...Old Letters
from Maurice
and Dorothy Goddard
Mr.
Maurice Goddard
Wonston
Manor Cottages
Sutton
Scotney
Nr.
Winchester Hants
9-4-47
Dear Cousin:
No
doubt you will be wondering who I am so let me first
tell you I am the eldest son of Rhoda Goddard and
grandson of Maurice and Annie Black of Rose Cottage
Inkpen Common, Newbury Berks.
Now I
hope I can explain all to you about my dear
grandfather and mother. My grandmother, (your
Aunt Annit) still lives in her same cottage as she
has lived in all her married years and has often
spoke of you all and wondered if any of your
offsprings were here in England during the war.
We had endless numbers of Americans billeted around
Inkpen, Kintbury etc and several girls have married
Americans.
Well
dear cousin, my grandfather (Uncle Maurice to you)
died in May 30th 1940 at the age of 81
years, 82 had he lived another fortnight. He
had been in poor health for several months and in the
January before his death my grandmother (Aunt Annie)
slipped and broke her foot and had to be taken to
Hospital for a fortnight and grandfather fretted at
being parted from Gran, that my wife and I took the
responsibility on our own shoulders and had gran back
home and we nursed her back to health, but no doubt
all the illness to gran was a great shock to grandad
as we nearly lost her with Bronchitus after her
accident but the Lord was good and spared her to us.
In
April the same year grandfather was taken ill with
heart trouble but at the end he did not lay and
suffer long, in fact I had been up with him all night
and the morning he died he was going to get
downstairs for a while and he collapsed trying to get
out of bed and died in gran’s arms.
Well
we thought after over 60 years of being together and
gran not very strong, that she would never have got
over her loss, but she did and my mother and I took
it in turns to stay nights with her, untill May the
following year when my poor mother (Rhoda) collapsed
suddenly one day after having done her work with
Cerebral Hemerage (a stroke) which paralised her from
head to toe all down her left side and I’m sorry
to say she died just three weeks after on May 29th
1941 one year all but a day after grandfather at the
age of 63 years. This we felt would sure be the
end of gran but she was given strength to carry on
for a while longer and still is as well as we can
expect her to be at the great age of 86 years last
March. And she still lives in her little
cottage.
My
younger brother who is unmarried lives with her and
untill a year ago my wife and I lived close by and we
used to see to her. After the war our house was
wanted for a farm labourer and so I had to get a
house where I had work (and my work is woodman like
my grandfather). I am now Head Woodman on Mr. J.
Arthur Ranks Estate at Sutton Scotney. He is a
great man with the “Odeon” cinemas and a
miller and we believe he has a brtother in America
who owns Race Horses.
I have
a son 26 years married and one child, (a son) and
daughter 15 ½ years. My wife goes backwards
and forwards to see to gran and my brother and my
father lives alone not far from my gran. My son
went all throught the war from August 1939 to May
1946. Owing to operation and illness he never
went further from home than Northern Ireland, but I
am glad to say he is better now in health and doing
well at his trade (cabinet maker) to which we had him
apprentised for 4 years. So thats our family
history of the past 7 years.
You
asked my family names. Well we are only a small
family, there is Granie (Mrs. Annie Black) My mothers
name Rhoda (Goddard by marriage) my father still
alive (Alfred Goddard), there were only my brother
Alfred and I (Maurice) by my mothers marriage,
Maurice the eldest and now married with one son (George)
and Margaret daughter, and Peter grandson) This makes
grannie a great-great grandmother.
I have
a paper cutting somewhere I will try and find of my
gran and grandads ______and wedding with a photo of
the then five generations, being gran and grandad
Black, Rhoda, their daughter, Maurice, Rhoda’s,
son and George, Maurice’s son and a coincidence
my wife’s mother and father celebrated their
Golden wedding two days after and so my wife made
both the cakes for them as you will read. We
have a group of all the family taken at the
__________wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Black
perhaps I could send to you if you would like it
after gran passes over.
Now
you understand I am writing this for my gran as she
can’t read or write and relys on me for
everything. So on going up to see her this
Easter Sunday she asked me to write to you and tell
you all the news I oculd and to say she couldn’t
get us to write to you as she didn’t know your
address as Rhoda used to do al the writing before she
died and as far as gran can remember they sent out
some photos for your mother to see in answer to a
photo she had to return of your mother outside her
house but heard nothing since the war and I can tell
you she and grandfather hsa told us all about you and
she has talked a lot about you all out there during
the war years and wouldn’t have been surprised
if any of the offsprings of the family had called on
her during the war.
And it
cheered her a lot to get news of you as she feels so
alone these days. We beg of her to come and
make her home with my wife and I so that she could
have every care these last years of her life but as
is only natural after so many years she won’t
leave the old home.
Of
course gran brought me up as her own son ever since I
was 2 years old and so gran and grandad were like a
mother and Dad to me so you can guess how I have
clung to them all these years, so do please write to
me at the address I give and Ill read it to gran as
she will be looking for a few lines to be read to her
from you.
She
got a job to see and suffers great pain with her foot
she broke but in spite of all she is very self willed
and wont give in for more than she can help.
So now
I will close these lines to you and may Gods Blessing
be with you and all your family.
From your cousins
Maurice and Dorothy Goddard
for Mrs. Annie Black