Florence Anne Cooter (1912-2004): An Introduction
I was born Florence Anne on August 1912 in Acre Road Kingston-Upon-Thames to Jane and Walter Watson. Born in August …
Marion Owen (b. 1909): Habits, Culture and Belief
‘how glad I am now […] to have had this experience when young’ (Owen, p. 46) Independence was important to Marion and …
Lilian Westall (born 1893): Life and Labour (Part 1)
Figure 1 Household Maids for a London Family in the early 20th Century Throughout Westall’s memoir, work is a main theme …
Henrietta Burkin (born 1904): Purpose and Audience
“This was to have been an account of my early youth… but I think I had better commence with my Mother’s early …
A.W Todd: Yard Culture
Like any work place, Masonry had a culture of its own that existed within the confines of the working day and the …
Elizabeth Rignall (B.1894): An Introduction
We were all poor them days! But what enjoyment we got out of life! Elizabeth’s grandmother, having regretted sending her daughter to …
Percy Vere (H.V.Smith) (b.1913) Childhood and Education
‘My father had eight rows of allotments, and grew chrysanthemums and mint. My eldest sister and I used to have to go …
John Edmonds (1911-1984): Life and Labour (Part One)
Whilst many working-class autobiographers write centrally about the struggles of working life, talk of labour is ominously absent in John Edmonds’ …
Florence Anne Cooter (1912-2004): War and Memory Part One
Florence witnessed and lived through the effects of two world wars. Memories of war began early in Florence’s life as a child …
Lilian Westall (born 1893): Home and Family (Part 1)
‘If he was late – midnight, or after, he would be drunk’ (1) The family and the home, for Westall, are expressed …