My mother was very fond of her cousins Nell and Nora. They were a few years older than her and must have seemed very glamorous. They kept in touch for most of their lives. When she stopped hearing from them she feared the worse. It really troubled her.
You can see from these portraits that both sisters had a star quality. Nell’s life followed a more conventional course, while Nora defied expectations. She might be the first career woman in my family. As far as I know, she was the first teacher.
I remember the sisters visiting when I was very young. By now Nell was living in Scotland with her husband Campbell, but the sisters remained close, so we probably saw them when she was visiting. Later they stayed in touch through letters.
Like my mother, I was rather in awe of Nora. By this time she was married to Peter Brown. After the war Nora had chosen career over marriage, leaving two suitors heartbroken, but she didn’t hesitate to accept Peter’s proposal and they married in 1960. Originally a harbour master at Sunderland, he was promoted to harbour master at Hull. They bought a large house, Greystoke, which they restored.
We never visited them in Hull, but I was impressed by Peter’s status and by descriptions of their home and garden. My brother was obsessed by ships and the sea; my dad often looked forward to the day his ship came in; we always had holidays by the sea. So having a harbour master in the family seemed a very wonderful and exciting thing. I don’t think I was a mercenary child, but I knew they were richer than anyone else in my family. That added to their allure. I always loved big, old houses and gardens.
After I went to grammar school, and became increasingly academic, I felt a connection with Nora, the only relative who’d taken an academic path and had been a teacher for many years. Maybe Nora felt it too, for she gave me an expensive ballpoint pen for my 21st birthday.
I think my mother was shocked, and disapproved of Nora’s refusal to marry Jack, the man she’d dated and corresponded with all through the war. Nellie married his friend, Campbell, as soon as he was demobbed. Nora had a second suitor too. She kept both of them until her mother was dying, when she announced that she didn’t want to see either of them again. Perhaps her mother’s death freed her from expectations.
My mother’s life was constrained by her beliefs about women. I’ve come to realise that admiration was often hidden under her disapproval. Nora didn’t take an easy career path. She worked in a school in one of the poorest parts of Newcastle, not only teaching but supplying clothes and toys. She stayed there and became headmistress.
I’m sad I’ve so little to say about Nell, the quiet, less assertive sister. She looks rather lovely in this 1941 portrait. She’s carried on the Thorne tradition of dressing in her finest for photographs, in a beautiful crepe blouse and tailored jacket. When Campbell retired they moved to Yorkshire, to be close to her sister again, but, my mother noted, their dream home was a one bedroom bungalow.
You can see from these portraits that both sisters had a star quality. Nell’s life followed a more conventional course, while Nora defied expectations. She might be the first career woman in my family. As far as I know, she was the first teacher.
I remember the sisters visiting when I was very young. By now Nell was living in Scotland with her husband Campbell, but the sisters remained close, so we probably saw them when she was visiting. Later they stayed in touch through letters.
Like my mother, I was rather in awe of Nora. By this time she was married to Peter Brown. After the war Nora had chosen career over marriage, leaving two suitors heartbroken, but she didn’t hesitate to accept Peter’s proposal and they married in 1960. Originally a harbour master at Sunderland, he was promoted to harbour master at Hull. They bought a large house, Greystoke, which they restored.
We never visited them in Hull, but I was impressed by Peter’s status and by descriptions of their home and garden. My brother was obsessed by ships and the sea; my dad often looked forward to the day his ship came in; we always had holidays by the sea. So having a harbour master in the family seemed a very wonderful and exciting thing. I don’t think I was a mercenary child, but I knew they were richer than anyone else in my family. That added to their allure. I always loved big, old houses and gardens.
After I went to grammar school, and became increasingly academic, I felt a connection with Nora, the only relative who’d taken an academic path and had been a teacher for many years. Maybe Nora felt it too, for she gave me an expensive ballpoint pen for my 21st birthday.
I think my mother was shocked, and disapproved of Nora’s refusal to marry Jack, the man she’d dated and corresponded with all through the war. Nellie married his friend, Campbell, as soon as he was demobbed. Nora had a second suitor too. She kept both of them until her mother was dying, when she announced that she didn’t want to see either of them again. Perhaps her mother’s death freed her from expectations.
My mother’s life was constrained by her beliefs about women. I’ve come to realise that admiration was often hidden under her disapproval. Nora didn’t take an easy career path. She worked in a school in one of the poorest parts of Newcastle, not only teaching but supplying clothes and toys. She stayed there and became headmistress.
I’m sad I’ve so little to say about Nell, the quiet, less assertive sister. She looks rather lovely in this 1941 portrait. She’s carried on the Thorne tradition of dressing in her finest for photographs, in a beautiful crepe blouse and tailored jacket. When Campbell retired they moved to Yorkshire, to be close to her sister again, but, my mother noted, their dream home was a one bedroom bungalow.