Gale winds & rain all day. Children went to school in am. Then I met them at 12 & went to Drayton. Cremation at 3pm at St Faiths – no service in church. Nice service there. Led by Rev Graham Eddy. Uncle Arthur spoke beautifully. E very upset. U Ray, Ken & A Dolly came from Bedford. Olive Alf & Carole too & lots of ladies. About 40 for tea. Roger went to meeting at Mr Cheeseman’s in evening about France. A went to BB. Felt very lonely. Rang FR at night. He rang me in am. He told Ken E that I’d seen him Sat. 1T.
Notes
The Weather
Mum noted that the weather was bad with gale winds and rain all day.
Grandad’s Funeral
It was the day of grandad’s funeral, see Chapter 116. Mum noted that we went to school in the morning (am), see Chapter 118. She met us at 12 and we went to Drayton. The funeral was at 3pm at St Faith’s Crematorium.
St Faith’s Crematorium
St Faith’s crematorium opened in 1937 on the site of a former workhouse which was destroyed by fire in 1923. The large red and mauve brick chapel was finished in 1936.
No Church Service
There was no church service, see Chapter 116. Frankly, I am surprised by this given how fervent churchgoers grandma and mum were. I suspect grandma decided pragmatically that because grandad did not attend church services he probably would not have wanted such a service for his funeral. I don’t know what mum would have thought. However, I do know that when my brother Alan died, she was quite insistent on having a Methodist service for him even though Alan did not attend church. In addition, both his widow and son had strong feelings against having a church/religious service although they went along with it given mum’s strength of feeling on this.
There Was a Nice Service at the Crematorium
Mum noted that there was a nice service at the crematorium, see Chapter 116.
Rev Graham Eddy
Mum noted that the service at the crematorium was led by Rev Graham Eddy. He was the Minister at Mile Cross Methodist Church and not to be confused with Rev G T Eddy, who was Chairman of the District at this time and for whom mum worked, see Chapter 116.
Rev Arthur Lofthouse
Uncle Arthur refers to Rev Arthur Lofthouse who was a close family friend having been Minister at Bourne Methodist Chapel in Kirkby from 1938 to 1942, see Chapter 31. Mum though that he spoke beautifully, see Chapter 116.
Liz Was Very Upset
E refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). Mum noted that she was very upset. She would have only been ten at this time.
Funeral Attendance
Mum noted that there were about 40 people who attended the funeral tea; see Chapter 116. These included, from Bedford, grandma’s brother, Ray Cirket (U Ray), and his son, Ken (Kenneth), and grandma’s first cousin, Dorothy Rose (A Dolly). Grandad’s niece, Olive Holland (née Evans), her husband Alf, and their daughter Carole also attended. Mum also noted that there were “lots of ladies” and I presume these were friends of grandma’s from the women’s meeting at Drayton Methodist Church that she attended, see Chapter 124.
Meeting to Discuss Holiday in France
Roger refers to me and Mr Cheeseman to one of my school teachers. I went on a number of school trips to France with him including camping trips in both 1975 and 1976, see Chapter 118. In the evening, I went to a meeting at his house. I think this was an initial meeting to discuss the second of these trips.
Boys’ Brigade
A refers to my brother Alan. He went to Boys’ Brigade (BB), see Chapter 124.
Very Lonely
Mum had been troubled with loneliness since she and dad split up in 1973, see Chapter 114. On this occasion, she noted feeling very lonely.
Rev Dowson
FR refers to Rev F R Dowson. Frederick Rodham Dowson entered the Methodist ministry in 1936. He was born in Haxby, York on 5 August 1912 and he died in Selsey on 4 September 2011, aged 99. I believe he was superintendent Minister for the Park Lane circuit from 1968 to 1974. He and mum were close and they spoke and corresponded frequently, see Chapter 114. On this occasion, he phoned her in the morning (am) and she phoned him at night. He told her that he had told Ken Elworthy (Ken E), the junior Minister at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, that she had seen him on Saturday.
Antidepressants
During this period, mum had had severe struggles with her mental health, suffering with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she noted that she took one tablet of amitryptilline (Tryptizol, T).
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