Mrs W.E. Palmer (b.1908): Biographical Entry

582 PALMER, Mrs. W.E., ‘Memories of Long Ago’, TS, pp.34 (c.12,200 words). Brunel University Library.

Born 1908 in Bramley, near Guildford. Father a tenant farmer and mother a dressmaker. One of 4 children (2 boys, 2 girls). Educated at village elementary school and Sunday School. Married. Moved to Harting Coombe, Sussex, in 1910 and then to West Lavington, near Midhurst (to 1925). Living in New Addington, Croydon, in 1983.

No details of employments.

Member of Girl Guides.

Recollections of a poor, rural childhood with comments on ancestry, the church, games, May Day, and Women’s Institutes. A particularly useful section deals with the author’s schooling. Written in the third person (‘Francesca’).