that the Borneo Company would not be renewing his contract at the end of his period abroad.
Doug joined St. Barnabas choir and attended choir practice there for the first time on the 9th June and sang in the Church on St. Barnabas Day.
We had a week’s holiday at Hordle and on the last day of June, Doug retired from Lloyds Bank after 40 years service.
Anne Flynn got married to Ray Benson and went to live at Lee near Lewisham.
On the 2nd July, Mr. Perry, the vicar of St. Barnabas, invited us all to a coffee party to introduce us to various members of the Church.
Sally went on holiday to Cornwall in July with her friends Ann Birkin and Tony Chable, and met Clive Perkins, who visited us for the first time.
Christmas was spent with the Edgar Powell family at Blindley Heath, where they had a grocery shop in a huge old house, so many rooms and stairs, a lovely place for hide and seek.
1962
In 1962 Chris and Shirley were married in Miri on 24th February – Photo 186 – and left at once for the journey home. Such an ordeal for Shirley, different country, different climate and different people, but she adapted very quickly. Then Chris had to find a job which was not very easy, luckily Shirley could type and found local work to help and eventually they moved into a small flat at number 80 Beauval Road.
Winnie left Dolphin Square and moved into a flat near Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, so we saw more of her and celebrated Easter Sunday together in St. Barnabas Church.
At Whitsun, all of us including Winnie, had a picnic at One Tree Hill, Sevenoaks, where we met up with Dick and his family – photos (187/188).
We all managed a holiday together that year in Ovingdean in Sussex, which was quite fun – Photo 189. Sally and Clive came down and slept on the floor for one weekend.
We spent Christmas at home with the family and on Boxing Day the Edgar Powell’s visited us from Blindley Heath. That was the night it snowed a lot and they had a great time snowballing. That was the first time Shirley had ever seen snow for herself and was quite excited, unfortunately she later became rather fed up with it because it lasted right through to the following March. Anyway Winnie had to leave her car outside because she was too scared to drive in the snow so Chris took her home in his car and Clive also left his scooter and Chris took him home as well.
1963
Dear Aunt Lulu, Mother’s sister, died in January and her funeral was at Beddington Church and after at Eric and Bobby,s bungalow at Waddon, her former home. Photo 190 was of her taken in the garden there some years earlier.
This year the post 56 sang the “Mikado” and in July we had a holiday at Winnie and Jack’s at Hordle.
On the 27th July there was a farewell party at Eric’s for Edgar and Amy and family who were off to make a new life in New Zealand. Photo 191 is of them both together with Michael taken in Auckland many years later in 1972.
Paul was born to Chris and Shirley on 22nd August and Liz passed her eighth ‘O’ level. Paul was Christened in October with Anne Benson (Nee Flynn) as godmother. Photo 192 was taken on the day of the christening in the back garden at Woodwarde Road. Photo 193 of Paul was taken a little later at Xmas.
1964
On the 28th March, nephew Graham Powell married Miriam and on the 19th April Sally and Clive became engaged.
On the 18th May the whole family had a picnic in the garden of Dick’s house at Otford – Photo 194 – a lovely affair, only Sally had a temperature. She had been camping with the “Imps” at Seasalter.
We went down to Whitstable with Sally and Clive on the 22nd May to see the house they contemplated buying, falling in love with the place.
After that Sally and Clive’s wedding was arranged so swiftly we did not have time to worry. They were married on the 5th September at St. Barnabas Church, Dulwich. Clive’s friend Trevor, a vicar, took the service with communion, which was a signal for two babies to cry, the mothers did not think about taking them out, which I thought was rather thoughtless. Apart from that all went very well with the reception held at our house and it turned out a lovely hot day, so the garden was full of people, but not enough seats. Trying to find someone to cater for it had been difficult, but it turned out alright in the end. Photo 195 is of Sally and Clive taken in our garden and Photo 196 is one of Sally, Mr and Mrs Perkins and me on the steps of the Church with a few “Imps” who provided a guard of honour.
Sally and Clive spent their honeymoon in Cornwall and often returned there for their holidays. It was nice to visit Sally at their seaside home and when they went on their holidays we used their bungalow for our holidays and got to know Whitstable so well. Photo 197 is of All Saints Church in Whitstable which we attended on our visits there and got to know even better in later years.
1965/6
In 1965 Winston Churchill died and had a very moving funeral on the 30th January.
Sadly in March 1965 Clive’s father Mr. Perkins suddenly died with a heart attack, which was a terrible ordeal for Madeleine and of course Clive. She decided to sell her house and move down to Whitstable to live near Sally and Clive. It was quite a long and difficult process but she eventually moved in with her furniture into her bungalow.
All this time Liz was tackling her ‘A’ Levels which she passed but not with high enough grades so did not get a place in a University. It was the year of the “bulge” when young people born the year after the war came of age, masses of them. She managed to get into the Lycee Francais de Londres, and left school in July, but did not really enjoy her time there, although she passed her diploma and was proficient in typing and French shorthand. She went to live in a flat with her friends but came home fairly often. Photo 198 is of Liz taken at about that time in our garden with Penny our cat.
Sadly in June ’65 Pip had died and Phyllis had all that to cope with alone in New Brighton, near Liverpool.
Of course as our holidays were now spent in Whitstable we often met up with my cousin Grace Roskilly who lived in Tankerton. Photo 199 is of Gracie taken in the flat she occupied there. On one occasion we had quite a long walk from Sally and Clive’s bungalow to All Saints church, passing along the top of Downs Avenue, not realizing that we would eventually be living in that road.
Young Christopher was born to Sally and Clive in October ’65, and we spent two days with them in November. Photo 200 is of him in the garden of their bungalow.
A French student, Chantal de Boulanger – Photo 201 is of her in the garden with Penny – lodged with us for a time to help her English which was not very good, while attending a college to prepare for her Baccalaureate. She was a strange girl, very anti English because she came from Rouen, but improved as time went on and became addicted to Cox’s apples and cheese on toast, which was very useful to me as she came home to lunch. She returned home in July 1966 but had a struggle to pass her exam as her writing was so awful, which did not help.
1967
On 1st January 1967 Nicholas (Nick) was born to Sally and Clive and she had her hands full, toiling up and down Borstal Hill shopping in Whitstable with two young babies. Photo 202 is of Chris and Nick in their pram.
Doug had his first heart attack on the 19th May during choir practise in Christian Aid Week. As he delivered the envelopes for this, I had to finish collecting them for him, as he spent a month in King’s College Hospital and came out on the day of the Dulwich Millennium.
A month after on the 16th June, we went to Whitstable with Winnie when Sally’s family went to Ventnor for their holiday together with Chris, Shirley and Paul. Just before they went away on holiday, Chris and Shirley had a letter from a Mrs Pellow in Ryde, I.O.W. saying that cousin Bertie was ill in Hospital. The Pellow’s were apparently related in some way to the Newmans. Anyway so of course they went to see him, but sadly he died shortly after on the 15th July. So Chris, with Clive’s help, arranged his funeral in Cowes which they attended, also seeing Bertie’s solicitor so his affairs could be wound up.
While this was going on and we were away in Whitstable, Doug improved rapidly, having Winnie’s car was so useful as we did not have to walk up and down hills. When we came back Doug had his check up at King’s which was satisfactory.
Chris had a stone in his kidney the day before his 31st birthday and was rushed to Dulwich Hospital in great pain, but was home again after eleven days.
Liz left the flat she had been sharing with friends and came home. Chris changed jobs and started work with U.A.P.T. in Croydon in December.
1968
Liz had her 21st birthday party in January, but we were sent out to sleep at Chris and Shirley’s. The house survived but smelt of cider, I think they enjoyed it.
In May my sister Winnie had a heart attack just a year after Doug and again during Christian Aid Week and was taken to King’s and rushed into a ward during an emergency somewhere, bells ringing all over the hospital, that was not a nice welcome. Winnie also delivered envelopes for Christian Aid so once again I had to finish the task. Unfortunately we had a holiday booked to go to Win and Jack’s at Hordle but Winnie insisted that we should go. But when we came back she was transferred to Dulwich Hospital because her ward was being redecorated. It was not so nice, and she was put next to an old lady of 90, who cried all the time, so Winnie held her hand and did things she should not have done, apart from worrying. Then on the 15th June, the day she was going to come out of hospital to stay with Bobby at Waddon, she went to have a bath without telling anyone, and had another heart attack in the ward bathroom and died, a terrible shock to all of us. Photo 203 is of dear Winnie taken in our garden.
Her funeral was held in St. Barnabas church, and I think all the remaining members of the Camberwell church turned up as well, and she was buried at Honor Oak Cemetery in Grandma’s grave for five people: Grandpa, Grandma, Mother, Father and Winnie.
On the 26th June we went to Whitstable, while Sally’s family were away, and Chris and Shirley moved to Maidstone on the 1st July. They called on us the same evening because their butter had melted it was so hot, and the next day they came and fetched us to see their house, and we liked it very much – see Photo 204. There was a real heatwave that June/July and we found it cooler in Clive’s bungalow on the hill than on the sea shore, it was lovely and we needed the break.
On returning from this holiday, Bobby and I had to empty Winnie’s flat, and move all the furniture to our house in Woodwarde Road. Then various parts of the family called to take what they wanted away, but we kept the greater part.
We visited Sally in Whitstable quite often, had Christmas Day in Maidstone and Boxing Day in Whitstable, bit of an effort for Chris driving us all that way.
1969/70
I visited our friend Mrs. Arthur, who lived in Dulwich Village to help her with her work once a week, as she was so crippled with arthritis. I also occasionally went to Bible study evenings.
In April 1969 Sally had Jonathan, so we went to Whitstable for the weekend and stayed there again in July. In August they moved to their new house in Tankerton , with Madeleine in a granny flat with her own kitchen. Photo 205 is of Jonathan in the garden of their new house in Tankerton.
Doug was not well that Christmas and had bronchitis, and he could not go to church again until March 1970. Liz got a permanent job at Hertz and eventually moved to a flat in West Dulwich.
Eric had a heart attack at Stephen Powell’s wedding and was whisked to the Mayday Hospital, but was only kept there for two weeks. When he came home he decided to walk down the garden, then after walking back he collapsed and died on the kitchen floor, which was such a terrible shock for poor Bobby. Sadly she has joined him now.
