Family

My sister Susan brought our cousins Barbara and Freda to see Mum and me in Tiptree for the afternoon.  They are two of the four children of Dad's only sister Joyce, who passed away on 7th November last year only 6 weeks before we lost Dad himself.  Barbara gave us this photo of our grandfather, Dad's father Stanley, which I hadn't seen a copy of before.  Of his eventual seven grandchildren, our grandfather only knew Barbara, as he died in early 1949 at the age of 53.  He had been rendered paraplegic after being knocked off his bicycle by a drunk driver in the winter of 1947 and fracturing his spine.  He never walked again, and eventually developed serious complications from pressure sores, which was what caused his untimely death.  I am told my grandfather was a kind and upstanding man, who bore his very long stay in hospital with patience and forbearance.  Like father, like son.  I wish I had been able to know him.

Mum and Dad married later on in 1949, with cousin Barbara as one of their bridesmaids and my late cousin Linda as the other (see extra photo, Barbara is the little one).  It was amusing to realise that Mum, Barbara and Susan all had one of their bridesmaids with them today, as I had been a bridesmaid for both my cousin and my sister in the 1960's.  We may not always manage to meet up too often, but it's heartwarming to know that my family on both sides are in contact, and always so loving and supportive.