Winifred

My cousin Winifred died a couple of days ago. As “last man standing “  ( our two surviving blood relatives are both very ill  and our in law relative isn’t much better ) I get to arrange some things. Thankfully she had a pre paid funeral plan and a professional executor.

Over the past few years I haven’t seen much of Winifred even though she lives relatively close. I had no idea she was even ill until a few weeks ago when I had a strange phone call saying she was leaving hospital and did I know where her spare key was. On deciding to investigate I found her in a sadly reduced condition.

She was reluctant to tell me what the problem was although she eventually confided in Annette that she had cancer. I was glad that we had some short time together and that we visited her in hospital the day before she died She was my parents favourite and I could hear mother urging me to do all I could.

Very vivid in her memory was the time she was evacuated during WW11 from her home in Coventry to live with my parents in the country .In fact I have a definite idea that the timing of my birth was down to the influence of Winifred on my parents. They loved having a charming 5 year old staying and I can see my mother saying damn the war lets have children now. My surviving cousin has told me that my mother wished for a girl like Winifred who was always their favourite niece. My mother never gave me the slightest hint of this, if indeed it was true.

My mother was very interested in skills like knitting and sewing and did make a slight effort to teach me but I was hopeless and she gave up quickly. I know she was pleased that Annette has a multitude of craft skills although our own children are not greatly interested. Our granddaughter Alice shows interest in art so perhaps she will develop that in later life.. Annette has also tried to interest the others so we shall see.

Winifred had interests quite different from mine, in animals and religion. It was her interest in animals that was the  reason we didn’t visit her but that she always visited us. We went with another set of cousins to visit her years ago She had a non-housetrained large dog and the ambience was quite repellent.

Through her religious beliefs she had been an active member of her local church. I must say her fellow churchgoers have been quite magnificent. Winifred lived on her own since her father died some 20 years ago and they have looked after her, accompanying on hospital visits, shopping and just being company. Unfortunately they didn’t make any contact with me and it is only in the past few weeks I have come to know some, particularly the couple who live nearby.

When my mother was pregnant with me Winifred’s mother managed to come to live temporarily in a nearby village so they were reunited there away from the horror of the Coventry bombing. Their house in Coventry was damaged in a raid but was repaired after the war.

Winfred had an aunt ( and namesake) who had a huge influence. She was herself a nurse and encouraged Winfred into the profession. Ironically Winifred with no children of her own became a midwife.

Among many poignant things left behind is her father’s soldier’s will. He was in the army all through WW11. His will left everything to his wife, my aunt Amy. He survived and lived to a good age latterly, after Amy died, sharing a house with Winifred.