Mrs W.E. Palmer (b.1908): An Introduction
Francesca’s thoughts went back down the years to Harting Coombe Farm, near Rogate where she lived with her parents, her sister and …
Mrs RM Downer (b.1884): Habits, Culture and Belief
RM Downer spent much of her free time with her employers. She was friends with many of her clients and while completing …
Mrs RM Downer (b.1884): Education and Schooling
RM Downer dedicates very little of her memoir to her early memories and school days. As I have explained in other posts, …
Mrs RM Downer (b.1884): Life and Labour (Part 1)
RM Downer’s memoir is heavily focused on her career as a dressmaker. As I have explored in a previous post, her purpose …
John Edmonds (1911-1984): An Introduction
‘My visit seemed to me akin to that of viewing an old friend’s corpse prior to its funeral, and on my journey …
Henrietta Burkin (born 1904): War and Memory
“We were brought up to be very patriotic… saluting a large union Jack” (1.20) War is a predominant theme in Henrietta Burkin’s …
Mrs W.E. Palmer (b.1908): Politics, Protest and Class
Another red letter day for Flo was when she went as a delegate, with the Women’s Institute President, and secretary to a …
Winifred Relph (B.1912): Purpose and Audience
‘I had always thought of myself vaguely as Socialist, my father’s early influence and the poverty of my childhood contrasted later with …
Winifred Relph (B.1912): Home and Family
When discussing working-class home and family experience, it is important to emphasise how varied the memoirs are and how differently each autobiographer …
Mrs RM Downer (b.1884): War and Memory
RM Downer lived through two World Wars in her lifetime. The First World War began when she was 30, and Second did …