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Memories of Rose

By Edward Manly, youngest child of William and Rose.

Rather than try and tell her life story, forgive me if I just recount some personal memories of my mother. One of the earliest is of when we were evacuated to Huntingdon during the Second World War and billeted in a small house where our family of seven (it included Nan, our matenal grandmother who lived with us). I remember Mum having furious arguments with the woman whose home it was and who seemed to be entertaining a lot of the time - mostly with men. It was years later that I learnt that this woman was somewhat of a loose one, having the time of her life while her husband was away. It was very typical of Mum to protect and defend her children. Threats to the well-being of her family were the only times she would become really angry.

While in Huntingdon, I started school and hated it - I wanted to go to the same school as my brother and sister. It was Mum who got me moved even though it meant further for her to take and fetch me. (Dad was in London during the week running his businesses.)

A memory that has intrigued me for many years is the story she told me about being a star witness in a court case in, I think, 1926. A very fashionable young woman, she was dubbed by the press at that time as the girl in the pink stockings. Looking back at newspapers of the period (I did some research at the British Library Newspapers division in Colindale, north London) pink stockings were the height of fashion. Despite my research I haven´t been able to verify the story but, according to Mum, photos of her were splashed over the tabloids of the time.

She loved life and people and it was not uncommon for our home to be full of our friends, some who would refer to her as Mum Rose. Although untrained she was a natural piano player. I´ve often wondered that, if she had had the benefit of lessons, whether she would have been an accomplished pianist. As it was she would play almost any song, old or new, simply by hearing it once or twice. Many happy times were spent having a good old sing-song around the piano.

She kept up her natural good spirits despite her long fight against cancer. I thank God for having such a wonderful mother and that, at least, she lived long enough to see all my children before she died on September 12, 1970.