 
# The Almost Attwoods

Descendants of James and Emma Attwood of London

Edited by Dave Mullan

2016

ISBN 978-1-877357-24-4

ColCom Press

28/101 Red Beach Road,

Hibiscus Coast, Aotearoa-New Zealand 0932

http://www.colcompress.com

http://dave-mullan.blogspot.co.nz

Copyright 2016 Dave Mullan

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The Family

James and Emma

THEIR KNOWN SURVIVING FAMILY FOR THREE GENERATIONS

* James Attwood—Lived only 11 days

* Charles Attwood—Lived only 6 days

**1**. Emma Elizabeth Ward

2 Tom—Thomas William Attwood

2.1 Frank Attwood

2.1.1 Alice Beetson

2.1.2 Orma Paterson

2.2. Annie Allum

2.2.1 Annie Rose Allum

2.2.3 Ruby Margaret Dow

2.2.4 John Charles Allum

2.2.5 Robert Allum

2.2.6 Lilian Mary Hutcheson

2.3 Ruby Gertrude Thomas

2.3.1 Nellie Mullan

2.3.2 Arthur Hugh Thomas

2.3.3. Margaret Thomas

2.4. Thomas William Attwood Jr

2.4.1 Douglas Keith Attwood

2.4.2 Joan Betham

2.5. Lilian Dorothy Surtees

2.5.1 Dorothy Ruth Kerr

2.5.2 Harold Edward Surtees

2.5.3 Brian Robert Surtees

3. Frank—James Francis Attwood

3.1 Francis Phillip Attwood

4. Annie—Hanna Charlotte Foster

4.1 Leopold George Foster

4.1.1 Leone Mildred Bartley—

4.1.2. Lois Margaret Cullen

4.2 Raymond Philip Foster

*** Eliza Attwood—** Died at the age of five years from tubercular meningitis

5. Jim—James Henry Attwood

5.1 Harold Wilfred Attwood

5.2 Cecil James Attwood

5.2.1 Reginald Attwood

5.3 Arthur Francis Attwood

5.3.1 Olive Annie Sullivan

5.3.2 Arthur Harry Attwood

6. Jack—John Attwood

6.1 John Wesley Attwood

6.1.1 Sidney John Attwood

6.1.2 Eileen Gerring

6.1.3 Wesley Blyth Attwood

6.1.4 Margaret Joan Hunter

6.2 Sidney James Attwood

6.3 Ethel Grace Attwood

6.4 Nell—Ellen Mary Johnston

6.4.1 Maurice Johnston

6.5 George William Attwood

6.5.1 Douglas Attwood

6.5.2 John William Attwood

6.5.3 Bruce Attwood

6.5.4 Gary Attwood

6.6 Edith Margaret Thrupp

6.6.1 Thomas Barry Thrupp

6.6.2 Gwendoline Mary Anderson

6.6.3 William Colin Thrupp

6.6.4 Graham John Thrupp

6.7 Florence May Adams

6.7.1 Shirley Joan Dunphy

6.7.2 Peggy Florence Hall

6.7.3 Eileen Joyce Adams

6.8 Arthur Frederick Attwood—

6.8.1 Noel Attwood

6.8.2 Karen Shirley Barnett

7. Dot—Mary Letitia Hensley

7.1 Evelyn Mary Riesterer

7.1.1 Donald John Riesterer

7.1.2 Colin Edgar Riesterer

7.1.3 Lloyd Vincent Riesterer

7.2 Lil—Lily Bertha Gaskin

7.2.1 Ngaire Jean Prentice

7.2.2 Neville Gaskin

7.2.3 Victor Gaskin

7.2.4 Keith Gaskin

7.3 Frances Helen Beatson

7.3.1 Patricia Helen McArthur

7.3.2 Raymond George Beatson

7.4 Irene May Brittain

7.4.1 May Radford

7.4.2 Jean Sinton

7.4 3 John Elliott

7.4.4 Irene Charlotte Oxley

7.4.5 David Andrew Elliott

7.4.6 Judith Mary Jackson

7.4.7 Malcolm McGukin Elliott

7.4.8 Richard Lindsay Elliott

7.4.9 Roy William Elliott

7.4.10 Christopher Elliott

* Robert Ward Attwood—Died at two years from head injuries suffered in a fall

8. Arthur Attwood

8.1 Gordon Wellesley Attwood

8.1.1 Leslie Gordon Attwood

8.1.2 Norman Frank Attwood

8.1.3 Ronald Arthur Attwood

8.1.4 Graham Trevor Attwood

8.1.5 Doreen Elizabeth Smith

8,1,6 Allison Margaret Attwood

8.2 Dorothy Minnie Purdon

8.2.1 Marigold Shirley Poot

8.2.2 Laurel May Kunz

8.3 Arthur Ernest Attwood

8.4 Elsie Madeline King

8.4.1 Frederick Charles King

8.4.2 Olive May Hay

8.4 3 Brian Ernest King

8.4.4 Velma Beverley Stewart

8.4.5 Winston Arthur King

8.5 May—Ellaline May Thompson

8.5.1 Frederick William Reginald Thompson—Died in infancy

8.5.2 Dennis James Gordon Thompson

8.5.3 Dorothy Evelyn May Thompson

8.5.4 Anthony Peter George Thompson

8.6 Mary Frances Mickell

8.6.1 Warwick Gordon Mickell

8.6.2 Gerard Arthur Mickell—Died as a child

8.6.3 Lionel Ernest Mickell

8.6.4 Rodney Steven Mickell—Died as a child

8.6.5 Humphrey James Mickell

8.7 Irene Mabel Ashby

8.7.1 Clifton Ronald Ashby

8.7.2 Phillip Raymond Ashby

8.7.3 Paul Brian Ashby

8.7.4 Peter Francis Ashby

8.8 Ethel Emily Kirkby

8.8.1 Lorraine Helen Hunt

9. Marie Annie Evett

9.1 Jim—Herbert James Evett

9.1.1 Ruby Margaret Evett

9.1.2 Peter James Evett

9.2 Kenneth Douglas Evett

9.2.1 Jill Cullen

9.3 Alan Clifford Evett

9.3.1 Alan Jonathan Evett

9.3.2 Susan Mary James

9.3.3 Robert James Evett

9.3.4 Margaret Thomas

9.4 Marion Joyce Evett

10. Nellie—Helen Rose Attwood

10.1 Roy—Kenneth North

10.1.1 Rosemary Stokes

10.1.2 Valerie Norman

10.2 Margaret Shearing

10.2.1 Brian Hugh Shearing

10.2.2 Roma Elizabeth Stahle

10.2.3 Paul Hamilton Shearing

10.2.4 Pauline Rebecca Slatter

About the Editor

### Introduction

If this book has come about partly because I suggested it and offered to do the original printed publication, it would never have seen the light of day without the wonderful efforts of all who have contributed to it over the last twelve months.

Some were immediately enthusiastic and submitted large amounts of text within a month of our first requests in September 2005. Others came along more slowly as the news of the project gradually moved around among the family. It has been a labour of love just finding more than half of us! A few initially said they would have nothing to do with the book but have since sent in helpful contributions. A close scrutiny will show that only one has refused; this has been his personal request and we have honoured it. One other has failed to respond to many, many messages. This almost complete coverage of three generations is a remarkable achievement and the family owes a debt of thanks to every researcher, writer and scrutineer of the production.

It has been a labour of love for me, too, and if the book makes us all a little more aware of our scattered family it will be well worth while. I hope that those who dip into these pages will be as fascinated as I have been to prepare them. It has been an honour to be privy to your confidences, your frankness and to the joys and sorrows of so many people over the century.

Clearly, we are no great and powerful family with an aristocratic blood line going back to ancient times. But we come from people who faithfully—and in many cases, prayerfully—went about the precious business of doing the best they could with what they were given where they were. No one living today could wish to have a more worthy heritage than that.

If this book challenges us to live up to those kinds of standards, those who helped to create it should be well pleased.

Dave Mullan, Editor

20 Tui Gr, Paihia, 0020, New Zealand +64 9 402 8071 colcom.press@xtra.co.nz

### Notes

Original Dates

We have taken the birth dates of the children of James and Emma from the Ward family bible which in 2007 was in the custodianship of Doug Attwood of Albany. Although the handwriting is very consistent, suggesting that the entries were mostly made at one time, it is thought to be reliable.

Inaccuracies

Inevitably, a few errors of fact will be present. All the stories have some element of composite authorship and the editor accepts responsibility for some hard choices that had to be made to fit the technical as well as editorial requirements of this book. And, people being people, some contributions and corrections simply were submitted too late for publication.

Format

The original publication was organised around page headings for each of the primary siblings and each family member was shown in relation to them. The online format does not allow for that complexity but the text is virtually identical to the original.

Celebrating our Centenary

This family record was first published to acknowledge the centenaries of the arrival in New Zealand of Jack, Tom, Jim and Dot and their families in 1906 and 1907.
James and Emma

James Attwood, from whom we trace our modest family, came not from London but from Hertfordshire. Allison Attwood, a great-grand-daughter, located the record of a baptism in St Albans Parish Church dated 27 Jan 1833. The information on the baptismal certificate clearly informs us that James Attwood was three years old and was the "illigitimate" son of Charlotte Attwood of Abbey Parish.

A real Attwood?

On his Police records, James' parents are shown as William Attwood and Charlotte Attwood so we may infer that she gave birth to James in 1830 and three years later married William. The status of marriage might have entitled the baby to be baptised, taking the name of his adoptive father. But it hardly qualifies him as a genuine Attwood of history.

It is, of course, conceivably possible that the adoptive father was in fact also the biological father and that he and Charlotte married after a respectable gap of three years. But, given the times, it would seem more likely that her parents would have insisted on a wedding on the spot had they known who the father was at the time Charlotte was carrying the baby.

Coat of Arms

In the 1970s, the last member of one of the English family lines, Phil Attwood, purchased a smartly-presented coat of arms of the Attwood family. A newspaper reported that it was mounted on the door of his room in the home where he spent his final days. Having no family of his own he entrusted it to Allison Attwood when she was making the rounds of relatives and family sites in England in 1978. She confirms that it is not appropriate for us to use it as our connection with any Attwoods prior to James' time would be by his adoption at best. It does not seem likely, therefore, that we can claim to be at one with those Attwoods who trace their ancestry back to the du Bois (at wood) family in France before William the Conqueror.

If we know nothing about his blood lines, we can't claim much more knowledge of James' life as a child and young man. At some point after the baptism at St Albans, he went to London, perhaps with family or perhaps as a young man to get work. In the 1851 census there is a James Attwood who was born at St Albans, living at 20 Bloomsbury Square, and employed as a servant. The meagre facts seem to suggest this is our man but his age is given as only 19 whereas the baptismal record at St Albans suggests that he was born in 1830, making him 21 in 1851.

However, the following year on 21 June a James Attwood signed up with the Metropolitan Police Force, giving his address as Manor Way Lodge, Blackheath Park. This is certainly the founder of our modest clan of Attwoods.

On 11 Jul 1858, he was married in the parish church at Southwark. The bride was Emma Ward, whose family continued in close relationship with the Attwoods for decades.

They appear to have settled in the Lewisham area. We believe Emma gave birth to fourteen children, two dying within their first few days and two probably in childhood. Of the ten children who survived into adulthood, most brought their families to northern New Zealand between 1905 and 1920.

On the registration certificate for the wedding, James' father was recorded as William Attwood, a grocer and Emma's was Thomas Ward, a bailiff.

The happy couple both gave Lant St as their address, which may tell us something about their relationship. They are both stated as being "of full age"; nobody bothered with exact ages at that time. Emma described herself as a dressmaker and James was stated to be a Policeman.

Police Service

The Metropolitan Police Historical Museum archives yielded a copy of his records. With careful precision we are informed that he joined the Force on 21st June 1852 and served for 16 years and 181 days, all in "R", or Greenwich Division. His Warrant Number was 3278. He was 5′7″ and had distinctive scars on his right ankle and knee and a birthmark on his left shoulder. He is described as being of medium build, having "dark" eyes, dark hair and fresh complexion.

This was an honourable profession, though still, as a metropolitan organisation, relatively young. There was supposed to be a policeman for every 900 citizens of London in the 1850s so James would have been a member of a large organisation. It was now well managed and the expected standards of behaviour and performance were somewhat in excess of what they had been in the more informal forces of two or three decades earlier.

Before Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 the duties of police were limited to detection and prevention of crime. But by James' time the policeman would have taken over the functions of night-watchman, lamp-lighter and fire warden. He would have also provided other public services such as, no doubt, answering "Ask a Policeman" questions. Recruits for the new force were carefully selected and trained and from the 1830s the occupation became full-time with weekly pay of 16/-.

Thirty years after Peel's Act created the principles that shaped modern English policing, we can say that James Attwood would have been involved in conspicuous patrolling the streets in uniform to provide a disincentive to criminal activities; he would have been part of a centralised semi-military institution controlled from Scotland Yard; and he would have demonstrated the required personal characteristics of patience, impersonality and professionalism.

The authority of the Metropolitan Police, we are told in an introductory article on the internet,

...derived from three official sources: the crown, the law and the consent and cooperation of the citizenry.

But progress was slow. As crime was reduced in London it spread to other centres and in 1853 only 22 out of 52 counties had police forces. Subsequent Acts of Parliament which had attempted to set up a centralised force managed from London were not successful so that about the time that James was being married there were only 12,000 police in all of England and Wales.

In January 1861 one PC 267 Attwood was fined 5/- and cautioned for some misdemeanor and in May of that year he was fined the same amount again. In the same week he brought a charge into the station while he himself was drunk; his pay was made up to the 11th and he was dismissed from the Force. We are pleased to note that this was not our James who, we trust, was altogether more diligent and sober about his duties.

The census of 1861 records that James—Police Constable—and Emma were living at 48 Old Rd, Orpington, Kent and their ages are shown as 28 and 22 respectively. His birth place is stated as St Albans, and we learn that Emma was born in Lambourne, Berkshire.

Early Retirement

However, the stresses of the job in those days were well known and it is no great surprise to learn that he was retired on the grounds of ill health in December 1868. He was, we are informed none too technically, "worn out". He was granted Retirement Certificate No 1 which may be to do with the category of his retirement rather than to the novelty of being the first policeman to "perf out" (Police slang for retiring on medical grounds).

Arthur Attwood brought a wooden trunk to NZ when he came in 1914; it is lined with newspaper cuttings of the 1850s and they appear to relate to James Attwood's work in the Police Force. Anthony Thompson, of Titirangi, is custodian of this interesting artifact.

Blackheath Rink

While James had been granted a pension of some £230 a year—by no means an inconsiderable sum in 1868—he no doubt had to find paid work. They had about seven children by then, although only four survived infancy and childhood. By the time his son Thomas William was married in 1883 James had become the "caretaker of the Blackheath Rink".

This was not your basic handyman job at all. The Blackheath Rink was possibly the first roller skating rink in London when the craze swept over from the USA. Opened in 1876, the rink itself was partly covered in and could provide seating for a huge crowd and was used for concerts and other public events as well as for skating. George Grosmith, the lead in the fashionable Gilbert and Sullivan operas, was among major identities who performed in concerts there. The rink included a resident orchestra, skating instructors and employed professionals to give demonstrations.

We don't know exactly what James's role as "caretaker" was but it would seem to have included a wide range of responsible duties and perhaps also, because of his Police background, a certain amount of supervision of the young blades and their lasses as they engaged in the new roller skating fad. The craze was such that a wag wrote "skating rinks and spelling bees were the new foot and mouth disease."

The rink was close to Hither Green and other expansive parklands where all kinds of riotous behaviour was alleged to take place. It is perhaps hoping for too much to imagine that some of the frivolity that is reported about this civic amenity did not find its way into the rink. But no doubt the devout Wesleyan caretaker who'd been in the famed Metropolitan Police was up to handling any situations that arose.

The rink has long since been replaced by multi-storey housing. Perhaps, like so much of this part of London, it was bombed out during the war. The site can still be identified near the Blackheath Railway Station. Some part of the original buildings may remain next to the emergency services buildings at the station end of the wedge-shaped block on which so much trendy entertainment took place 150 years ago.

Daily Life

James and Emma were said to be devout Methodists, taking a full part in the life of the local Wesleyan Church. Their lifelong habits were taken up by most of their children who continued regular church-going of more than a merely formal nature.

Local Trade Directories for two or three years in the 1890s have entries and addresses for various Attwoods. No 2 Turner St is thought to have been the family home but the records are clear that this is not the only Turner St house occupied by members of the Attwood family.

James Attwood and Emma Ward appear to have spent all their lives in the vicinity of Lewisham and Lee in what was often referred to as Kent rather than London in those days.

James died in 1886 when several of his children were relatively young. Emma died in 1915 and was buried with him in Hither Green cemetery. Their shared grave may still be seen there.
1—Emma Elizabeth Attwood—1861-1961

Emma Elizabeth's life story was happily preserved for us by a comprehensive article published in the local paper in Whitstable in 1961 when she celebrated her 100th birthday. At that time she was thought to be Whitstable's only centenarian.

The article says that she was the oldest of a family of seventeen children but our understanding is that there were only fourteen. Two boys were born before her but died as infants and two others died as children. She appears to be the oldest of the ten listed as survivors in the Ward Family Bible, being born 17 April 1861.

We are told that she was born in Orpington which was in the Lewisham area where her parents spent almost all their lives. As different birth places are recorded for different individuals it is likely that the family moved about a good deal but evidently remained in this general locality.

She evidently had "a very scanty education" and probably left school quite early to help with the younger children at home. Later, we are told, she went to a large Victorian farmhouse, which was set in lovely grounds. Here there was a very large family and she helped in the home.

She must have continued her parents' commitment to the church as the article states that she became "the first Methodist deaconess". She was said to have been "ordained" by Arthur Hancock, President of the Bible Christian (Methodist) Church sometime in the 1890s. However, according to her nephew, Roy North, her ministry was a rather more informal arrangement to assist the local minister. Enquiries at the Methodist Church's Archives Centre in England do not substantiate the claim that she was the first Deaconess (or indeed, any formal Deaconess) in Methodism but there are some other minor errors in the article and it seems reasonable to assume that a local interviewer may have got the detail wrong. It's worth noting, however, that deaconesses of the Methodist Church of New Zealand who married were required to resign from the Order and their records tended to be swept under the carpet so it is possible that Emma disappeared from the UK records in the same way. In the eyes of many earnest church people at that time, she would have "fallen from her Call".

She certainly was in some kind of serving ministry for some years and it might well have been with considerable regret that she found herself obliged to resign from stress when she was in her late thirties. However, this might not have been an unmixed blessing; earlier, she had wanted to marry Fred Ward, who was her first cousin on her mother's side. The family were very much against this match and if they didn't say in so many words "Get thee to a nunnery", the life of a deaconess might have had some extra appeal in such a time of personal frustration.

It was perhaps then that her younger brother Thomas wrote telling her that he had become a "saved sinner". This is one of the few pieces of his writing that have survived his interesting life. It is a testimony to the esteem in which he held his sister that he shared this news with her before writing to anyone else, even his mother.

When continuing her ministry became no longer possible, apparently for health reasons, Emma apparently turned again to her Fred and at last they were married in the Bible Christian Chapel, Lee High Rd on 14 Nov 1896. One or two touching letters have been found that seem to relate to this event. Fred bought her a lovely opal and diamond ring in Switzerland; this eventually passed in succession to Nellie North, then Margaret Shearing and finally Roma Stahle who wears it all the time in Melbourne.

Fred was a dairyman and had fine shops in Dulwich and then Turner Rd in Lee, the same locality in which the Attwood businesses were first established. Molly Cullen lived with them and kept the books for the shop.

When the TW Attwood family emigrated to New Zealand in 1907 and their 18-year-old daughter Annie absolutely refused to leave London with them because she was in love with John AC Allum, it was to Emma that the family turned to solve their dilemma. Annie went to live with the former deaconess and her dairyman husband. If it was anticipated that this would make Annie's "infatuation" go away that was a forlorn hope. Perhaps Emma judged from her own experience that no spirited young woman should have to wait as many years for marriage as she had done; or perhaps her mature judgment was less of a steadying influence than her brother and sister-in-law had hoped. Whatever the reasons, Annie and John were married in a small ceremony barely five months later. A year or so after that they, too, left for New Zealand with their young toddler Rose.

Emma and Fred remained in England and had no children. In 1928 they retired to Tankerton on the North Kent Coast. The ill health that prompted her to resign her ministry continued to give her trouble and from about the mid 1930s she was chronically ill and an "invalid" for long periods. The newspaper article says that she had an internal disorder which "baffled the medical profession" but that she steadfastly refused to have an exploratory operation.

Fred died in 1938 and she continued to live alone in their home. In her eightieth year, she made a home for two World War II evacuee children from Chatham. She had to make up two beds each night on the dining room floor as there was no spare bedroom for them in her modest home. Having no children of her own, she lavished affection on the two strangers, who called her Auntie. In the twenty years that followed, the two people, both married, kept in touch with her and both came from Gillingham to greet her for her 100th birthday. They brought with them the latest baby for her to admire.

At some point, Emma went to live with her youngest sister Nellie and her husband Albert North who were also in Tankerton. She remained with them for almost all of the rest of her life. According to the newspaper article this move made for a dramatic change in her health:

It is said that Whitstable is a place "Where health blows right in from the sea." and that statement has been proved correct in the case of Whitstable's centenarian, for within twelve months of coming to Whitstable her ill health diminished and she began to take long walks. By the end of her second year in the town, she began taking her favourite walk from her home at 44 Baddlesmere Road via Borstal Hill, Wraik Hill and Seasalter Cross—a walk which she maintained until the outbreak of the second world war.

With Nellie and Albert and their family, she made a full contribution to the life of the local church. She was said to be an unusually fine speaker on devotional and total abstinence topics and was a keen member of the local branch of the British Women's Total Abstinence Union. As Vice-President of the Women's Fellowship connected with the Tankerton Evangelical Church she found another outlet for her gifts and energies. It was not until her hundredth year that she felt obliged to give up all public work.

Great-niece Roma Stahle remembers being somewhat scared to visit her "Auntie May" (we did not know Emma was known by any other name until Roma told us) when she was being looked after by her sister Nellie. She seemed very, very old and wrinkly to a young child "and she had to be kissed!" says Roma.

In the last couple of decades of her life Emma became an enthusiastic gardener, a hobby she pursued until her 92nd year. After that she sat for a few hours each day in an armchair by the French windows overlooking Nellie's lovely garden. Emma was known for her great sense of humour. Asked by a reporter what it felt like to be a hundred years old, she replied: "I don't know, I've never been a hundred before."

She was a great reader until 1960 when her eyesight began to fail. For her centenary she received many congratulatory cards and telegrams, but pride of place went to a telegram from HM the Queen. Between eighty and ninety people visited her, including her niece Lady Allum MBE and Sir John Allum CBE from New Zealand. That must have been a very special reunion as she had given a home to the 18 yr old Annie in 1907 when she refused to emigrate to NZ with the rest of her family.

Emma's life is perhaps best characterised by her response to a reporter's question about her hobbies. She replied: "Plenty of hard work. Hard work did not blot out the sunshine in my life."
2—Thomas William Attwood 1862—1941

Tom was born in 1862, the first of the sons of James and Emma to survive childhood. Nothing is known of his childhood but by the time he was 20 Lewisham Library records indicate he was working in Lee, London, as a dairyman on his own account.

Married in 1883 in Dacre Park Baptist Chapel, he is noted as a "gardener" but shortly afterwards he is back in contemporary trade records as a "dairyman" working successively from at least three premises in the Lewisham area.

In 1907 all of the TW Attwood family except Annie emigrated to New Zealand on the Fifeshire together with sister Dot Hensley and brother Jim Attwood and their families. Thomas developed a small orchard and market garden at what is now 321 Hepburn Creek Rd on the south side of the Mahurangi River.

In 1913 Thomas was awarded a medal at the Auckland Show for his Cape Gooseberry entry. It is thought to have been just one among many. Rose Emma was a voluntary worker for the Red Cross. They were both very active in the Mahurangi Methodist Church and began a Sunday School of 16 or more children in their home.

Their daughter Ruby was married from Hepburn Creek in 1911 and the only surviving photo gives us an idea of their very modest situation. The microcap trees behind the house location are still standing in 2006.

In late 1917 the family moved briefly to Sturgis Road, Henderson to look after the orchard of a friend who was detained as a conscientious objector. When they returned to Hepburn Creek, the 1919 firelight had devastated orchards in their region.

However, Thomas' relatively short orchard career was enough to make him very active among the founders of the Fruitgrowers' Federation in 1916. He was involved in a parliamentary deputation to seek a tax to set up the NZ Fruitgrowers' Federation and chaired the vital national committee that resolved the ensuing conflict about how to spend the money.

Thomas was second president of the new organisation from 1920 to 1925. In 1923 he was away for some months on its behalf in South America and Britain. He addressed the Manchester Rotary Club on "The Bonds of Empire" his speech being reported in full in the Manchester Guardian. On his return he did speaking tours around the main fruitgrowing districts in New Zealand giving "well-received addresses on his observations".

With the government decision to participate in the British Empire Exhibition of 1924-25, Thomas was sent for most of both those years to the specially built Wimble stadium and exhibition centre. He checked on the arrival of the fruit crop and managed the displays and sales at the exhibition. On the second trip Rose Emma accompanied him for the eleven months out of NZ and her letters to her daughter Dorothy give detailed insights into their experiences. ("My Darling Dorothy", ColCom Press 2002)

His efforts in London appear to have been absolutely tireless and Rose Emma did not speak entirely kindly of the Federation and their expectations of their UK agent. Although very busy during his 1925 visit, Thomas conducted worship in many Methodist and Baptist Churches.

Clearly, he was an excellent orator but his passion for all things horticultural was enormous and many testified to the breadth and depth of his general knowledge.

NZ Alpine and Rock Garden Society

It seems likely that by the time they moved to Lower Hutt in 1924 TW was retired. He had certainly concluded his work for the Federation by this time and now became interested in NZ Alpine natives. He was a leading light in founding the NZ Alpine and Rock Garden Society and travelled to several centres in New Zealand to advise on establishment of large rock gardens.

However his particular joy was the establishment of the "National Rock Garden" at Riddiford Gardens in 1928 in Lower Hutt. The project has usually been attributed (the family would say wrongly) to Edward Hutt, the first Director of Parks and Reserves for Lower Hutt Council. But it is far more likely that TW had most to do with the conception and construction of this large and imposing piece of landscape work. Almost all of it appears to have been sacrificed for the construction of first Riddiford Baths and later Queen's Drive and associated developments in the 1950s.

About this time TW was presented with their Diploma of Horticulture by the NZ Institute of Horticulture. He was also honoured by other organisations but details are now sketchy and anecdotal.

He required a relatively minor eye operation but at that time this required a general anaesthetic and he unexpectedly succumbed. The NZ Methodist Times (23/8/1941) observed,

There is a very large circle of orchardists, horticulturalists and rock gardeners throughout the Dominion who will mourn the loss of a very sincere friend...

Many organisations and churches were represented at his funeral, including The Hon Walter Nash representing the Prime Minister and the Government.

Until his biography was published ("Attwood of Hepburn Creek", ColCom Press, 2005), little remained of the life of this remarkable man. Even his own family had only sketchy stories of his life and achievements. That is as he would have wanted it. He was essentially a modest, retiring person. But it is said that those who heard him speak or preach were moved by the depth of sincerity that underlay the passion of the oratory.

Orlando Dryden, a much younger member of his last church congregation, wrote in his obituary for the "Methodist Times"

... It was a joy to accompany him to preaching places and listen to his helpful and practical sermons born of a busy life of rich experience and deep reading... And whenever important or difficult problems were being faced, his words of wise counsel were always most acceptable. He was patient, quiet and unobtrusive in his way, but was possessed of such wisdom and understanding combined with sense of humour that any gathering of the church seemed incomplete without him when on the rare occasions he was unable to be present. His gracious and kindly manner endeared him to all.

None who knew TW Attwood, whether members of the church or involved with him in the wider community, would have failed to resonate with that assessment. He was a man who was greatly loved and respected.

# 2.1–James Francis Attwood 1886—1933

Frank was born in Lee, London, England probably in 1886, the oldest of five children born to Thomas and Rose Attwood. He didn't emigrate to New Zealand with the rest of the family in 1907, suggesting that he had probably already entered military service with the Scots Guards.

However, soon after the Thomas family settled on the Mahurangi river, it seems that he was there with them. It may be that Frank had been invalided out of the army and sought the support of his family at Hepburn Creek.

Very little is known of Frank's life but the diary of Isobel Hamilton whose family had an orchard opposite the Attwood family on the Mahurangi River contains some significant references. On 9 April 1913, Isobel noted, "Frank has not been too well." A month later: They are very troubled over Frank—He is still at Nurse xx?'s and too weak to be operated on. . . .

I went up to see Frank for a while. It is very hard for him. It means so much to him if he can have this operation done or no. If it can be—it perhaps means fair health for the rest of his life. He is engaged to a nurse at home who is willing to come at any time and they are evidently fond enough of each other to undertake the risks of all his misfortunes and see if they can improve matters. If (the operation) cannot be done ... it will mean ill health and maybe the loss of all a man holds dear. I am sorry for him. He is no light burden to bear.

May 19: Frank had his operation today.

Isobel Hamilton's reference to "At home" seems to mean England. But he married Bertha Andrews of Kamo, Whangarei. Was she the engaged nurse? Isobel continues—

May 25: Attwoods picked us up at their creek. They were going up to see Frank ... His operation is not over yet.

June 1: Frank Attwood has got his operation over. Poor old chap. I'm sure he won't feel up to much tonight. Mr and Mrs Attwood were up this afternoon. How thankful they will be. And him also. He was rather down-hearted when I was in on Friday.

Jun 4: Flora . . . tells me that Frank is getting on fine. He has had no pain since the operation.

Jun 5: Frank ... is improving but has been in great pain since the operation. Suffering seems in the air at present.

But this operation is not the end of his troubles.

Jul 28: Poor Frank is very ill. He is suffering dreadful pain and is going to town in a few days if not better.

Aug 6: After tea ... we found Frank had gone away to town to the hospital yesterday morning.

But eventually there seems to have been some improvement:

Sep 9: ... we went up to Frank for half an hour. He is looking so much better for his treatment there.

Frank married Bertha Andrews on 31 October 1917 in the Methodist Church, Richmond Avenue, Grey Lynn, Auckland. Frank was 31. Bertha was 26 and is described as a domestic servant born in Kamo, Whangarei, New Zealand on 6 October 1891. Her parents were John Andrews, who was a mine carpenter formerly of Cornwall, England and Alice Andrews (nee Thomas) of Kamo, Whangarei. The couple settled in Warkworth.

Frank and Bertha had two daughters—Alice Rosaline born 21 August 1918 and Orma born 12 January 1926.

Frank's health remained poorly and he became an invalid, probably having lost a leg. Bertha therefore was obliged to work full-time while also nursing Frank; this meant the two girls had to spend some time in an orphanage in South Auckland. Frank died in 1933 at the age of 47 and was interred in Grave 33F at Kaurihohore Public Cemetery on 18 July 1933.

Bertha finished raising her daughters alone and remarried in 1951 at the age of 59 to Joel Gribble Creamer. She moved to Auckland and lived at Sandringham, Murrays Bay, and Mt Albert until her death on May 5th 1975 at the age of 83.

# 2.1.1—Alice Rosaline Beetson 1918—1999

Alice was born on 21 August 1918 to James Francis (Frank) and Bertha Attwood. Due to her father being an invalid and her mother having to work full-time she spent part of her childhood in a Methodist Orphanage in Auckland where she helped look after her younger sister.

She went into domestic service in Whangarei until marrying Harold Douglas Beetson on 1 May 1937 in the Leigh Memorial Methodist Chapel, Kamo.

After their marriage they moved first to Orakei and later to St Heliers in Auckland. They had two sons, Neville Francis born on 5 March 1940 and Barry Harold, born on 16 April 1943. A baby daughter unfortunately did not survive.

Harold was a well-respected watchmaker and eventually opened his own watchmaker's and jeweller's business in Mt. Albert. Alice assisted him in running the business.

The family loved camping and boating. Holidays would see them towing their caravan to the beach where they were usually joined by other friends and relatives. They loved to travel and enjoyed several trips away, including a South Pacific cruise. They both took up skiing in later life, and in fact Harold suffered a fatal heart attack after a day's skiing at Mt Ruapehu on the 5 October 1976.

Alice continued living at St Heliers enjoying her bowls and croquet as well as various other clubs, until ill health overtook her. She moved first to a retirement village in Hillsborough, then to a rest home in Mt Albert where she passed away on 2 March 1999 after a heart attack brought on by Parkinson's Disease.

She was survived by her two sons, a daughter-in-law, two grand-daughters and four great-grandsons.

# 2.1.2—Orma Paterson 1926—2002

Orma, second daughter of Frank and Bertha Attwood was born on 12 January 1926 in Kamo, Whangarei. She suffered a cleft mouth from birth, and that plus the emotional upset of having to spend part of her young life in an orphanage, thought to have been in Papakura, while her mother worked and looked after her invalid father tended to make her rather shy and retiring.

When Frank died prematurely and Bertha moved to Avondale, Orma went to live with her.

Despite some probable discomfort in social settings she met Jim Paterson at a dance in West Auckland. They married and had five children—Isobel, Eric, Leslie, Ray and Marian. During this time they lived in Westmere.

A family friend from Whangarei recalls that Orma was a great knitter and always seemed to be knitting something for someone.

Jim was a boilermaker and died, perhaps somewhat prematurely, in 1968. Orma went to live with one of her daughters, Marian, at Papatoetoe. She attended the Attwood reunion in 1998.

Ill health necessitated her move to a nursing home where she died on 25 May 2002 at 76 years of age.

# 2.2—Annie Allum 1889—1982

Annie was the oldest daughter of Thomas and Rose Emma and, at 18, absolutely refused to emigrate with them to New Zealand because she was in love with John Allum. They married a few months later and subsequently also went to NZ along with Rose, a babe in arms. Annie and Rose were in a ladies' cabin and John was with six men.

They spent their days on deck and reckoned afterwards that, without some extra rations from a sympathetic seaman for whom she sewed on a button, they would have arrived in much worse shape.

Arriving in Auckland they stayed with relatives (probably Jack and Nell at Onehunga) while John found work. They later moved to Dunedin where he is thought to have been employed by Cobb & Co. After four years and four more children they returned to Auckland. The family settled in Sarsfield St, in Herne Bay, and later around the corner at "The Lindens" at 22 Curran St. The girls went to Auckland Girls Grammar while the boys attended Auckland Boys and Mt Albert Grammar Schools.

John, who had had very little formal education, was now a qualified Electrical Engineer and formed Allum Electrical Company Ltd. What he lacked in education he certainly had in vision and tenacity. He taught himself Pitman's shorthand which stood him in great stead in later years. It is said, although not confirmed, that he sold the first electric light bulb in NZ.

From about 1918 onward he became involved in local body and business politics which culminated in his serving as Mayor of Auckland for a total period of 14 years. He also served as Honorary Swiss Consul and as Employers Representative on the International Labour Organisation both of which positions made him one of the first Frequent Flyers of United Airlines. John was one of the very early members of Rotary and this association was to prove immensely beneficial to their family in the early 1930s when son Jack became desperately ill in Canada.

It is said that "behind every great man stands a great woman" and that is certainly true of the Allums. Annie was a full-time mother and wife but always found time to support John in his civic duties and took on many in her own right. She headed many charities as patron or in some other capacity and gave many hours to the less fortunate people of her time. Her staunch Presbyterian faith was a compelling influence in her life. Where John was a visionary Annie was more of a here-and-now person who was able to take an idea and move people to action on its behalf. The Salvation Army, Childhaven and many other organisations have much to thank her for. The Lady Allum Home was named for her. She was awarded MBE for her public work.

Annie in her own way supported John in the many facets of his many undertakings, especially Chairman of the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority. In recognition of this support the Authority appointed her Bridge Control Officer No 1, and at the opening of the Bridge in 1959 she collected the first toll.

Gwen Railton was employed as her companion to provide help in running the very active household; she remained a much-loved part of the wider family. Although Bob, Ruby and Rose settled away from Auckland there were many warm family gatherings over the years. On the occasion of the Golden Wedding the traffic was so thick and the parking at such a premium outside their house in Aberdeen Road, that the Traffic Department had to be called to intervene. Rose, a lifelong spinster, had her own room although she resided in New Plymouth and made many eagerly anticipated visits.

Annie and John took up gardening in their later years and the rose and vegetable gardens in Aberdeen Rd flourished under their care during their well-earned retirement. On 31 July 1982 Annie died in the Presbyterian SS Association Home that had been named for her.

# 2.2.1—Annie Rose Allum 1908-1972

Rose was the oldest of the five children of Sir John and Lady Ann Allum. She loved learning and graduated MA Dip Ed from Auckland university. She taught at Epsom Girls' Grammar and in 1943 she became headmistress of New Plymouth Girls' High School. The school centennial book said,

... she enchanted us all. She was the freshest of spring breezes—only 35, (she) was elegant, dashing, and from fashionable Auckland where her parents, Sir John and Lady Allum, were mayor and mayoress. With all this she was a scholar and an outstanding and inspiring teacher... She inspired confidence, assurance and certainty and made her pupils want to work, to read, and to be involved with and for others.

During her twenty-five years, NPGHS became the largest girls' school in NZ with 1160 pupils in 1964. Rose encouraged the school to accept girls from the Pacific islands. She also took girls on overseas trips as early as the 1950s and was awarded the OBE for services to Education. Her nickname was Sara.

The Dow nieces boarded at NPGHS in the 1960s and have fond memories of a beloved aunt. She lived on site and her whole life was dedicated to the good of the school. Jan Campbell is grateful for the great variety of academic, sporting, and cultural opportunities and for well-learned lessons about accepting and assuming authority.

Rose was a chain smoker and it was always a treat, travelling from N.P. to her bach in Taupo in her cream Rover 90, to be allowed to light her cigarettes. She couldn't sing and used to say "You girls are so lucky to be able to sing. I'd give my right arm to be able to sing." She was a great bridge player all her life and played golf in her earlier years. She wore a ring on her little finger and constantly twirled it when she was talking.

"She was a wonderful aunt", says Jan, "Quick witted, kind and generous and I wish, in hindsight, I had appreciated her better."

She died of cancer in August 1972, just short of her 64th birthday.

# 2.2.3—Ruby Margaret Dow 1911-1982

Mary spent her childhood years in Herne Bay, Auckland, attending school at Ponsonby Primary and Auckland Girls' Grammar. She learned to swim at Point Erin pools, just along from 22 Curran St where she lived, and she played the violin. At sixteen she began nurse training at Auckland Hospital. She travelled to England in the mid-late 1930s and worked with diabetic children there and at the Middlesex Hospital in London. She went on to Europe—quite an adventure for a woman alone. During WWII she was a nurse with the NZ Army in the General Hospital in Suva. She met Peter Dow, from Gisborne, while he was stationed at Papakura. They met at a dance and she wouldn't tell him her name was Ruby, so he called her "Mary", by which name she became to be affectionately known in Gisborne. They married 24 September 1942, after a week-long engagement and went to live in Gisborne where he was a school teacher and principal. After the war, they had five children in as many years. The family remember her as a very loving mother, who accepted and loved them for all their faults. She was very caring and her vocation as a nurse carried through her entire adult life in hospitals in Gisborne. She was very community minded, involved in marriage guidance and family activities. She ran her own private kindergarten in the mid 1950s.

She was a very generous person, inclusive and hospitable. The children recall many discussions at mealtimes; play was encouraged and they were nurtured to achieve their best at school. She used to whistle while she worked and would be up early watering the garden. She was a great letter writer, and wrote to her family every week for years and years in their adult life. She was a woman of great courage who spoke up for what she believed. She found the good in everyone she met. She enjoyed life best when she was helping others. She died suddenly, aged 71 in November 1982, four days after Peter died.

# 2.2.4—John Charles Allum

Jack was the elder son of John and Annie and, by all accounts, was a fine young man. He wanted to become a merchant seaman and left New Zealand in the early 1930s as a supernumerary on a ship bound for England to take up a cadetship with one of the British shipping lines. His future on the high seas seemed assured.

However he contracted tuberculosis during the trip and in Nova Scotia he was put ashore to be returned home to NZ. Upon learning of Jack's predicament, John arranged through his Rotary contacts for Jack's well-being while he and Annie set sail from Auckland to bring him home.

The story is told in the family how the Rotary Club of Halifax kept John and Annie informed of Jack's condition at every port of call on their voyage to Canada. Furthermore, at every whistle stop during their six-day Canadian Pacific Rail trip across Canada there was a deputation from the local Rotarians with the latest bulletin. They finally reached the east coast, picked up Jack and returned with him to NZ.

He was admitted to a TB sanatorium and subsequently to Auckland hospital where he died.

# 2.2.5—Robert Allum

Bob was born in Auckland, the second son of Sir John and Lady Anne Allum and educated at Auckland Gram mar School. He was on the continent when war broke out in 1939 but immediately crossed to England to join up for the duration. He was 23 and was allocated the rather distinctive three-numeral service number 513. He was selected to join a small guard of honour in 1939, afterwards having tea and buns with the royals. King George, he observed half a century later, was "friendly and restrained". He saw a total of over five years' war service in several theatres before being discharged medically unfit in December 1944. After the war, he married Betty Blower and they had two sons, John and Christopher but they divorced some years later. Continuing with the family firm of Allum Electrical which he had bought from his father, he served as general manager and chair man of directors. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1951 and was made president of the Wellington Justices Association ten years later and was invested as National President at the Conference in Wellington in March 1962. He was an active sportsman, especially in rowing and was a rowing judge at the 1950 Empire Games. He served on the Wellington Hospital Board 1953-68 and was charter President of the Karri Lions Club in 1969. He and his second wife Gladys, who also became a JP, settled in Taupo where he continued involvement as foundation member of the Yacht Club and other sporting and community interests as well as Lions International. Bob died in 2000.

# 2.2.6—Lillian Mary Hutcheson 1920 —

Mary was born December 1920 and educated at Herne Bay Primary School and Auckland Girls Grammar. She delighted in her studies and achieved well.

She graduated in Home Science at Otago University but her studies were interrupted by the arrival of Bill Hutcheson, a soldier whom she met after he had received a comfort parcel she had packed. She taught for a time in Helensville but they married in 1943 and they had four children. Bill had returned from the war with lung problems and he suffered delicate health from then until his subsequent death in December 1980. He qualified as a carpenter and drain layer, building houses on the North Shore of Auckland including their own in Eversleigh Rd, Takapuna.

Mary assisted her parents in public office, learning about meeting procedures and doing secretarial work for her father. Although not "of a sporting nature" she and Bill were founding committee members of the North Shore Basketball Association and Mary became a competent referee.

After the death of her father, Mary and Bill moved into the Allum house to care for an ageing Lady Allum and when she finally went into the Lady Allum Retirement Home they moved north to Russell, Bay of Islands. They spent a few idyllic years together there after Bill retired at age 60. He became weigh master for the BOI Game fishing Club and Mary operated BOI Marine Radio.

After Bill died of heart complications in 1980 Mary moved back to the North Shore. She joined Takapuna Women's Bowling Club and was a committee member and then national delegate for a number of years.

She always sewed for her family and in retirement she devoted her efforts to less functional items and left many delightful and fine works of art for others to enjoy. Mary finally sold her house and moved into a retirement complex near her son where she resides today, the last survivor of the children of Annie Allum.

# 2.3—Ruby Gertrude Thomas 1889—1972

Ruby was the third of the five children of Thomas and Rose Attwood of Lee, London and arrived in New Zealand in 1907 with most of her family, who settled in the Mahurangi.

She was 18 and seems to have immediately gone to live with the Jenkins family in Auckland and worked in their shop. Daughter Nell Mullan told of how, in her ignorance, Ruby offered some of the finest looking eggs to a customer. "Those will never do, Ruby," said the kindly Mr Jenkins, "They're merry widows".

Ruby was an enthusiastic member of the Franklin Rd Primitive Methodist Church. In the choir and the young people's Debating Society she met Albert Edward Thomas who had a few months earlier arrived from Lancashire on the Ionic.

They were married at Warkworth Methodist Church. The guests went to the reception, probably down-river at the Hepburn Creek family home, by launch. An excellent photograph of the wedding is printed in Attwood of Hepburn Creek.

Ruby and Bert settled in Auckland where he soon established his own grocery business. Nellie was born in 1912 and Arthur a little later. The family continued vigorous involvement in the church, Bert being an accredited Lay Preacher and musician. His Preacher's Register shows that he travelled all around Auckland–and much further afield as well–on preaching assignments.

In 1918 Ruby had become so enthused about the rural life visiting her parents at Henderson and Hepburn Creek that she persuaded Bert to take up farming. For four seasons they milked dairy cows on Factory Rd, Waitoa where their house was still standing in 2006.

Ruby was known as a meticulous cleaner of the dairy shed; a surviving photograph suggests that she even decorated it with pot plants.

In 1924 they moved to Lower Hutt and Bert resumed his preferred vocation at Feists' Grocers, near the Ewen Bridge. Two years later he opened his own shop at what became "Thomas's Corner" on White's Line.

Ruby worked in the shop with him as Nellie and Arthur grew through High School, Scouts and church youth work. Baby Margaret turned up unexpectedly and nearly took Ruby's life; she never developed normally and died an invalid at 13.

Ruby and Bert hosted her parents from the late 1930s until they died in the early 1940s. When he gave up the shop about then they moved to Woodvale Gr, Epuni. They also bought a run-down property at York Bay and it became a family project to restore it for holidays.

Bert continued retirement work as a storeman for Crompton Parkinson and the DSIR for a few years. Probably he was quite happy not to be under the very organised Ruby's managerial feet! He played the organ at Waiwhetu Church for many years. In about 1951 they moved to a new home in Levin and broke in the section to establish a much admired garden.

Their golden wedding was celebrated there among a warm gathering of church and family. Bert conducted a well-regarded seniors' choir and also sang solos in church–until just a little past the age when he should have gracefully decided to remain a little more anonymous among the tenors.

Ruby was a very strong—not to say determined—character and when Bert quietly died Nell confided that somehow he hadn't seemed to have been there for years. Ruby herself lingered in a long and trying period of illness, finally succumbing considerately so that her funeral could be fitted into the transfer of grandson Dave and Bev Mullan from Taumarunui to Dunedin in January 1972.

Ruby did not have an easy life—nor did some who lived with or near her at times. But she had an indomitable will, great strength of character and a deep commitment to family, church and faith.

# 2.3.1—Nellie Mullan 1912—1995

Nell, born to Ruby and Bert Thomas in Grey Lynn in 1912, grew up in Waitoa and TOM Lower Hutt. Aspirations to become a teacher were frustrated by the depression and she worked as a legal secretary in Lower Hutt.

She married Bill Mullan of Taita in 1933 and they commenced a family of four. The budget was modest but the quality of family life was very high. During the war they were very busy with house alterations, family, and wartime work commitments. Both were active in the Methodist church. Nell gave leadership in the Women's Guild Fellowship as its last National President and served on the negotiating team which formed NZ Methodist Women's Fellowship.

They formed W A Mullan Ltd in Levin in 1956 and Nell handled the administration work for the business for some years. She was among the instigators of Care and Craft in Levin and was also involved in the Citizens' Advice Bureau. She chaperoned a YWCA tour group of young women to Australia.

They moved to Taupo in 1974 and quickly made their presence felt in St Paul's Union Church. Nell was active in the Taupo Women's Club and developed a craft group for seniors. In their later years she and Bill travelled widely, on one or two occasions being out of NZ for months at a time.

She was a trusted confidant of many people including several Methodist ministers and served on the Spiritual Advance Committee of the Methodist Church. The family respected her for her sound advice when they sought it but sometimes she delivered it before being asked and this was less appreciated.

An enquiring mind matched a compassionate heart and a determined will. Having watched her mother and two aunts die lingering deaths she resolved that she would not do the same. When she developed major internal infections she delayed seeking medical advice and when finally admitted to hospital in early 1995 announced that she did not wish to be medicated or even fed as she planned to die. And she did.

# 2.3.2—Arthur Hugh Thomas 1916—1994

Arthur was born in Auckland on 7 July 1916 and spent his early childhood on the dairy farm on Factory Rd, Waitoa. The family moved to Lower Hutt and he attended Hutt Valley High School, gaining Matriculation before leaving.

Jobs were very hard to get at the time but he was appointed "Office Boy" at the Wellington City Council Municipal Milk Department over some fifty applicants. He soon progressed to clerical work.

At that time he attended the Methodist Church in Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt and ran with Methodist Harriers. He also enjoyed canoe rides and bicycle trips with friends.

He and Isabell McLachlan became engaged in August 1940. Just a few days later he entered Burnham Camp; they said goodbye at the bus stop opposite the family store in White's Line East, Lower Hutt. He and his fiancée would not see each other again for three and a half years. Much letter writing took place over these long years. Arthur went overseas with the 2nd NZEF serving in 6th Field Ambulance in Greece, Crete and North Africa.

He returned in February 1944, bringing a tailor-made suit for their wedding three weeks later. He returned to his job in the Milk Dept and completed his accountancy papers. He and Isabell lived for a time in Naenae, Lower Hutt and then built a house at 49 Norton Park Avenue and filled it with five children.

Arthur held numerous NZ national Indoor Bowls tournament titles and entered the NZ Guinness Book of Records as the only person to have won national titles in singles, doubles and fours.

He continued in the Milk Dept, progressing to Assistant Accountant, Accountant and General Manager. He was Council Liaison for the construction of Wellington Airport.

His main interests were family, church and bowls, both indoor and lawn. He retired in 1974 and he and Isabell set up home in Raumati South on the Kapiti Coast, north of Wellington. Arthur died on 31 August 1994.

# 2.3.3—Margaret Thomas 1930—1944

Margaret came along as a great surprise to everyone when her mother Ruby was 41. It was a very difficult birth. She was not expected to survive and gained weight very slowly and before long it was evident that she was not making normal progress. She was not even able to sit up or communicate meaningfully during her entire life and spent her days in her cot or an oversize pram.

Ruth (Surtees ) Kerr says that Margaret was born just six months after her and she remembers the big pram and a large cot at the end of the hall behind the shop.

I loved Margaret. She always responded or seemed to notice when I went up to her. I understand that in the early days of her life many attempts were made for her healing.

Brother Brian recalls his Dad tickling Margaret's tummy with his hair and her laughing. Dave Mullan remembers that she had some basic emotional expressions but no other communication that he, as a pre-schooler, could actually identify with. She was known in the Mullan family as "wee Margie".

Ruth can still see her mother holding the eight year old invalid on her lap and feeding her Weetbix. She still has a silver teapot that her mother Dorothy was given for minding Margie while Ruby and Bert took their first holiday since the birth (they went to Nelson and some photographs survive, including one of Fifeshire rock—the name of the immigrant ship Ruby arrived on).

Apart from this one holiday, Ruby kept Margie at home until she was about 14 when the work involved in a totally dependent teenager in a home-and-business got beyond her. She was finally persuaded to allow Margaret to go into hospital care. It must have been no consolation to her that Margie died there within just a couple of months. But it was a release from a very difficult situation. She probably had an immune deficiency as well as severe paralysis.

# 2.4—Thomas William Attwood Jr. 1891-1968

Tom was born on 8 August 1891, at Lewisham in Kent, England and attended school to Standard Six. He was then employed in the family's dairy business. Tom emigrated with the family to New Zealand in 1907 aboard the Fifeshire, settling at Hepburn Creek near Warkworth. There he worked on the Hamiltons' farm across the Mahurangi River, boarding with them during the week and coming home at weekends.

When war broke out in 1914 Tom was visiting relatives in England. He returned home and joined the army in 1916 with two cousins. Promoted to Lance Corporal in the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, he was wounded in action a week later at Ypres. His right arm and shoulder were severely smashed and he was classified as unfit for further service. Back in Auckland the necessary surgery was not entirely successful and he never gained full use of that arm.

Before the war, Tom made periodic visits to Auckland where he helped his sister Ruby and Bert Thomas in their Grey Lynn shop. At the Methodist Church next door he met Dorothy (Doss) Whytock and they married in 1920. Most of his working life was with the Auckland Electric Power Board. Tom's son Doug remembers accompanying him in a chauffeur-driven car taking pay packets to the field staff.

Tom and Doss soon settled into a happy marriage and enjoyable domestic life in Grey Lynn. They had two children, Douglas Keith and Joan Margaret. They moved to Remuera and joined the North Memorial Baptist Church. Sunday School anniversaries, concerts and parties filled their lives. Tom joined the church choir and Men's Fellowship: "Mr Attwood was a live member."

He served on the Meadowbank School Committee, the Auckland Licensing Committee and was Treasurer for the IOOF Lodge. His hobbies included gardening, outdoor bowls and numismatics. He gained a wide general knowledge through reading.

In Remuera he spent many hours in his basement workshop working at tasks like carefully stitching new soles to the uppers of the family shoes or home-brewing. In 1930 his new car was one TOM of the first in the street. When the children were young, many holidays were spent camping at Rotorua. Later summer days were spent at Rothesay Bay where they bought a section and Tom set about building a fibrolite bach—no mean feat considering his disability. In 1946 it became their permanent home.

In the early fifties, Tom and Doss shifted to a new home in Meadowbank. It sported the latest in home appliances, including a Bendix washing machine. In retirement they spent some enjoyable years back at Rothesay Bay in another new house, closer to Doug and Ruth and their five children.

When Tom was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he and Doss reluctantly returned to Remuera to be near Joan. Tom's dry sense of humour and quiet, gentle nature enabled him to bear the difficulties and frustrations of his illness with great patience. When asked if he was being well cared for in hospital, he replied, "I do have one complaint—they wake me up to give me my sleeping pills!"

He died at St Andrew's Hospital, Glendowie, on 24 January 1968. Doss survived him by twenty-three years. While still active, she moved to the Caughey Preston Home, Remuera, in 1972 and died there on 27 July 1991.

# 2.4.1—Douglas Keith Attwood 1922 — 2013

Doug was born in Grey Lynn, Auckland on 11 January 1922 and attended Meadowbank School to Standard 6, having moved to Remuera in 1926. He then attended Auckland Grammar for the following couple of years.

He commenced work with John Burns & Co in 1937 and spent most of his working life there for 43 years with the exception of five years in the Army between 1941 and 1946, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. War service included a period in the Pacific following about 15 months in New Zealand and then a further 14 months in Egypt and Italy. These years were a significant period of his life, commencing at age 19 and concluding at 24 in February 1946.

He was engaged to Ruth Nicholson while on leave in 1942 and they were married on his return on 13 April 1946. The eldest of their five children was born in 1947.

Life was particularly difficult at that time with rationing still in force and housing at a premium, so the couple settled initially in a bach owned by Doug's family at Rothesay Bay. They later purchased this. Following about six years there, he bought another section in Rothesay Bay and built a home suitable for their family of seven in 1952.

About this time, he became interested with several others, in forming the Murrays Bay Baptist Church where he became the first Secretary, a position he held for 11 years. His association with this Church continues to this day, although it has relocated and changed name to Windsor Park Baptist Church.

After 26 years the home at Rothesay Bay became too large for their needs and they bought a new property at Beach Road, Torbay where he lived for a further 25 years before Ruth died and he finally settled into an apartment at Fairview Village, Albany where he died in .

# 2.4.2—Joan Margaret Betham 1925-1979

Joan was the second child of Thomas William Attwood (Jr) and Dorothy Whytock. She attended Meadowbank Primary School going on to Epsom Girls' Grammar in 1939 and then to Auckland Business College.

She was employed at Winstone Ltd in their Head Office for eight years until her marriage. Much of her life revolved around the church. Her personal faith in Jesus Christ was the mainstay of her life, enabling her to cope with major difficulties.

In 1943 she met Jim Betham who was visiting her church and was immediately attracted to him and this was the start of a seven-year romance for the seventeen year-olds. Wartime was not easy for the family; but Joan's photo album reveals many happy highlights from this era—Bible Class Easter Camps, camping holidays at Rothesay Bay, a girls' trip to Christchurch, social evenings and her 21st birthday. After they were married, Jim worked long hours at the Winstone Quarry but they were much involved in church life and refurbishing their home, creating a tasteful backdrop for antique furniture and collectables.

Within a short time of the birth of their only child, Christine, it became apparent that Joan had health problems; she was later diagnosed with a benign tumour on her pituitary gland. Her energy levels were often low and deteriorating eyesight greatly hampered her last ten years. But mostly she led a full life managing the home and contributing to the family's experiences in church and around the beauty of the Hauraki Gulf in their motor-sailer.

The birth of her second grandchild coincided with a stroke which left her with some paralysis. She died a year later on 25 October 1979 with her devoted Jim at her side; her funeral service was held at North Memorial Church on her 54th birthday.

# 2.5—Lillian Dorothy Surtees—1905-1985

Lillian Dorothy was born in Lewisham, London, the third daughter of Thomas and Rose Attwood.

She was known throughout her life as Dorothy. As an infant she travelled to NZ with her parents and settled at Warkworth where her Dad, once a milkman, became an orchardist.

Stories of her early childhood and schooldays abound and include her deliberate grounding of the school ferry on an out-going tide to avoid school one day. This relatively early childhood misdemeanour is typical of the joyous attitude she had towards life while growing up there.

Later, she boarded with her older sister Ruby in Grey Lynn where she completed her schooling before moving with her parents to Lower Hutt. Dorothy became a shorthand typist and worked in Wellington for the publishing firm Gordon and Gotch where she made a number of life-long friends. This was her only paid occupation as was typical of that era. She was also very much involved with the Laings Road Methodist Church and through this connection met Edward Anthony (Tony) Surtees. Their friendship in those early days must have been either very strong, (or perhaps somewhat tenuous?) as she turned down an opportunity at that time to travel to Britain as her Dad's personal secretary rather than risk "losing Tony"

Dorothy and Tony were married in the Laings Rd church on 31 March 1928 and settled in Lower Hutt where they were both very active in the church's music ministry.

They remained in Lower Hutt, save for a short time in Wanganui, throughout Tony's working life and for some years afterwards. Together they raised three children, Ruth (1930), Harold (1933), and Brian (1941).

"Windyridge," the Onehuka Rd family home on the western hills of the Hutt Valley was, by today's standards, a large property where Tony grew vegetables and from the surrounding area collected firewood while Dorothy cared for the home and the flower gardens.

Despite the hard times caused by depression and war, theirs was a happy home where children were nurtured and guided well and given every opportunity possible to further their education and personal growth. Dorothy was a wise counsellor and sometimes, an able referee!

Around 1969, some years after Tony had retired and the last of the family had left home, it was acknowledged that "Windyridge" had become too big a property for Dorothy and Tony to manage. Somewhat reluctantly, they moved to Levin and later, after Tony died in 1975, Dorothy built a new home in Masterton to be closer to family.

Daughter Ruth lived nearby and was a constant visitor and where necessary took on tasks Dorothy could no longer manage as in her later years she suffered considerable discomfort from degenerative arthritis. However, with this help Dorothy remained in her own home until just a fortnight before her death from heart failure in 1985.

Dorothy is remembered as a gracious lady, industrious, stoic, strong-willed but compassionate, nonjudgmental, talented, an excellent communicator, loyal to her husband, her family and her church.

She had a profound and lasting influence on many lives both within and outside the family circle.

# 2.5.1—Dorothy Ruth Kerr —1930 –

Ruth Surtees is the eldest child of Tony and Dorothy Surtees. She was born in Lower Hutt and spent almost all her upbringing there except for a short spell in Wanganui.

On leaving college Ruth worked for a short time as a draughtswoman before training (much against her father's wishes!) to be a nurse. Following graduation she continued nursing in the Hutt Valley.

During her training she met Robert Bernard Kerr and they married in 1952 and set up home in the Wairarapa. They lived briefly with Ruth's Aunty Bella, then in a cottage attached to a cheese factory at Parkvale before their first home was built in Carterton.

Ruth has a daughter and two sons and devoted much of her early married life to their care. After a year spent in Christchurch while Robert attended a teacher-training course the family returned to the Wairarapa where they continue to enjoy the semirural lifestyle.

Ruth, like her mother before her, has had a lifetime involvement with her church, including being a church organist, serving a number of churches in the district at various times for a total of more than 51 years. She says she even assisted in building a pipe organ and has significant other interests in many of the local church's activities.

More recently she has of necessity devoted more of her time to caring for an increasingly ailing husband.

Family have always been an integral and very important part of Ruth's life. For many years the family cared for an intellectually disabled lad, providing for him such care that their association continues years after it became impractical for him to live with them. Ruth still has an advisory input into his ongoing welfare. Her three children and their families are regular visitors to the family home.

# 2.5.2—Harold Edward Surtees Grandson 1933— 2014

Harold was born in Lower Hutt, the second of three children to Tony and Dorothy Surtees. He attended Eastern Hutt Primary then Hutt Valley High School before completing a degree in civil engineering. While studying in Christchurch he continued a close association with the Methodist church and was particularly active in youth leadership and the choir.

In 1959 he met Barbara Sellens at an Easter Bible Class camp shortly before taking up an appointment as Traffic Engineer with the Christchurch City Council. They were married in 1961 and continued to be involved in church affairs while raising a family of four daughters; Ruth, Nicola, Julie and Tanya.

Harold's time with Christchurch City Council continued from transportation through a wide variety of appointments to City Engineer and Deputy General Manager. He chose to retire in 1988 at age 55. By this time the children were no longer dependent and while Barbara continued teaching at Riccarton High School Harold worked with a builder to convert their bach in Akaroa into a permanent home.

When Barbara retired in 1991 the couple moved permanently to Akaroa. The more relaxed lifestyle allowed Harold to learn the piano, eventually achieving sufficient competence to play a Beethoven sonata at Tanya's wedding. Other musical interests continued with singing in the local choir and later joining the Akaroa Silver Band where he played the euphonium. Both Barbara and Harold were active in community affairs, particularly in the arts and environmental issues. They have a well established garden by the house and a large vegetable garden on a Council allotment across the road. For several years they grew herbs for sale to the local restaurant trade.

In the last few years Harold has withdrawn from some of his local commitments. He and Barbara gained much pleasure from their four daughters and five grandchildren and occasional travels both in New Zealand and overseas before growing incapacity and death overtook him.

# 2.5.3—Brian Robert Surtees—1941—

Brian, also known as Bob among the family, was born in Lower Hutt in April 1941.

He had an unremarkable but cheerful upbringing, completing all his schooling in the Hutt Valley. As a teenager he was for a while quite unwell and whilst recovering and unable to play sport developed an interest in First Aid. He became an active member of St John and later an Auxiliary member of the Wellington Free Ambulance.

Brian has been married three times: 1. Janice May Gibb (divorced) They had one daughter and three sons 2. Lisa Petherick (deceased) 3. Frances Mary Kathleen Franklyn.

At age 20, after a short spell with the NZ Post Office, he joined the professional staff of the Wellington Free Ambulance and served with them for 25 years, the last seven as the Chief Ambulance Officer. Friends say he has a story to tell about most major intersections in the Wellington Region.

After Brian retired from the ambulance service he had a period where he cared for his family while Jan was overseas and on her return to NZ left the family home to live briefly in Wainuiomata and then Wellington.

In 1989 Brian joined the staff of VIP Transport, chauffeuring Cabinet Ministers, past and present Prime Ministers and guests of Government throughout the country. He worked mainly in Wellington but could be seen at times as far from home as Kerikeri or Christchurch. He retired in 2002 at the age of 61 and now lives at Waitarere Beach, just a short drive north of Levin.

In retirement Brian continues his interest in music, singing and playing the local church organ on occasions. He loves walking on the beach or in the forests and enjoys his somewhat occasional contact with his children and step-children some of whom reside in Europe, Japan and Australia.
3—Francis Attwood 1864—1951

Frank was born in Lee, Kent, on 27 November 1864. He was the fifth child of Emma Ward and James Attwood who were devout Methodists living in the vicinity of Lewisham.

As was the custom in those days, most of the family followed their parents' practice of active participation in the church. This involvement helped many people of that era to lift themselves from manual labouring into the merchant classes. With industrious hard work most of the Attwoods became dairymen and shopkeepers in England and farmers and self-employed business people in New Zealand.

The area where Frank grew up was "suburban rural" with many small villages fairly close together but separated by market gardens and orchards which gave employment to the local men. Some of the young Attwood men are said to have worked for an Uncle Cullen on the estate of the Dulwich School. These were the Cullens on the side of Frank's maternal grandmother. Frank certainly worked as a gardener but he is also known to have spent some time working on the Canadian Pacific Railway. When he died his occupation was given as dairy farmer.

Frank married Harriet (Annie) Hutton and had a son, Phillip. When he was still a boy they decided to emigrate to New Zealand, following the four of his siblings who had gone out a few years earlier. Frank, Annie and Philip travelled out on the Ionic (the second ship of that name) arriving in about 1912. They may have stayed with his brother Thomas and Rose Emma at their Hepburn Creek property. They certainly visited on occasion..

Frank visited his brother Tom in 1918 while Tom was "orchard-sitting" in Sturges Rd, Henderson for a friend who was detained as a conscientious objector. Tom was a little older than Frank and they had sisters above and below them in the family so they may have kept closer than some of the siblings. Tom's first child was named Frank; he may have taken after his uncle as both seem to have had very indifferent health at various times.

Rene Brittain remembered getting very confused about her aunties when she was a child; once when Frank and Annie visited the Hensleys at Remuera she announced to everyone she would call Annie "Aunty Frank". They lived in Lucerne Rd, Remuera for a time and then with Hensleys in Mt Eden. Rene's mother Dot scalded the milk every night and left it to stand on the bench in the scullery. Rene used to spoon off the cream when no one was looking and remembers hiding under the table once when Frank walked in unexpectedly.

Later Frank and Annie moved into a place of their own again in Meadowbank. Frank the gardener helped Edgar Hensley the pastrycook erect a concrete and corrugated iron fence.

Annie, says Rene, was a lovely lady who enjoyed tatting and taught Rene to crochet. She was also a great knitter and knitted socks to protect Frank's feet as he had lost several toes through the frost bite he suffered when he was working in Canada.

But New Zealand seems not to have been to their taste. Perhaps Annie pined for "home and family" and found fault with conditions in the new country. In February 1925 The Internal Affairs Department issued new passports for them and they set out to return to England. Their departure was a memorable occasion for Rene as all the Hensleys went down to the wharf to see them sail on SS Remuera.

Coincidentally, they arrived back in England while Thomas and Rose Attwood were in the country for the British Empire Exhibition where Thomas was managing fruit displays and marketing for the NZ Fruitgrowers' Federation. They brought news of Dorothy at home and they all met up in London on at least two occasions.

After the first of these meetings Rose wrote to her daughter Dorothy that Frank was looking "remarkably well". This may have been an inconsequential comment but it could also confirm that his health had not been good and now was different enough to comment on. Rose observed that in the matter of house-hunting "Aunt Annie will want some satisfying". Whether she got satisfied or not, we do not know but they remained in England for the rest of their lives. They kept up a fairly regular correspondence with the Hensleys.

Annie died in 1948 and a couple of years later Frank's sister Emma Ward wrote to Minnie expressing a good deal of concern about Frank's health. He died the following year, 1951.

New Zealand members of the family will be interested to note that his address in the death certificate is given as "Naumai" (Maori for "Welcome"), South St, Whitstable. The informant is FP Attwood, of the same address, now known to be their son, Phillip.

# 3.1—Francis Philip Attwood

Phil was born in England, the only child of Frank and Annie and came out to New Zealand with the family in 1912.

He married Ethel Bishop and Rene Brittain remembers them visiting her family in FRANK Auckland but they did not stay with the Hensleys. "I did not like the place," said Phil of New Zealand half a century later. They returned to England in 1925 and settled there.

Phil and Ethel had no children and when their marriage broke up he never discussed the whereabouts of his former wife with the rest of the family. He opened a tobacconist's in Burgate, Canterbury and about this time his parents moved to the pictured bungalow in South Tankerton. Phil sold the Burgate shop and bought one in Whitstable High Street, taking with him Sarah Albert who helped him with the business and generally looked after him. She lived with Frank and Annie at Naumai and was a great help to them all; the old folk thought the world of her.

Phil's new shop (tobacconist of course) became the centre of a club called "The Gallivanteers" for which he organised coach trips to the coast in summer and to shows in winter. He was in his element and the name of Attwood was well respected in town.

Frank and Annie died in due course and when Albert North died suddenly Nellie was invited to come to live with daughter Margaret Shearing and family. However, Nellie was concerned for Phil, who needed some care himself. After many negotiations all concerned pooled their resources and bought a lovely home in Sturry, outside Canterbury. But Margaret comments that she and Ernest still had their two youngest children at home and as Phil had never had any children of his own he knew exactly how they should behave. So there was some friction right from the start.

Paul, a teenager at the time, puts it all a little more frankly: he said that property was a large and wonderful place for teenagers, but

Phil... was, to put it mildly... cantankerous..., smoked like the proverbial chimney and (took) every opportunity to wind-up the (household). He was a deeply committed, nay evangelical, atheist and this inevitably caused friction with my Christian parents and Nana. However, the biggest problem was (his) incessant smoking. First thing in the morning, he would cough his lungs up in the kitchen and... then spend most of the day in string-vest and slippers, trousers held up with baling twine, chain-smoking, coughing... in the dining room.

Pauline Slatter was younger at the time and was annoyed by his habit of picking wax out of his ears with a matchstick; she thought he seemed to wait until she was around to do it. And once when her mother was ill and Pauline said she didn't care much for some potato-and-pepper Phil had prepared he reacted to her in a very frightening way.

Paul, however, goes on to say that on one occasion Phil took his young nephew on a holiday in Greece (flying on one of the first Comet jetliners that later were grounded after several crashes). Roma observed, "I am amazed our (Christian) parents let you go off with anyone's relative who was at that time 'living in sin'".

When Nellie fell in her room with a broken hip Margaret was in hospital with very bad pleurisy not unrelated to stress and exhaustion. Ernest decided that the family "commune" must be broken up. Phil was invited to live with one of his former staff in Chestfield and the extended family divided its resources and went their separate ways.

Allison Attwood met Phil Attwood in 1978 by which time he was an elderly gentleman living alone in a Whitstable nursing home. He had some interest in the family's history and he pressed her to accept a gift of an "Attwood" coat of arms that he had obtained. According to a small newspaper article in an English paper, the shield was said to have been on the door of his room in the nursing home. The shield is not, of course, an authentic device for our Attwood families as our bloodline begins only with James, 1832, and he was almost certainly an Attwood only by adoption.

Phil lived into his eighties, says Paul, on a diet of "beer and fags".
4—Hanna Charlotte Foster 1867—1961

"Annie" Attwood was born in London, the fourth child of James and Emma. She was married at the age of 18 to Phillip Rider. The length of this marriage and the reason for its ending are not known but she was recorded as widowed when, at 33, she married George Edwin Foster in 1900 in Hastings, Sussex.

Two sons were born there. Leopold George, 1903, and Raymond Philip in 1906. In 1920 they sailed to New Zealand on SS Ionic. Before they left, the family were presented with a silver teapot engraved:

Presented to Mr and Mrs George E Foster by the friends at Clive Vale Congregational Church, Hastings, Sept 1920.

This teapot has been in the family ever since and Lois Cullen remembers polishing it up for Sunday afternoon tea visitors.

The family had been in New Zealand for 11 years when Hanna contracted a rare bone complaint and was confined to a hospital bed from 1935. She spent 15 years in Kai Ora Private Hospital in Rotorua. Over the years she received hundreds of visitors who left inspired by her cheerful nature. In 1950 she was moved to Rotorua Hospital where she soon became the favourite of all.

All the years Hanna was in Rotorua George did not keep a home but boarded. He worked as an accountant for George Young, a coal and firewood merchant in Rotorua.

Hanna died in Rotorua Hospital at 94 as a result of falling out of bed and suffering a fractured skull. This sudden tragic event broke George's heart and he came to finish his days in Auckland with Leo and Edna, dying the same year as his beloved Hanna.

As Lois was born in 1932 she only remembers her "Little Grandma" in Hospital. She has the wonderful visitors' book that Hanna asked all her visitors to write in; it is an inspiration to read. Hanna herself wrote some poems, two of which follow:

The day is gently drawing to a close

Darker and still more dark the daylight grows;

Father, watch o'er us as we seek repose

And with Thy blessing may our eyelids close.

Dear Lord, I would be patient

and for patience I would pray

Thou knowest all my suffering

by night as well as day.

Let me feel Thy presence heal me

to help me on my way.

Thy strength be my weakness,

Thou hast promised every day.

Come near, and lay Thy hands on me

to comfort and to bless

Thy little ones who wait till Thou

should call them home to rest.

A newspaper article celebrated her 90th birthday in 1957:

"Granny Foster", darling of all the nurses in Rotorua Hospital and of every patient of Ward 2, was 90 yesterday.

To celebrate the occasion her husband George and a few of her close friends were invited to a small tea-party held around her bed. Eight people attended, including women from St John's Presbyterian Ladies' Guild. Mrs Edith Angus, who besides Mrs Foster's husband has been her most regular visitor for 20 years, was there speaking loudly into her ear.

Mrs Foster, who has been both blind and deaf for the last five years, smiled in appreciation when she learned of all the kindnesses and gifts.

Sitting up in bed, she was surrounded by beautiful flowers and draped around her shoulders was a lovely pink shawl, another gift.

Hanna's name is often spelled with a final "h" but she seems to have used it herself in the shorter form. In any case, she was mostly known throughout the family as "Annie".

# 4.1—Leopold George Foster—1903-1982

Leo was born in Clive Vale, Hastings, Sussex, the first child of Hanna and George. Growing up in a musical family he began his career at an Anglican Choir College. He learned the basics of music, orchestra and oratorio and was given the choice of piano or organ tuition.

Leo also had a strong mechanical bent and spent two years working and studying at the School of Science and Engineering in Hastings. This was followed by work in the Water Engineer's office and Fulsham Factory until 1920 when he and his family left for New Zealand. He celebrated his 17th birthday on SS Ionic. His excellent references from England quickly enabled him to gain employment, first in Auckland and later in the Waikato, at Cambridge, Paeroa, Hamilton and Thames.

Leo married Violet Mildred Cox at Thames in 1927 and they had two daughters: Leone Mildred in 1929 and Lois Margaret in 1932.

His musical career was reignited when a fine baritone voice emerged after training with Barry Coney in Auckland. Living in Hamilton, he soon became involved in light operatic activities with the Hamilton Play-Box, singing, producing and even writing shows. He also led the St John's Methodist Church choir at Hamilton East Methodist Church. The family travelled to Sydney in 1937, to explore the possibilities of a musical career. Here Leo was invited by the ABC to audition and he gave regular broadcasts and played leads in three light operas. They lived at Lindfield and he sang baritone solos in Stainer's "Crucifixion" at nearby Roseville Methodist Church.

Back in Auckland Leo trained many singers and choirs. In 1946 an 80 voice choir with a 70 piece orchestra presented the oratorio "Elijah" in the Auckland Town Hall as part of that year's Methodist Conference. St Paul's Methodist Church choir in Remuera was his home-base.

During these years he ran his own motor mechanic business before joining Winstones and establishing the concrete block plant at Three Kings. He later was superintendent of their quarries.

In retirement Leo formed a 16mm film production unit involving family and friends. Nine movies were made for church and Bible Class groups under the banner of Crusade Films. Leo used his engineering experience and a lot of ingenuity to adapt a Cine Kodak Special silent film camera to record synchronised sound. As a result of this remarkable achievement he was made a member of the American Society of Motion Picture Engineers—an honour held by only a handful of New Zealanders.

Shifting to Taupo in 1971, Leo was made Musical Director of Taupo Operatic Society for several shows. In "Camelot" he played King Pelinor. He also wrote (and scored?) a light opera for the opening of the new Taupo Playhouse: "Journey Standing Still".

His first wife, Vi, died of cancer in 1948 and the following year he married Edna Cullen of Maungaturoto. Leo died in Taupo Hospital in 1982 after a year of ill health.

# 4.1.1—Leone Mildred Collins —1929-1993

Leone was born in Hamilton and was a bright, artistic and intelligent girl. At age six she started at Hamilton East School, then attended Lindfield in Sydney for a year followed by six weeks at Thames. When the family settled in a number of successive homes in the neighbourhood she continued her education at Cornwall Park.

Here, under the influence of a very musical and forward-thinking headmaster, children were offered the opportunity to learn an instrument and Leone began to learn and enjoy the violin. With Leo's encouragement she continued for many years under excellent teachers. While at Epsom Girls' Grammar School she played in the regional secondary schools' orchestra.

Then she transferred to Seddon Memorial Technical College and took up a senior business course. She was quite a mature girl by then, observes her sister Lois, and perhaps thought a co-ed school more interesting, especially as her boyfriend Bryan Bartley was studying engineering there.

Leone worked in a solicitor's office for many years. She enjoyed tramping, attending Bible Class Camps, played in the Junior Symphony and was accepted into the prestigious Auckland String Players under the baton of Giorge Tintner.

Leone married Bryan Bartley and they had four children. But the marriage did not last and she later married Eric Collins and they blended their family of six children. Leone and Eric travelled extensively overseas in connection with his business. They lived at Taupo and ran a very successful footwear salon for many years before retiring to Kohimarama in Auckland.

Here, Leone's artistic talents were directed to the production of beautiful pictures in batik work. She also kept up the violin; Eric was her accomplished accompanist when she played in recitals.

Leone contracted cancer in 1989 and sadly succumbed to the disease in 1993.

# 4.1.2—Lois Margaret Cullen —1932 –

Lois was born at Hamilton on 21 July 1932. She travelled to Sydney with the family in 1937 but did not start school until back in New Zealand. She had six weeks at Thames School while staying with her maternal grandmother then went to Cornwall Park School. She remembers playing in the recorder band and leading her group on to the Auckland Town Hall stage in the Primary Schools Music Festival.

Lois was a Girl Guide at Ellerslie and Somervell Church, Remuera and was fortunate to join the Rahiri Rangers, Miss Mona Burgin being an inspirational captain. Guide camps and hiking led to her love of the bush and tramping.

The family belonged to St Paul's Methodist Church, Remuera, where she went through Sunday School and Bible Class and sang in her father's church choir. She attended Epsom Girls' Grammar School, gaining School Certificate in three years and then University Entrance in her fourth.

In 1947, she had a dream fulfilled when father Leo said she could stop learning the piano and take ballet lessons. In six months she graduated to Grade V and took the Royal Academy of Dancing exam the following year. She gained her Teaching Certificate and taught at Newmarket for a year while also taking ballet pupils in the studio on their Wheturangi Rd property. She taught ballet for 33 years.

She met Ian through Cullen family connections and they married in 1954 and she learned to milk cows, feed calves, feed out hay and drive a car. The Maungaturoto Congregational church was a big part of life and she was in the very active church choir as singer and conductor and also taught Sunday School.

In 1988 they moved to a home on Whangarei Harbour where she enjoys Scottish Country Dancing, tramping and entertaining at Rest Homes and Clubs. Her two daughters and four grandchildren all live nearby.

# 4.1.3—Raymond Philip Foster —1906-

Ray Foster was born in Clive Vale, Hastings, Sussex. Nothing is known of his boyhood. He came to New Zealand at the age of 14 with his parents and his older brother Leo on SS Ionic.

The family appear to have gone immediately to the Jack Attwood family farm in Waharoa and it is thought that Ray's first paid work was in a position with them. He seems to have then worked as a salesman for most of the rest of his adult life.

Lois Cullen says that their family did not see a lot of Ray during her childhood years. She believes he was married twice. A record in his mother Hanna's carefully kept diary records that he visited her in hospital with a Patricia Foster in 1938. He was known to be married to an Alma Olive Jeffries but details of these relationships are no longer readily available.

We do know that Ray served in the Second NZ Expeditionary Force for three years and 339 days. He earned a War Medal, 1939-1945 and the NZ War Service Medal.

Lois has found many references to Ray having visited his mother during her many years in hospital in Rotorua. On one occasion his note for the visit included this little ditty:

Mother's hair is turning grey;

Dad's has gone quite white;

Brother Leo's lost the lot,

But mine is still alright!
5—James Henry Attwood—1870–1938

Jim was the fifth child of James and Emma Attwood, and was born in at Manorway Lodge, Kidbrooke, England on 19 July 1870.

We can find no records of his childhood but he is thought to have worked initially as a dairyman, as did several of the Attwood brothers. He married Alice Hurley on 11 Feb 1892. She died soon after the birth of their son Harold Wilfred.

Jim later married Anna Wade, 15 Aug 1895 with whom he had two sons, James 1896 and Arthur Francis. Around 1900 they were living in Canada Grove, Bognor, where James carried on business as a dairyman. There were living quarters attached to the shop, and nearby they rented a small farm on which he milked a few cows and ran a retail milk-delivery business.

About 1905, they left Bognor and moved to Harwell in Berkshire, where James took up a small area of land and also had a carrying business using a horse and light van. James also kept some poultry and other farm animals on his small holding.

James and Anna travelled to New Zealand, arriving in December 1907 on the ship Fifeshire with all three of James' sons. They came with the Thomas Attwood and Dot Hensley families, together constituting the largest single migration of our Attwood families to New Zealand. Anna became very seasick and remained very ill for six weeks, until they reached Sydney where a little time ashore helped her recover. James was not long in NZ when he became ill with pneumonia and pleurisy. After his recovery to health, which took a long time, James rented a shop near the One Tree Hill Domain gates and started a dairy and confectionery shop and a milk round.

In 1912 he sold the dairy and milk round and bought a farm of 100 acres at Harrisville. About 1918 he bought a farm at Waitoa, but all three boys developed their own paths in life and did not stay on the farm with him.

In the 1930s James and Anna had a small cottage on Frank's farm at Rototuna where Anna died. James moved with Frank and Linda when they moved to Te Puke, and he died there in 1938.

# 5.1—Harold Wilfred Attwood—1893-19?

Harold is another one of the extended Attwood family about whom not much is known. His mother died soon after he was born and his childhood seems to be lost to the present-day family, apart from one photograph.

Harold's brother Frank wrote that Harold came out from England with the family and lived with them in Auckland, Harrisville and Cambridge. He was occupied at an assortment of jobs from working in a bakery to farm labouring to a job at Te Aroha West cheese factory. When war broke out in August 1914 Harold went away to the Front.

In 1918, when the war was over, Harold came back from overseas. Frank wrote,

Dad made all of us very attractive offers to stay on the farm but none of us did. Harold had become engaged to Millicent in England and was naturally fretting to be with her; also, like most other fellows, after the stress and strain of war, he felt very unsettled and eventually left home and got work in Auckland.

Millicent came out from England and they were married in 1921. Frank's brief note says nothing of the rest of Harold's life but it seems quite certain that he and Millicent had no children.

Although the Tom and Jim Attwood families travelled out to NZ together in 1907 and kept contact over the succeeding years, Rose Attwood's letters to her daughter Dorothy in 1925 make no mention of Harold and Millicent. Rose travelled all over England and Scotland looking up relatives during that year. It seems unlikely that she would not have also visited a married nephew from a close family.

# 5.2—Cecil James Attwood 1896—1970

Jim, as Cecil James was known, was the elder child of James and Anna, and was born in Sydenham, England on 24 August 1896.

He is believed to have been a church choirboy in his youth until his soprano voice broke. He was about eleven when the family arrived in New Zealand and the last of his school days were spent at a Mt Eden School.

He married Mary Ross St Paul on 9 January 1929 at Ardmore, in the family home of the St Pauls. They travelled to Australia soon after marrying, making their home in Kogarrah, New South JIM Wales, where their only son Reginald James was born.

They returned to New Zealand ten weeks later and took up farming in Kumeu, on 42 acres. They lived there from 1930 to 1948. This farm is the present day Kumeu Showgrounds and after leaving it, Jim and Mary semi-retired to live in New Lynn where he took a part-time position for a brass foundry.

He was a very keen gardener of vegetables, fruit and flowers and their Titirangi Rd property was always a picture. When Jim's eyesight deteriorated, they made a move to Manurewa, where he died on 7 April 1970.

# 5.3—Reginald James Attwood —1930-1994

Reg was the only child of Cecil James and Mary and was born in Kogarrah, Australia on 31 March 1930. He came to New Zealand at the age of ten weeks.

He lived with his parents in Kumeu and attended Huapai Primary School and Helensville District High School. He excelled at tennis during his school days, taking many prizes.

After leaving school Reg took up a brief carpentry apprenticeship in Newmarket, but left this apprenticeship to take up a position in the Kumeu Post Office. He was later transferred to the Auckland Toll Room, where he met Betty Fay Ross and they were married in Remuera on 14 April 1951.

Soon after marriage they went farming in the Hunua district for four years. Reg then took up employment with a plumbing and hardware store, C R Chadwick Ltd in Papakura, where he remained for thirty-seven years, until he retired.

Reg was a very keen sportsman, playing club tennis, badminton, cricket and in later years golf. Like his father, he was a keen gardener. He also followed rugby and horse racing and enjoyed fishing—but not in a boat.

Reg died suddenly on 19 October 1994 and is survived by his wife and two daughters, Valerie and Christine and four grandchildren: Philip, Haydon, Alison and Ian.

# 5.4—Arthur Francis Attwood—1900-1993

Frank was born in Bognor, Sussex in 1900. He came to NZ with his family at the age of seven. On their arrival the family was fairly mobile around the Auckland district before moving to the Waikato in 1913 where Frank began work as a farm labourer.

In 1918 the Attwoods bought a farm opposite the Hight family and thus Frank met Linda who was later to become his wife. As Linda was a church-goer Frank started attending too. In October of that year Frank was asked to take a service as the appointed preacher was unable to do so. This experience resulted in him being encouraged to take the Methodist Local Preacher's examination which he duly did and passed.

At this stage in his life Frank's driving passion was to become a missionary in the Solomon Islands but after two weeks of "fruitless questing" in Auckland as to how to pursue this goal he had a chance meeting with an old school friend that resulted in him applying to join the Methodist Ministry. He was successful and in 1920 embarked upon two years' study at Dunholme Theological College in Remuera.

At the same time he was continuing to see Linda Hight who was attending Teachers' Training College in Auckland. The realisation that no money and several more years' study would only further delay their marriage plans resulted in Frank terminating his theological studies and seeking paid employment.

However he still continued to wish to be of service to the church and in 1923 he was appointed to a position with the Methodist Home Mission Dept and over the next twenty-five years served in Apiti, Wakefield, Gisborne, Taumarunui, Ngaruawahia, Te Puke, Opotiki and Whakatane. He particularly enjoyed his work amongst Maori and took time to learn the language.

In 1924 he married Linda Hight; they had two children—Olive and Arthur.

In juxtaposition to his desire to serve people through the church was Frank's love of the land. He suffered periods of considerable restlessness when, he said,

...the desire to own a piece of land, to feel again the freedom of the farm and to work with my hands, became irresistibly strong.

Hence his time in the Home Mission was interspersed with periods of farm ownership at Gate Pa, Rototuna and Kauri Point. He developed two of these farms from scrub to productive units.

In 1947 he was received on probation and ordained into the Methodist Ministry in 1949. He was superintendent minister of the Kaikohe, Waihi, Kaitaia and Paeroa circuits. On two occasions he also built his own house where the circuit was unable to provide suitable family accommodation. Over his lifetime he built a total of six houses.

He retired to Katikati in 1960 where he worked for a number of years as the public librarian. Linda died in 1982 and Frank remarried Margaret Griffiths in 1987. He died in 1993.

In one of its formal tributes, the Methodist Church of New Zealand said of him:

As a forceful, thought-provoking preacher, Mr Attwood exercised a most helpful pulpit ministry. He was also a beloved pastor amongst his people and a faithful administrator of the affairs of the Church. He is by nature a humble and reserved man, faithful to Christ and eager to serve God's Kingdom as conscience directs. Through his ministry lives have been greatly enriched, and his practical sympathy for the needy and sorrowing made very real the compassion of the Master.

Although it caused him some distress at times Frank was determined to "Be not conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). He was a man of great integrity and uncompromising ethics.

# 5.3.1—Olive Annie Sullivan—1925 1994

Olive was born 1 Feb 1925 at Gate Pa, Tauranga. She had a mobile childhood, moving around the upper North Island alternating between farm life and life within the Methodist Ministry.

Vivid memories of watching the wind making waves in the long grass and of feeding her pet calves stayed with her all her life. At seventeen Olive embarked upon nursing training at Whakatane Base Hospital, later being transferred to Wellington. It was war time and she had the choice of going nursing or working in a cigarette factory.

Through attending the Trinity Methodist Church at Newtown she met and married Robert Sullivan. They had three children— Lynette, Kenneth and John. In 1952 Olive and Bob moved to the Hutt Valley where they were active in the Laings Rd Methodist Church for many years.

In 1958 Bob was hospitalized with TB, an event which precipitated Olive returning to the workforce as a Public Health Nurse. It was work she loved and she remained in it until her retirement in 1986.

Olive had an outgoing nature and a love of people. Her family remember her often bringing home folk in need of attention of some sort or another —particularly children and the elderly. The length of their visits could range from sharing a meal to a stay of a couple of weeks.

She had a mischievous sense of fun and approached life with energy and enthusiasm. She gave unstintingly of herself and her love and support of her children and grandchildren remains a strong legacy.

# 5.3.2—Arthur Harry Attwood—1926

Arthur was the son of a Methodist Home Missionary so he attended no less than eight different schools and says this made him "something of a loner".

In his secondary school years he was linked with the wartime Home Guard signallers. But military exercises in bad weather left him with another scholastic setback—rheumatic fever.

Nevertheless, with knowledge gained with the International Correspondence Schools and the passing of the Public Service Entrance Exam he was apprenticed in carpentry and joinery where work kept him very busy in what was an "essential war-time industry". Soon he was doing all the glazing of the joinery and other glass work, and handling the despatch of all the business' output.

While at Whakatane he joined the Air Training Corps and for the first time found a sense of belonging in a team. He passed his driver's licence and took up voluntary ambulance driving and eventually served for 35 years, becoming superintendent. He also conducted church services and qualified as a Local Preacher in the Methodist Church.

After moving to Waihi early in 1950, he met the prettiest girl in town and built a house with what knowledge he had acquired and what advice he could get. He and Evelyn Thomas were married in 1951. He was with Waihi Timber & Joinery for ten years, then was a self-employed builder for 13 yrs. He finally bought an old building and set up an aluminium joinery factory in Waihi.

In younger days he participated in tennis, badminton and table tennis. Six weeks in hospital resulted in learning chess from a book and that has been an interest throughout the years. Like his father, he kept poultry and was a member of the Waikato Poultry Club. He also kept a few hives of bees. After retiring, he obtained a wood lathe and did some woodturning. He used a computer to do the quoting work for the aluminium joinery and has followed this up as a retirement hobby.
6—John Attwood—1872—1957

Jack was another son of James and Emma and, like most of his brothers, was a milkman in southeast London. He married Ellen Joliffe, who was always known as Nell.

They were said to be very unhappy with the class distinction that was so prevalent in England at that time. Having some relations in Canada they decided to emigrate there. When Jack reached the booking office and asked for passage to Canada the clerk said "Why on earth do you want to go there? It's very cold. Why don't you try New Zealand?" And so, in 1905, the family, which had now grown to seven children, boarded the RMS Aotea for New Zealand.

Emma Attwood was no doubt sad to farewell what she may have guessed was just the first of her large family to leave England, and gave Jack a small book called Faith's Miracles. Just as the ship was about to leave she wrote on the outside cover,

Proverbs 7:16 In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy paths

and:

To my dear Jack, with my fondest love and best wishes for a happy and prosperous future. 8 Dec 1905.

The journey took seven weeks. They arrived in Wellington in early February and probably changed to a smaller coastal boat to travel to Auckland arriving in early February 1906. Jack left Nell and the seven children in Albert Park while he went out to look for somewhere to spend the night. A woman said to Nell, "Are you from England? Well then, go straight back. This isn't the place for you."

After a short stay at the Salvation Army People's Palace the family lived in Napier St, Freemans Bay then King St (now Kingdon St) in Newmarket. They then moved to Arthur St, Onehunga where they gave hospitality to the next new arrivals: the Hensleys, the Jim and Thomas Attwoods and the Albert and May Ward families.

Jack delivered milk in Grafton Gully before the bridge was built in 1910. He also worked in a timber mill. He and cousin Albert went up north to try gum-digging. They travelled by train and boat and walked the final part of the trip to the diggings. He said later they worked in trenches in 18 inches of water and slept in a hammock in a hut. Meals were of bread and cheese and wild blackberries. Their clothes were always wet and they often had no fire. And the gum rush was over; 10lbs for a fortnight's work was not worth it. They also worked on the railway as far away as Paeroa.

As things improved for them, the family later lived in a larger home in Seacliffe Rd, Hillsborough. "We had great times here," said Edith Thrupp:

We were right on the beachfront and we all had waterwings and went swimming most summer days. Dad had a boat and he and the boys would go fishing. Sometimes we would have picnic teas on the beach with our Aunts and Uncles.

A story says that Jack once was refused credit to buy bread from a local dairy. A hand was laid on his shoulder; it was a friend from the Aotea and he loaned Jack £5. Jack repaid it many times over when his benefactor himself fell on hard times later on.

In 1911 Jack and Nell and family moved to a farm position at Pukerimu, Cambridge. The children had to walk three miles to school. In a year they moved to a larger farm at Leamington. He used one of the earliest milking machines in the district and there JACK were always visitors to see this invention they were sure was going to ruin the animals. Jack's brother Arthur and Minnie and their family arrived in Wellington on the Rangatira in 1914 and came straight up by train to Frankton and were met by Jack and taken to their place at Leamington.

Edith thought that their parents seemed to have time to spend with them on those Sundays.

We had lots of fun at our church concerts, house socials and our end of year 'Bands of Hope' concerts. We went by wagon and horses to the concert each year and had a real thrill.

During World War I the family went into the town hall to farewell the soldiers. One was Jack's son Sid; they were not to know that it would be a final farewell. Another son, John, left soon afterwards with the two other Attwood cousins so, with the labour shortage in mind, Jack looked for a smaller operation and in 1917 they moved to their own farm at Walton.

Edith said it was not an easy move:

We got as far as Morrinsville by car but could not go the rest of the way with our nice new car as the roads were too muddy so we went by train. A good neighbour put us up for the night. Our luggage was changed to the train and we had to leave our car at our Uncle's place. We lived not far from the Walton shop and railway.

It was a great thrill for them to be able to switch on a light instead of lighting a lamp or candle. But although the dairy factory at Waharoa was open by then the roads were so bad that their cream would have to be sent to Ngaruawahia by train. Shopping was done in Morrinsville or Matamata, also by train. Their new Dodge wasn't up to the Walton mud tracks and they had to carry an axe to cut ti-tree corduroy or fascines to get through the worst ruts. It had to be kept for fine weather only and then the battery often went flat. So they eventually sold it and went back to using horse and buggy. They were involved in a lot of church services and social events. There was a tennis court on the farm and they also had a swimming pool in the river.

In 1918 the war was over and the Walton celebration was held at the school grounds. Edith says that everybody turned out and marched from the hall to the school.

We got there and had a very nice day, we were all so pleased that the war was over. We later had a great dance to welcome home the soldiers. That was when I first met Tom, he was 22 years old and I was only 15.

A couple of years after John came home from the war, Jack, Nell and their daughter Ethel left the rest of the family to manage the farm and went on a trip back to the homeland.

They returned on the Ionic with May Holmes, who was coming out to marry John, and Jack's sister Annie and her husband George Foster and their two sons. The Fosters were the last migration of Attwoods; by this time only two of the ten surviving children of James and Emma had not left England: Marie and Helen.

In 1924 Jack sold the farm (in 1969 it was bought back, unwittingly, by grandson Colin!) and invested in a dairy in Thames. He wanted a change of lifestyle and the new business would provide some work for the teenage girls. After four years there he made another change to a dairy and sweet shop in Herne Bay . The family attended St John's Methodist Church at Ponsonby where Edith and Tom later married. They later moved briefly to Mangere, Te Papapa and eventually retired to Matamata where Nell died.

Jack then went to Onehunga Auckland to live with Ede and her family as her husband Tom had also died. After a time they all returned to Matamata where Jack died in 1956.

# 6.1—John Wesley Attwood—1893-1966

John was born on 14 May 1893 in Mount Ash Road, Sydenham, London, the oldest of eight siblings. At age twelve he came to New Zealand with his parents in 1905 and worked first in a bakery, then later on a dairy farm in Leamington.

He and his brother Sidney enlisted in the New Zealand Army and served in WW1. While in France Sidney was killed, and John was gassed twice. On sick leave in England he met May Holmes who later came out to marry him in 1921. Back in New Zealand he bought a farm next to his parents. John and May had a hard life breaking in the swampy land and bringing up their four children.

John was involved in many community organisations, such as the hall society, bowling club, Methodist church and school committee. He was a selector for the Walton Rugby team and delegate for Federated Farmers. He helped form the Piako bobby-calf pool, and served for 20 years on the committee which sold the products overseas.

He was a Returned Services Assn member and delegate for twenty-five years. During WWII he was second in command of the Walton Home Guard. He was on the Patriotic Committee which organised farewell evenings for local men who were about to be sent overseas. After WWII he was the local liaison officer for resettlement of returned servicemen on farms in Walton and received a Gold Star and life membership for his services to the RSA.

In the 1940s he helped form the Morrinsville Veterinarian Association which brought vets from Canada and Australia to work in the Waikato region. In 1947 he was presented to their Excellencies Governor-General and Lady Freyberg in Matamata as Chairman of Walton Federated Farmers. On 20 Jun 1950 he was invited to a reception to meet them again at Government House in Wellington. He was made a Justice of the Peace that year.

John and May retired to a home in 12th Avenue, Tauranga where he died from a stroke in 1966.

# 6.1.1—Sidney John Attwood—1921-1943

Sidney Attwood was born on 30th Dec 1921 and was brought up on the family farm in Walton. He did his schooling locally after which he worked on the farm.

His sister Eileen remembers that he was a Scout and had a very inventive mind, inherited from his maternal grandfather who was an engineer in the UK. He was interested in perpetual motion and spent hours making an amazing motor. He also made a fly trap; it was put on the stove element. When pressed to explain it a little Eileen conceded that the invention proved to be a failure. Evidently one of the problems was that you had to catch the fly first!

She also remembers him making a canoe from a sheet of corrugated roofing iron. Pointed at both ends, it was taken to a drain JACK on the farm and it was great fun when it floated. But it was not long before it flipped upside down and sank, dunking the intrepid inventor.

When World War Two broke out Sid joined his dad in service in the Home Guard and responded to the call-up in early 1943. He trained at Linton Military Camp and sailed in the middle of that year for Egypt.

He was shot and killed by a sniper in the Sangro River battle in the Italian campaign on 15 Dec 1943, aged twenty-two years. The news of his death arrived on 29 Dec, his twenty-second birthday. Eileen says their parents were absolutely devastated. In later years she met an officer who was with him when he died. His grave is C 37 in block XVI of the Sangro River War Cemetery.

# 6.1.2—Eileen May Gerring—1923-

Eileen was brought up on her parents' farm at Walton and attended school there. The village had everything:

...a school, two churches, hall, post office, railway station, country store, saddler, blacksmith, garage, tennis courts and bowling green.

Growing up on a farm there was always plenty to do. With her brother Sid she had to help with small chores before and after school. All the farm work used horses. The family had quite a struggle during the depression and the country had just recovered when war was declared in 1939. But there were movies in the hall on Saturday night and there were good times with friends. She played netball.

Eileen says she will never forget the day that they heard Sid had been killed at war in 1943. She had plans to go nursing but with this disaster she had to stay on the farm and help her father for the next couple of years. They ran about 60 milkers and separated the cream to be taken to the Waharoa factory and they fed the skim milk to their own pigs.

In 1945 she married Colin Gerring who had been a prisoner of war. He was a farmer and their own first farm was at Springdale. Their children Helen and Brian were born at Te Aroha. Later they farmed 200 acres at Ohaupo and then moved to a smaller farm near Maketu. In 1970 they retired to Tauranga where Colin died just six years later.

Eileen has been a Country Women's Institute member for 50 years and a Red Cross flower lady at the hospital. She has belonged to a garden circle she started with friends in Tauranga and is currently in Probus. She has had much pleasure and happiness in her lifetime—but also sadness: grandsons Simon and Reece died just a few months apart. They were "beautiful boys, leaving beautiful memories". And her oldest grandson, Grant, died in 2006. She has five great-grandchildren and says she lives a quiet life with her garden friends and her family who all live within a radius of one hour away by car.

# 6.1.3—Wesley Blythe Attwood—1927-2004

Wes was born on 18 June 1927. He lived on the farm in Walton near Matamata with his parents and brother and two sisters.

He did all his primary schooling at Walton and went on to Matamata District High School. He was a very keen cricketer in his younger days. Eileen Gerring thinks he was probably also well known for being a bit of a "boy racer": she recalls people saying, "There goes that Attwood kid again" as he roared up the road.

Eileen introduced him to Nancy Beachen, who taught her children at Springdale school. But when Nancy moved to a position nearer to where Wesley lived, Eileen didn't realise that they were developing a relationship. They duly married and share-milked their own herd on the family farm until it was sold in 1960.

They then moved to their own property in Te Puke. Here Wes was involved in some modest property development projects. During this period they raised five children.

They then established a kiwifruit orchard at Rangiuru, commuting from their Te Puke home as there was no home on the property. Wes worked very hard on the orchard and carried on with it for some years after Nancy died.

When he retired from the orchard it was taken over by his eldest son Michael who is still there. In retirement Wes grew big crops of excellent vegetables and shared them with many people. He was another Attwood who was involved in bowls and fishing.

He died 5 March 2004.

# 6.1.4—Margaret Joan Hunter—1930 –

Margaret was born in 1930, the last of four children, and lived on her parents' farm at Walton.

She attended Walton school, then Matamata District High School but felt that school did nothing for her. Apart from basketball on Saturday morning she thinks she had a pretty dull life. "It was wartime, and I had to learn to milk and feed out and so on." She dropped out of High School early in order to help out around home and farm.

When her father retired from a very demanding public life and left the farm to Wesley they all went to live in Tauranga. She obtained a position in a drapery shop: "I loved it; the climate was better, the job was easy and I got paid every week!".

In 1960 she left NZ on the Ruahine for her big OE and flatted for a year with three others. They saw a lot of the UK and Europe but when she returned to NZ, it was back to farm life with her brother who had a farm on No 4 Rd near Te Puke. Across the road the Hunter brothers made an early inspection of the new arrival and while she says it wasn't love at first sight, she and David Hunter married in 1963.

They have lived in Tauranga ever since and have brought up two sons, John and Steven.

In retirement—"I'm not retired; women don't retire"—she says they lead a very quiet life. But she has delivered Meals on Wheels for 30 years and is on the hospital roster for arranging patients' flowers. Asked if she had the Attwood green fingers she admitted that she enjoys her garden. She's also pretty handy on the end of a paintbrush and over the years has wallpapered over 50 rooms. Bowls is another enjoyment: "My `upshots' are pretty deadly, so they say. Everyone scatters out of the way."

# 6.2—Sidney James Attwood—1895-1918

Sid was born in England in 1895, the second son of Jack and Ellen. In 1905 he came with the family to New Zealand. In 1912 they lived for a while share-milking on a farm in Leamington near Cambridge.

He enlisted for the NZ Army late in World War I, exercising a little creativity about his age in order to join up with his brother John Wesley. In camp they met up with their cousin Thomas William Attwood.

The three cousins trained together at Trentham and went overseas in the New Zealand Machine Gun Regiment. All three were able to make a joint visit to some of the London Attwoods during their pre-embarkation leave in England.

Sid was killed in action at Ypres on 3rd Dec 1917 when he was not quite 22. His memorial stone can be seen at the Menin Road South War Cemetery. His cousin Tom was beside him when he fell and was himself badly injured but survived to return home.

# 6.3—Ethel Grace Attwood—1897-1953

Eff was born in Lewisham where part of the building where the family lived is still recognisable. Eff was the eldest girl in the family, and a young girl when the family migrated to New Zealand in 1905.

Eff suffered from epilepsy from around the age of two years and was on medication for this condition for the rest of her life. She was reported to have the quickest brain in the family but this was often dulled by yet a different medication in an attempt to stop the fits which disrupted her life. She had a quick wit and excelled at card games. She was always interested in handwork, particularly crochet, and enjoyed making cushions for family and friends. The cushion covers were made of silk and wool in blended colours in intricate designs, some are still in family homes today. Eff also enjoyed knitting for the Red Cross.

After the First World War, Eff travelled to England with her parents. During the visit, she had an appointment with a specialist in Harley Street in the hope a cure could be found for her epilepsy. Unfortunately there was no cure. Brother John had returned from the war and he looked after the family farm in Walton with young sisters Ede and Flo milking the cows.

On return from England Eff continued living at home, moving to Thames and later to Auckland with her parents. After her mother became bedridden with a stroke, Ellen, Jack and Eff moved back to Walton to live with youngest sister Flo and Alex Adams and family.

Eff was delighted when the government made available a pension for those unable to work. Although she worked in the family home she was unable to take outside employment. Her pension gave her a great feeling of independence and the fact that she could save to pay for her own funeral was a big relief to her.

She had a great interest in the Friendly Road Church and loved listening to the weekday messages and to the children's choirs singing.

She was a very compassionate lady, and had a deep love for her nieces and nephews. She took great delight in watching the antics of these children, and had great difficulty in hiding her laughter when her sisters reprimanded the mischievous youngsters. These nieces and nephews remember her with great fondness.

After the death of her parents, Eff lived with family members until her death from cancer 19 October 1953 aged 58 years. She is buried in Otahuhu cemetery.

# 6.4—Ellen Mary Johnston—1899-1996

Nell was born in Catford, London, on 12 October 1899, the fourth child of Jack and Nell. She came out toAuckland with the family in 1905-06.

After the war Jack and Nell went back to England to visit relations, leaving young Nell and her older brother John to run the farm and the family. She loved the farming life and coped well with both jobs.

At 22 she exerted her strong personality and went off to live in Auckland, dressmaking at Smith and Caugheys, earning £2.2.6 per week. But after three years she was cajoled into rejoining the family in Thames to help run their tea rooms business. She enjoyed her time there, especially church life, where she was involved in Bible Class and camps. While living in Thames she

attended a wedding and met Mac, whom she married on 11 July 1927. This was the beginning of a relationship that lasted 60 years.

Mac and Nell had several farming jobs in the Walton, Richmond Downs and Waharoa. Butterfat was only 3d a pound and there was no power in the houses. She became a foundation member of the Walton CWI and enjoyed its monthly meetings as well as the monthly church services held there. She was heavily involved in arts and crafts, especially copperwork and oil painting.

In 1945 they moved to a larger share-milking position with a better home that had an electric stove and a flush toilet. They bought one of the first tractors in the district. Highlights of the week were sale day and Friday nights when the shops remained open until 9pm.

In 1930 they had a son but complications with his birth—and bureaucratic rejection of farming mothers as adoptive parents—meant that he became an only child. Morrie was always the apple of her eye—she would spend hours playing games and practicing sports with him, even climbing up to his tree hut. She also took great pride in his adult achievements.

They retired to Matamata in 1954 and Nell was able to develop her involvement in CWI and Church and joined the Garden Circle. She was able to spend more time with her sisters, Flo and Ede, too.

She now gave the same undivided attention to her four grand-children who received endless time and attention whenever they dropped in for lunch. One thought that she slept more nights at "Nana's" place than at home. If half the team came in after sports, she could provide afternoon tea for them all. She took the same interest in the affairs of her great-grandchildren and was a willing source of information for projects on "the olden days". As the family gathered around her when she was dying in 1996 it was the voices of the children that brought her out of semi consciousness from time to time. She was almost 97.

She lived alone after Mac died leaving their much-loved home in Rata Street to spend almost all her last five years in Rawhiti Rest Home. Her spiritual faith was consistently strong, says son Morrie—an obvious influence of early childhood nurturing in church activities. She was always an advocate of "giving it the good thought" focus. People were instinctively drawn to her cheerful, loving attitude.

# 6.4.1—Maurice Johnston 1930-

Morrie was born in Matamata in 1930. He attended Waharoa Primary School and then Matamata College where he became very interested in sport. He married Dorothy Mason in the Methodist Church at Matamata on 5 June 1954.

They spent their first five years of married life share-milking at Wardville before purchasing, in partnership with his parents, a dairy farm at Ngarua. They still own this , now milking 400 cows. They have a family of four—Lesley, David, Susan and Linda. Morrie has been involved in many organisations:

**Community** : Chairman Ngarua School Committee, ten years; Chairman School Jubilees, 1982 and 1994; Matamata College Board of Govenors, nine years; Justice of the Peace from 1974; Morrinsville Vet Club, twenty-five years; current Chairman, Morrinsville Veterinary Club; Hospice Trained Visitor; Dairy JACK Coy Committee, eleven years; Rotarian, twenty years; Chair Rotary, 1991; Chairman Rotary District Conference, 1996.

**Church** : Morrie has been in most leadership positions in the church from Youth Group Leader to Senior Elder over 40 years.

**Sport:** His father's sporting love was passed on to Morrie in areas of rugby, cricket, golf, table tennis and cycling. Cricket was probably the most rewarding over many years—from scoring 208 as a 17 year old to his last century aged 55 years. He made a batting partnership of 180 with his dad as an 18 year old and another of 100 with son David when aged 55.

In cricket administration and selecting, Morrie gave much time and effort. He has been acknowledged with the Jack Newman Award for service to junior cricket and was appointed a life member of Northern Districts Cricket Association in 1997. Cycling became a part of his life several years ago. In 1997, with three other cyclists Morrie cycled from Cape Reinga to Bluff in 22 days. In 2000 he cycled in parts of Ireland.

Now in his 75th year, he still keeps active and enjoys following the fortunes of eight grandchildren.

# 6.5—George William Attwood—1901—1975

George was one of eight children of John and Ellen Attwood. They came to New Zealand in 1906 when George was four years old.

He attended school around Walton and Matamata and when he was not much more than 12 years old he is thought to have been one of only two or three people in the community who were able to drive a car.

At that time, about 1913-14, cars were few and far between and their services were often called upon in country communities. George used to tell people of the times he drove mothers to the hospital to have their babies in those early years.

George learned to be a builder and also helped on the farm in Walton at night.

He was very musical and was a singer and is thought to have played in the Thames Brass Band though we don't know what instrument he played. Later on he played and taught the violin (probably for nothing) from home. This would have been very welcome in church and community functions.

George and Thelma Nicholson were married on 5 June 1930. They had their first son Douglas Charles in March 1931. As jobs were hard to get George and Thelma moved to Taneatua, farming. In 1932 they had another son Jack after they bought a 100 acre farm at Peketahi. It was just a few miles from where they were living.

These were very hard times money-wise so George went out and sought some building work for himself, and before long by word of mouth people were asking him to undertake more and more work. This gradually meant that he was spending more time on building than farm work. But, of course, he had to milk the cows before going off to work and then do another milking at the end of the day. It was a very demanding time for him and the family.

In the mid-1930s George entered into partnership with Jim Shannon to assist with the building work and then in 1949 he sold the farm and Jim took over the building business.

George then moved to Auckland where he became foreman for Wally Archer's building company which was handling some substantial construction projects.

The family lived in Mairangi Bay and then Te Atatu. At some stage he was involved in both indoor and outdoor bowls.

When George retired in 1968 he worked at home making spice sets in wood and bought glass jars and spices. They sold very well in small gift shops and in the later years he rented a small shop in Surrey Cres., Grey Lynn and sold second-hand books and the spice sets. George and Thelma lived at Te Atatu until George died.

He had been a fairly heavy smoker and being a builder he had been able to get tobacco during the war shortages (in return for promptly carried out building jobs, Douglas suggests). So it is hardly a surprise that lung cancer eventually overtook him. He died in Greenlane Hospital in 1975.

George is remembered by his son Douglas as never having a bad word to say about anybody.

# 6.5.1—Douglas Charles Attwood 1931 —

Doug was born on 3 March 1931 and went to Taneatua primary school which he says he found very boring.

He remembers World War II starting and how not much was told in the newspaper about it at first.

He says his first real event was bluffing the doctors to allow him to leave school. They were "horrible school days" and to this day he has never regretted leaving.

He became one of the "working class", his first job being on a sheep farm on which he stayed for three months. Then he spent six months on a dairy farm, then moved on to a dairy farm, followed by eight months on an orchid nursery. His wages were £5 per week plus his keep.

In 1950 Doug went to Auckland where he worked at a variety of jobs. There had been plenty available but by this time the returned soldiers were back in New Zealand so unless you had two years' post-primary education you took whatever was available.

Doug married Joy Thian in November 1952 when his wages were £6 a week. It wasn't long before he had a big family of five daughters to support.

Doug worked for himself for many years until 1972 when his health made it impossible to carry on with that kind of work. He joined Auckland hospital staff and was there until he retired in 1991 to spend more time with his second wife who he had married in 1980 and who died in 1995. Four years later he married Joyce Guest and they have now divorced.

Doug went to live in England in 1996 and lives in West Derby, Liverpool.

# 6.5.2—John William Attwood—1932-1937

Jack was born at Whakatane hospital when his parents were farming their Peketahi property.

He was a bright little boy—cheerful and cheeky, they said—and everybody liked him. However, he died in quite unusual circumstances at the age of four on 6 May 1937.

He had a habit of picking grass stalks and sucking and chewing them—just like the cows on the farm—and he became very sick. There was no known treatment at the time and, sadly, he died. About 18 months later treatment was found and proved to be a reliable cure.

His brother Douglas Attwood remembers little as he was only six at the time but he was able to provide a copy of the only known photograph.

Jack was buried at Whakatane cemetery. Douglas recalls that the day of Jack's funeral was fine and sunny.

# 6.5.3—Bruce Attwood—1938-

Bruce was born in Whakatane on 24 October 1938 (the exact time is unknown as his records were destroyed in an earthquake in the 1970s). Until 1950 the family lived on a small farm outside Taneatua and he attended Taneatua Primary school.

During this period his major interests in life were developed. The first teacher to influence him, Miss Burton encouraged him to widen what he read and led him to decide that he wanted to be a teacher. From when he was seven the school children were audiences for the county women's institutes annual play competition. This was his introduction to theatre. Finally, at Whakatane he saw his first Shakespeare (Twelfth Night) which is still his favourite—he's seen 21 productions of it.

In 1951 they moved to Mairangi Bay Auckland, where he attended Takapuna Grammar School from 1952-1956. There he was taught by the second teacher who strengthened his decision to become a teacher himself and influenced his future teaching style. He was "Bulldog" McGregor.

Bruce trained at Auckland Teachers' College and taught in Auckland until 1961 when he moved to Wellington to attend drama school. While there he taught a special class which led him to his future career, "Special Needs". Bruce left New Zealand in 1963 for the usual two years' OE—and stayed.

Bruce was involved in both amateur and professional theatre until 1972 when he took on a permanent job in a school for disturbed children which lasted for 23 years. Bruce took early retirement and has spent the last twelve years travelling, directing and acting and making trips "home" every couple of years. He says,

What Taneatua Primary School stirred in me as a child, has lasted all my life. From a small farm in New Zealand to London—what a journey, and what an enjoyable one!

# 6.5.4—Gary Attwood—1942-1998

Gary was born in Whakatane. He was very unwell and spent a lot of time in hospital and suffered from a heart murmur the rest of his life.

The family had a fruit shop in Beachhaven; and Thelma—and Gary, when he was a little older—both looked after the shop while George worked for Archer Builders. Another move took the family to Mairangi Bay.

Gary and Lynne met when he was 21 and they were married in 1965. Gary and his father built a house in Glenfield in the weekends, Gary working seven days a week to have the house ready for their new baby daughter Christine.

About this time Gary went to work for himself, building state houses for some years. He and a partner finished a house every six weeks. He was a very thorough and hardworking tradesman. He changed jobs many times, even worked on high-rise buildings in the city as a leading-hand. He worked for the Chelsea Sugar works in Birkenhead between jobs. During 1978-80 he had a coffee shop in Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna.

Gary and Lynne were married for 32 very happy years. They had three daughters—Christine, June and Carolyn—to whom he was a great Dad. He would be very proud of them and of his five grandsons.

The family moved to Australia in 1980 and Gary worked for shop fitters and did many other carpentry jobs. He saw his daughter Carolyn marry and he spent a lot of time with her sons Harrison and James. Three months later he walked June down the aisle too, but he was struck down by a sudden aneurism. He died within 24 hours as there was a very large blood clot.

Lynne married Robert Wilmott in 2005, taking his name. She says Gary would be very happy about their marriage —Bob is 63yrs old—born the same year as Gary.

# 6.6—Edith Margaret Thrupp—1903-2002

Edith was born in Lewisham, London in 1903. She was born with club feet and was very grateful to her parents for their determination to find a cure after seven doctors said she would be in a wheel chair all her life. They eventually found one who could do the operation which was successful.

She arrived in Auckland from London in early 1906 with her parents and her six brothers and sisters. They first lived in Auckland before shifting to Pukerimu near Cambridge. She attended Sunday School regularly while there and really enjoyed it even though it was a mile from her home.

They had lots of church concerts, socials and the end of year "Bands of Hope" concerts. She belonged to the Barnardos Club as well and they had great picnic and sport days which she enjoyed. The First World War started while they lived at Cambridge and her father decided to get a smaller farm as the boys went off to war, so they moved to Walton, near Matamata.

She was looking forward to going to high school but it was too far away to walk so she enjoyed the nearby social life instead—lots of dances, tennis and swimming. Big celebrations when the war ended. A dance was held to welcome home the soldiers and that is where she first met Tom Thrupp who later became her husband.

Her father eventually sold his farm and they moved to Thames where he bought a dairy/tea-room business to give Ede and her sister Flo some work. They had four wonderful years there. They had a very full church life with large Bible classes, camps and rallies. She took a Bible class leadership course and did very well at the exams and came second in NZ.

At a Bible class camp she met Sister Nicholls, Methodist Deaconess in Maori Mission work, and she asked Ede if she would take over when she got the group going. They were mostly for adults, and men bush workers downed their tools and joined in. After a few years they shifted back to Herne Bay in Auckland.

She married Tom Thrupp after a two-year engagement and she then moved back down to Morrinsville area to farm again. She had four children while living there.

Tom died in March 1947 while working on the farm. That was a big shock for her as she couldn't drive a car and they lived ten miles from the nearest shops and her youngest child was only two years old. She got a married couple in to run the farm for the next twelve months and then moved to live with her father at Onehunga, Auckland.

After a few years there, with her father getting old, she decided to go back to Matamata to be near her sisters. She had ten happy years there and when all her family were married she went on a world trip.

When her father died, she moved back to Manurewa, Auckland to be near her family and when she turned 90 years old she moved to Selwyn Oaks Rest Home at Papakura where she spent the next nine years. Edith died on 13th October 2002.

# 6.6.1—Thomas Barry Thrupp—1930-

Barry was born on 16 March 1930 in Morrinsville.

The family's 72 acre "rehab" farm at Kiwitahi had to be cleared, fenced and buildings were erected on it. The farm was two paddocks wide and two miles long and Barry ran over it daily opening and closing gates to move the cows.

Depression recollections include: a big brown shopping bag of dates each time they went to town; churning butter out of cream by hand; coal range for cooking and hot water; long-drop toilet; buying cheap bent nails and straightening them before use.

Barry and Gwen rode to school on a horse with a double saddle; if she did not go on a rainy day, the back half of the double saddle would drain the rain down under Barry giving him wet pants.

He was enrolled at Hamilton Tech. for a carpentry course, catching the service car at the end of the road at 7am to Morrinsville, going by train to Hamilton and returning around 7pm.

When his father dropped dead on the farm aged 49 Barry ran the farm for three months. In 1948 the family moved to Onehunga where Barry continued his carpentry apprenticeship under a grumpy, cantankerous foreman whose exceptional knowledge and leadership gave him a good start in the building trade.

Eden Park was a regular visit. He saw his first game of test cricket when South Africa played New Zealand and there were more people playing on the ground than watching them.

He married Pat Muirson in 1952 and built a one-bedroom weatherboard house at Takanini and gradually added a lounge and two more bedrooms. As their four children grew he served on Scouts and School Committees. Barry is a member of Papakura Lions Club and has served as president and in other offices.

He married Patricia McGregor in 1979 and they live at Conifer Grove. Since retirement in 1999 he has built a motor home and they have toured extensively around the country.

# 6.6.2—Gwendoline Mary Anderson—1931-

Gwen was born in Morrinsville in 1931 and lived on a dairy farm at Kiwitahi with her parents, Tom and Edith Thrupp, and her three brothers. She attended Kereone Primary School, riding her horse for the five miles each way. She then attended Matamata College for three years and then went to Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland and boarded privately in Mt Roskill. Her father Tom died on their farm in 1947 while Gwen was at Matamata College. Ede shifted to Auckland twelve months later to live with her father at Onehunga so Gwen was able to live back at home again. Her first job after eighteen months at Elam, was as a commercial artist at Rendells in Karangahape Rd. In 1951 she married Ainslie Anderson and they shifted to Te Aroha for a few years where he was driving trucks.

Then it was back to Auckland where they built their first house at Manurewa. They had three children and when they were all attending school she went back to work. Her first job was in the office of Fibremakers' Bri-Nylon factory for eighteen months then as a draughts person at the local council where she stayed for 22 years. During those years they joined a caravan club which her brother Barry had started and had many years of monthly weekends away on club trips. She also belonged to Papakura Light Opera Club which performed around South Auckland for about ten years. She took up painting on porcelain plates and coffee mugs so attended many craft fairs to sell them over about 20 years.

Joining a tramping club also become a wonderful part of her life. She has tramped all over New Zealand and also Yosemite, Bruce, Zion and Grand Canyons in USA, England, Wales, Norway, Switzerland and a one-month trek to the Mt Everest base camp in Nepal at 18,000 feet. Ainslie was unable to join her on these tramps as he had developed heart failure which took his life in 1988.

She now lives in a retirement village and has a wonderful life with lots to do.

# 6.6.3—William Colin Thrupp—1936-

Colin was born in Morrinsville in 1936. When his father died in 1947 he then went to live with Aunt Nell and Uncle Mac Johnston and went to Wardville School until his mother shifted to Onehunga in Auckland to live with her father. While there he attended Te Papa School, Manukau Intermediate and then Wesley College Boarding School at Pukekohe.

On leaving college, he worked on the Johnston farm and then worked on a milk round in town. In 1957 he began share-milking 55 cows on his mother's farm at Kiwitahi, then married Phyllis Dixon, a local Walton girl and they had three children.

In 1960 they bought a Walton agricultural business doing ploughing, silage making and hay baling. After buying a Walton farm of 116 acres they discovered that his grandfather, Jack Attwood, had owned that same farm when Colin's mother was a teenager.

They put 80 acres into barley and maize and started building a piggery, but it has gradually gone back to grass with only l8 acres of maize, 22 beef cows, 65 grazing heifers and 135 milking goats.

In 1971 they established Waiwera Dairy Goat Stud Farm. They have won shows and milk awards and have exported goats to 2l countries. Their milk is collected by the NZ Dairy Goat Co-op in Hamilton for marketing overseas. In 1987 he hosted the NZ Young Farmer of the Year Regional Final on their farm.

Colin played rugby for Waharoa–Walton United Club and the Matamata rep. team. When he was 19 and doing Military Training he qualified for the Senior Rep Rugby Team. He later became a rugby referee in Matamata, handling the Finlay Cup, Peace Cup and inter-provincial games. The biggest game was the Barbarians v Hinuera Club Jubilee game in Matamata.

He has judged dairy goats at shows all over NZ as well as at the Sydney Royal Show in 1999 and 2004. He has also judged the NZ Young Farmer Regional Final in 2002 and 2003.

# 6.6.4—Graham John Thrupp—1944-

Graham was born in Morrinsville in 1944 and lived on his parents' farm until his father died when he was only two years old. He then moved with his mother to Onehunga, Auckland.

He attended the local primary school and then went to Wesley College Boarding School at Pukekohe. He then shifted to Matamata with his mother and trained as a bricklayer.

He later married Lois Schwass and went dairy farming on his mother's farm at Tokoroa. A few years later they moved to Walton doing agricultural contracting including hay baling and maize harvesting for a few years before buying twenty acres of land at Kerikeri. This they developed into a kiwifruit orchard.

From there he purchased 107 acres back in Walton and grazed dairy heifers before moving to Mt Maunganui where he built a new home. The family's next move was to Te Puke where he bought ten acres of kiwifruit and avocado orchard plus a retail fruit and vegetable shop. This has been built up into a very successful business. They still live on the property and have bought another one at Te Teko which they are developing into another kiwifruit orchard. Graham has three grownup children and three grandchildren. One daughter lives in Australia so that gives them frequent overseas trips. They have travelled to Australia, Fiji, England, Scot land, Wales, Hawaii, Singapore and USA

# 6.7—Florence May Adams—1905-1995

Flo was born in Sydenham, London 22 May 1905. She was six months old when all the family left England for a new life in New Zealand. Her baby bottle was broken during the trip. Her dad, Jack, spent a Sunday in port at Cape Town trying to find a chemist to open his shop and sell him a new bottle. The chemist said that he opened only for emergencies. A desperate father spent some time convincing him that a shipboard baby without a bottle was a real emergency.

Flo went to school in Leamington and Walton and helped with the milking and the feeding of calves on the farm at Walton. When the family moved to Thames she worked in their tearooms and later in their shop in Ponsonby, Auckland.

She met Alex Adams in Walton. They were married at St John's Methodist Church, Ponsonby on 1 January 1929. They lived in Walton, initially in a very small house at the back of the Adams' family builders' workshop where Alex worked with his father and brothers.

During World War II Flo took a very active part in the local Red Cross where her sewing skills were in constant demand. Flo and Alex brought up their three daughters in Walton. They moved to a bigger house, which Alex extended when they looked after Flo's Mother until she died. At this time her father and her sister Eff were also living with them.

Flo provided strength and support for Alex's young people's choir and encouraged their daughters to learn to play the piano and helped foster in them a life-long love of music.

The family moved to Matamata in 1948. Flo was very involved in the Methodist Church and was a loyal member of the Ladies' Guild.

In the early 1950s Alex built a large block of state houses in Matamata. This was a transit camp for English migrants. As they arrived in Matamata Flo visited them all in their homes with baking, meals and flowers. She became a "rock" on which these families depended. She helped them find their way around Matamata, helped them settle their children in school, listened to their concerns, comforted them when they were homesick and was company for them when their husbands were away working in other parts of the country. She was a true friend to them all and many kept in touch for years. Some of them even came to call her Aunty Flo.

One of Flo's many interests was doing very beautiful crochet and the family have some special cloths as loving reminders of her love, skill and generosity.

She loved her home and garden. Her garden was a very special place full of flowers, fruit and veges. She cultivated and knew the names of many special daffodils and carnations. She was very welcoming to all visitors and encouraged people to stay.

Flo and Alex celebrated their golden wedding by returning to the church where they were married. They then joined their extended family and friends for a joyous occasion at their home in Matamata.

She loved her grandchildren and they gave her much pleasure. She took a very keen interest in their activities and development.

She was very ill for some time with cancer but remained very positive and recovered well. Alex died in hospital in Matamata 22 February 1987 and Flo moved to Tauranga a year later. She died in Tauranga three days before her 90th birthday. Family and friends attended her funeral on her birthday and celebrated her life by eating the birthday cake that her daughter Peggy had made and iced in preparation for her birthday celebrations.

# 6.7.1—Shirley Joan Dunphy—1931-

Shirley was born in Matamata, and early years were spent in Walton. She attended Walton school, then travelled daily by bus to Matamata College. She left college when schools closed because of the 1947-48 polio epidemic, and started work at the Walton Post Office.

In Walton during the war years she joined the Junior Red Cross and remembers attending official farewell and welcome-home functions at the local hall for the young service men and women. On two occasions, the extended family managed to obtain enough petrol to travel to Frankton Junction to wave goodbye to the soldiers leaving on the troop trains for service overseas.

Shirley worked as a telephone operator and cashier in Walton, Matamata, Morrinsville and Hamilton. In Tauranga she worked as secretary to the Education Department, in Art and Crafts, the Psychological Service and Special Education.

While living in Matamata she met Reg Dunphy and they were married in 1952. Their first home was Morrinsville, where they discovered a mutual interest in gardening. In 1958 they moved to Hamilton where their two daughters were born. The family moved to Tauranga in 1968.

They enjoyed travelling, and visited Reg's home town Epsom in Surrey, England several times. Reg died in 1993.

A life-long member of the Methodist Church, Shirley has held various positions within the church. She has a special interest in music, singing first in the junior choir which her father Alex Adams conducted. She is still involved in an entertainment group and Wesley Church Choir. A pianist and organ player, Shirley currently plays the piano for regular meetings of the Alzheimer's Society.

Always an enthusiastic member of sports clubs, mainly athletics, basketball, tennis and badminton, Shirley remains active with walking groups, Tai Chi and keeping up with her two grandsons, Harrison and Thomas.

# 6.7.2—Peggy Florence Hall—1934-

Peggy Florence Adams was born in Matamata 28 Feb 1934, the second of three daughters of Alex and Flo.

The family lived at Walton until Peggy was in her second year at Matamata College. Among many fond memories were her mother's regular attendance to watch the Saturday basketball games, and the fun of beach holidays at Mt Maunganui, Waihi Beach, or the Thames Coast. School days were great, and from the age of six Peggy announced her intention to become a teacher. In 1952-53 she attended Ardmore Teachers' College and subsequently taught at Matamata, Tauranga, Paeroa, Kiwitahi, Newstead, and up to Auckland to Glendowie Primary.

In 1964 Peggy married Wilson (Wick) Hall. He had served in the Korean War. On his return he trained at Auckland Teachers' College. He was taxi proprietor as well as teacher, and he had a wood-turning hobby which soon became a business. Peggy and Wick lived at Pt Chevalier until they employed cousin Barry Thrupp to build their new home at Anita Ave, Mt Roskill.

Their son Peter was born in 1965 and daughter Toni in 1967. When Toni commenced school Peggy resumed teaching. The family enjoyed many overseas holidays—Australia, Fiji, Disneyland etc.

Peggy's interests, as well as her family, included music and sport. In 1990 the move was made to Orewa and found them living on the perimeter of Peninsula Golf Course.

These days Peggy and Wick live in the Peninsula Retirement Village where Peggy is currently a member of the residents' committee. Here they take an active part in village life while keeping up with other interests such as family, Presbyterian church attendance and Probus meetings and outings.

Their grandchildren are their pride and joy. Toni and Ross live in Otaki with Melinda and Sheryl, and Peter and Karen are in Dulwich, London with Sam and Jack. Times spent with them are very special indeed.

# 6.7.3—Eileen Joyce Adams—1940 –

Eileen lived in Walton and Matamata where she completed her schooling. She entered Teachers' College in 1959, doing an extra year's training as a music specialist. This led to many very enjoyable years of conducting school choirs and teaching children to play musical instruments.

In teaching, one of her earliest positions was as Infant Mistress at her old school, Walton. She later moved to Hamilton, then Auckland where she worked for many years as Junior School Supervisor at Epsom Normal School, helping to train student teachers. This was followed by several years travelling around schools in the Auckland area as Advisor to Junior Class teachers, taking courses and providing ongoing teacher training.

This included a trip to America to instruct teachers at their Summer In-service Schools. She is now teaching six year olds with reading problems in the Reading Recovery Programme. Teaching has been most rewarding following the maxim that–

2 TEACH IS

2 TOUCH LIVES

4 A LIFETIME

Ballroom Dancing is a great interest including competitive dancing on a national level, studying and achieving Fellowships in Ballroom, Latin American, New Vogue and Old Time Dancing. This led to teaching private pupils and adult classes and judging at competitions. Eileen now enjoys teaching ten year olds a variety of dances at Tauranga Primary School.

Four Keeshond dogs have been Eileen's family, providing wonderful companionship, loyalty and love over many years.

Eileen has a collection of over 100 vireyas and does a wide variety of embroidery. A recent trip to England gave her the opportunity to see the original cottages featured in her hobby. She has a great love for England, the original homeland of her grandparents.

# 6.8—Arthur Frederick Attwood—1909-1989

Arthur was born at Arthur St, Onehunga in Auckland on 15th March 1909.

He was the youngest of ten children. He was a twin but his brother died at birth. Being the youngest in a large family, Arthur was undoubtedly fussed over, especially by his sisters. He did not feel the need to speak until he was four years old and when he did utter his first words, he came out with a whole sentence. While perched underneath the dining table, in response to a query from his mother, he replied "I am not speaking to you, I'm speaking to Daddy!"

The family were hard workers and moved around quite frequently. While they were living in Thames, Arthur served an apprenticeship as a butcher. As a result of this, they always ate top quality meat. He would refuse to eat mincemeat, except on rare occasions when finances were tight.

Arthur was an animal lover and was frequently called out by the local vet for assistance during difficult lambing or calving episodes. He was always bringing home stray kittens—at one time they had 13 cats, a large dog and a rabbit.

Arthur married Ivy Jensen on 31 March 1936 at the Methodist Church in Matamata. They were given their wedding by Nell and Mac Johnston, Arthur's older sister. They settled in Mays Rd, Te Papapa, Auckland. Arthur worked as a wool classer. In 1944 they moved to a small farmlet at Thomas Rd Mangere where they grew maize and lettuces to supplement their income. Times were very difficult and they worked very hard to support their two children, one of whom was unwell and required many costly consultations with doctors.

In 1946 another move to Kotae Rd, St Heliers was made. Arthur milked cows, then delivered the milk in cans to his customers, who left billies at their gates. Eventually he stopped milking cows but continued to be a milk vendor until the late 1950s, working seven days a week 52 weeks of the year.

Another shift to West Tamaki Rd took place in 1950. The house was five minutes from the Tamaki Estuary and many happy hours were spent at the beach.

In 1953 the family moved to Burnley Terrace, Mt. Eden, where they had a grocery shop. Arthur still had his milk round and Ivy and son Noel ran the shop.

In 1956 another shift to a brand new home in Amaru Rd, One Tree Hill. It was their first new home. Many hours were spent laying concrete drives, paths and grounds. This was the first time that Ivy did not work in the family business helping Arthur.

While living here Arthur sustained a serious spinal injury which forced him to give up milk vending and he worked for a while at Reidrubber Tyre Company. Eventually his doctor prescribed six months' complete rest, then he underwent major neurosurgery, which was successful. As a result Arthur and Ivy decided to sell the house and buy a dairy that they could work in together. So another move was made to Manukau Rd, Epsom in 1960.

They ran a very successful business together for two and a half years and then they had a new home built in St Leonards Rd, Epsom. Arthur took a new job as a courier for the Education Department in Newmarket. He was provided with a car and thoroughly enjoyed this position until his retirement in the early seventies.

In 1978 they moved to Cambridge to be near their daughter and her family. Ivy died suddenly in 1979 and left a huge gap in all their lives.

Arthur developed a friendship with a racehorse trainer and became part owner of a racehorse named Grittle. Like his father, he had always had a passion for racing.

He lived for another ten years after Ivy and died in July 1989, not long after his 80th birthday celebrations.

# 6.8.1—Noel Attwood—1935 –

Noel was born in Auckland 27th September 1935. He completed primary school as Dux of St Heliers Bay School in 1948 then spent three years at Auckland Boys' Grammar school.

He attended YMCA gym classes from nine years of age and his interest, skill and experience increased to the point of becoming Auckland Junior Champion in 1949. He attended boys' camping for many years in a variety of volunteer roles.

He began working life in a Self Help grocery and then in the family store near Eden Park. August of 1955 saw him begin thirteen years of door-to-door milk vending.

He played basketball for over 20 years and through an associated young adults club met his wife-to-be in 1955. He courted and married Win Iles and they moved into their new home where JACK they have resided for the 48 years since. They have two daughters, Janiene and Anita.

In 1968 Noel gained a full-time position with the Auckland YMCA movement in youth recreation, trampolining, gymnastics and camping programmes. He directed the first girls' camping programmes in 1968–1975 as well as some boys' camps and became programme director from 1975-1983 at the North Shore YMCA where mixed teenage summer adventure camps at Ruapehu became one of the very enjoyable duties.

Outside the workplace, interests and hobbies over the years are or have been outboard boating, modelling the NZ Railway scene in (3/16th) Sn 3 ½ scale and full size early Ford V8 cars. He has served as commodore or president of each club or group.

In 1968 the family embarked on their first overseas holiday, visiting the USA and Canada for three months. Travel or vacations abroad have also been some of his most enjoyable experiences but never more so than in Fiji on four occasions with the family group of just five adults and one grandson.

# 6.8.2—Karen Shirley Barnett—1942-

Karen was born in Auckland on 4 April 1942, daughter of Arthur and Ivy Attwood. She attended St Heliers Primary and Epsom Girls' Grammar Schools. After school she trained as a newspaper librarian with the Auckland Star, rising to second-in-charge, before embarking on a trip to Japan, Hong Kong and Europe for nine months in 1963 with a girlfriend. She had saved £1000 which ensured that she did not have to work thus allowing her to see a great number of places. They drove 13,000 miles throughout Europe in an Austin Minivan and returned home for Christmas.

She secured a position as a typist/receptionist at Auckland Hospital's Eye Clinic. Shortly after returning home she met Grant Edmund Barnett, and they married on 11 December 1965 at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Khyber Pass where she had sung in the choir for several years. Grant completed B Sc at Auckland University and taught at Penrose High School.

Their first child Shaun was born in 1969 and their daughter Angela in 1970, both at National Womens' Hospital in Epsom. They lived at Pakuranga until 1977, then moved to Cambridge where Grant was Head of Mathematics at Cambridge High School. While there, they were both active in the community with Brownies, Bridge Club, PTA, church choir and Repertory Theatre where Karen sang in the chorus of Oklahoma. After five years in Cambridge, they moved to Taradale, Hawkes Bay where Grant was Deputy Principal of Tamatea High School. Karen reentered the workforce at the Polytech where she compiled and typed a reference book for Adult Reading and Learning Association. Then she was typist/receptionist at the operating theatre of Napier Hospital. During this time she studied for and passed papers on anatomy and physiology and medical terminology.

Since leaving work in 1997 she has spent many hours in her garden. She has established a Book Club—reading has been a great passion. She markets a range of art deco cards which have been developed by son Shaun who is a writer and photographer.
7—Mary Letitia Hensley—1874-1953

Dot, as she was known, was born after two sons and she was followed by two sons. She was the tenth child of James and Emma Attwood.

Little is known of her early life in England. Rene Brittain reminded us that her mother had told her that Dot was only twelve when her father James died. She sewed on buttons and hooks and eyes and delivered garments made by her mother. For a time she lived in with a family called Tate and looked after their children; one was named Evelyn Mary and Rene believes her oldest sister was named after her.

Dot and Edgar Hensley are thought to have met at the bakery of a Mrs Balfour whose husband had died. Edgar was managing the business for her. Dot worked in the shop and learned about customer handling from Mrs Balfour and Rene said that she taught the same skills to her own girls in New Zealand a generation later. "She told us never to sit down until the customer had actually left the shop."

Dot married Edgar on 30th July 1903 and their first daughter Evelyn was born on 24th July 1905. They travelled to New Zealand on the Fifeshire, arriving in Auckland in December 1907 with Jim Attwood and his family and Thomas Attwood and his family. They settled in Auckland, renting and then buying their own homes in Mount Eden and later Onehunga.

During the next eight years three more daughters, Lily (at first nicknamed Billy, later Lil), Frances, and Irene were born. All four girls contracted scarlet fever during the 1917 epidemic that swept the country. This left some unpleasant health problems for the older girls. All attended local schools at Mount Eden and Onehunga.

Edgar soon obtained work as a baker for Walter Buchanan and Sons in Eden Terrace, where he stayed for seventeen years and became an efficient night foreman. This bakery was later bought out by Finlays and is now part of the Goodman Fielder group.

During the 1920s Dot and Edgar tried hard to keep the Attwood family members united for important celebrations. Because it was a large family the children of the older family members were similar in age to their aunts and uncles who were the younger members of James and Emma. Dot was always very close to her brother Jack and nieces Ede Thrupp and Ruby Thomas. Flo and Eve were cousins and they also kept in touch as did their children in later years.

In the 1925 to 1933 period, during the depression, Edgar bought his own cake bakery, first at the Onehunga end of Manukau Road, and later a second bakery with large bread ovens in Manukau Road near Greenlane Road corner. Bread was delivered by Frank Martin (a nephew, the son of Edgar's sister Lou) in a Model T car which had been converted into a van. Edgar was keen on motor vehicles and had owned a car much earlier when they were quite rare and a source of interest and comment among the neighbours.

About this time Irene left school and was soon married and became a mother, which meant that Frances had to stop working at the smaller cake bakery and help out in the second and larger premises.

The financial pressure of the depression proved difficult to handle and the family investment in the business diminished to the point where the business was finally closed about 1937-38 and Edgar retired. The premises were sold and used for accommodation.

Dot and Edgar moved to live with Lil and her husband Dudley Gaskin at 63 Third Avenue, Kingsland. Later Dudley owned a market garden farm at Norana Road, Mangere and the Hensleys rented a small house across the road.

In 1940 Dot and Edgar travelled by train to Shannon to have a "holiday", caring for Eve's three boys while Eve and Jack went to visit the 1840-1940 Centennial Exhibition held in Wellington. It was Eve and Jack's first holiday together since they had been married in 1929. After their spell in Shannon, Dot and Edgar also went to see the Wellington members of the extended Attwood families. Dave Mullan remembers Edgar baking bread at Ruby Thomas' home on one occasion when he and Dot were staying there; the recollection of the plaited loaves and the distinctive aroma have remained with him. Nell Mullan told him that it was Edgar who told her how to ensure that her fruit cakes would not collapse in the middle while baking.

As they became older, both Dot and Edgar had leg ulcers and these restricted much visiting as did the fact that they now relied on public transport. It was wartime, and Dot knitted many garments for Eve's three growing sons, and the new babies from the other three daughters: Lil, Fran and Rene.

Towards the end of the war, Dot and Edgar moved to live with Frances and Trevor Beatson at Point Chevalier, then Western Springs. During this period Dot had a mastectomy and while she was at home at Beatsons recuperating she received a visit from her niece Lady Anne Allum. The arrival of the Mayoral car caused great excitement and curiosity in the street, said Pat McArthur, one of the girls of the household. "It was all rather grand and really got the neighbours in quite a tizz wondering who the celebrity was."

Dot taught Pat to play cribbage but also how to sew by hand. She had "all the patience in the world" and inspired in the young girl a passion for sewing that has lasted through most of her life. "She showed me how to sew a special little hanky and it won the over-all prize in a Girl Guides Handcrafts Competition," says Pat. She remembers Dot as "a lovely, kind Nana" who has been a strong influence in her life.

About the end of 1951 the Hensleys moved to live with Eve and Jack Riesterer in Hawera. Cribbage was played there, too, most nights as the three Riesterer sons had all learned to play at an early age. There was great jubilation when Eve scored the possible 29 one evening. It was a bit like a hole-in-one in golf.

In early 1953 Dot fell from her bed and after several X-rays over five or six months, the hospital decided that she had broken a very small bone near the pelvis. It took a long time to mend and when she eventually returned to home in Hawera she was bedridden most of the time.

She and Edgar celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1953 and not long afterwards Dot died peacefully 21 September, aged 79.

Soon afterwards Edgar returned to Auckland to live with Frances and Trevor and their family at Roosevelt Ave. Pat remembers him spending most of his time sitting. He enjoyed bread and dripping and cheese mashed up with vinegar. But he was very lonely without Dot and fretted his next few months away. He died 2 March 1954 aged 75, barely six months after Dot.

Lloyd Riesterer also remembers his Nana Dot as the most gentle and patient lady whose quiet influence and quality values of high morals, honesty and friendliness permeated her life and left unmistakable marks on her four daughters and many of their descendants. Cards were never to be played on Sundays and the harshest word that came from her mouth was, "Bother".

Their ashes have been interred at the Rose Garden Cemetery at Aramoho, Wanganui where the ashes of Evelyn and Jack Riesterer are also.

# 7.1—Evelyn Mary Riesterer—1905-1961

Eve was the first of the four daughters of Dot and Edgar Hensley. She was born in London and came out to New Zealand with them in 1907.

In Auckland she worked in a bakery in Queen Street, Onehunga for the Marshalls and this helped the family budget.

Eve and Jack Riesterer were married at Onehunga Methodist Church on 24 April 1929, and lived first at Parnell and then moved to Papatoetoe. Their three boys were all born at Otahuhu while they were living at Papatoetoe.

Jack worked on the railways and was stationed at Frankton and later Mercer when they started courting. He was later transferred to Milson, Palmerston North in 1937, then to Shannon in 1939, then to Ormondville in 1942, and finally to Hawera in October 1944, where he remained until he retired.

Eve did not keep good health and had trouble with rheumatism for much of her life. Following surgery for tonsils in 1942, Eve had many unpleasant times with her health and soon after moving to Hawera was diagnosed with cancer in the roof of her mouth. She bravely became one of the first patients in New Zealand to undergo radiation treatment for this illness and sadly they gave her more than was necessary. She died at Hawera Hospital on 20 December 1961, aged 56.

Jack took early retirement when he became a victim of multiple sclerosis. He sold his own home in Hawera and moved to Auckland where he was a foundation patient at the extended new Wesley Hospital in Mount Eden Road, about 1966.

After two years or so, he moved into a bed-sitter converted at Don's Mount Eden home. As his mobility decreased, Jack was forced into full-time care and moved into Cornwall Hospital at Greenlane where he died on 30 June 1970.

# 7.1.1—Donald John Riesterer—1930-

Don attended four primary schools and secondary schools at Dannevirke and Hawera. He excelled in sporting activities and was boxing champion, 1st XI, Captain of the 1st XV, RSM of the cadet unit, and Dux Ludorum in sport.

At Otago University he obtained the Diploma of Physical Education and commenced teaching at Rotorua High School in 1952. He played representative rugby for four provinces and was an All Black triallist.

He married Josie in 1953 and they shifted to Hawera where he worked at Walkers bacon factory. He was challenged to use his talents to greater advantage than killing pigs and joined the YMCA staff in Wellington. In 1957 he became YMCA General Secretary in Invercargill and then executive officer in Auckland.

1970 saw a complete change of direction to a Physical Education teaching position at Opotiki College. He was Deputy Principal from 1972 to 1980 when he became principal of Tongariro High School. In 1986 he was made a secondary school inspector for the DOT Waikato/Bay of Plenty area.

In 1989 he was elected Mayor of Opotiki District Council and served four terms, becoming very involved with Local Government NZ of which he became Vice-President. He had many opportunities for service to the community on government working parties dealing with water, rates, roads, sporting activities, socio-economic determinants, and Maori/Pakeha relationships. His social work included AFS student exchanges, Habitat for Humanity, disability resource trusts, Zero Waste NZ Trust, and economic development bodies both locally and nationally.

He did not seek re-election in 2001, but has served two terms on the Bay of Plenty District Health Board. He has kept close connections with the Methodist and Co-operating churches, serving a term as Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Uniting Congregations of Aotearoa NZ.

# 7.1.2—Colin Edgar Riesterer—1932-

Colin was the older of twins born at the maternity home situated on Huia Road, Otahuhu on 27 March 1932. They arrived home to a very excited older brother who welcomed all who came to the house with "come see bubba, bubba, more bubba".

Colin and Lloyd began school locally then, as was the custom with NZ Railways families, attended a succession of schools at Milson, Shannon, Ormondville and Hawera. The last place was very good to him with eager and keen participation in activities at High School and at the Wesley Methodist Church. They were members of a very strong Bible Class which was led by Tracey Gibson, a secondary school teacher who was a wonderful role model for all. Wesley also had a very active weeknight senior bible class under Rev Gordon Hanna.

Colin made the College's 1st XI and 1st XV and participated in the very strong choral and instrumental music programme.

After leaving school Colin commenced a lifetime's work in retail drapery and menswear. This was first for over 14 years in Hawera and then almost three years in Wellsford before he shifted to work in Manurewa and then Papakura.

In 1958 he married Ayleen Gridley and they have three children, Kevin, Neil and Megan.

Ayleen has worked in a Public Accountant's office for over 31 years while living in Wellsford and Papakura, where they moved in September 1971. Ayleen sings in the Sweet Adelines group "Southcity Soundz Chorus" and they have travelled to competitions in New Zealand and overseas.

Now retired in Papakura, Colin has played outdoor bowls at the Karaka Bowling Club with a deal of success in club events over the years. He has served on the club's executive for many years and was president for two years.

# 7.1.3—Lloyd Vincent Riesterer —1932-

Lloyd, along with the other members of New Zealand Railways families, moved around a good deal during his

schooling.

Working for one year in Hawera Public Trust Office after leaving school, he was conscripted to Compulsory Military Training in 1951. Back in civvy street he then transferred to the Auckland District office of the Public Trust.

He married Marilyn Sutherland in 1955 and later that year began ten years with Phillipps and Impey Ltd: paint, wallpaper and glass merchants.

From that position he worked in management roles with Crothall and Coy (five years) and Securitibank Ltd (seven years). During this period he qualified in Real Estate and has been a licensee since 1973. He has been in partnership or self employed since then, apart from a two year period as property administrator for Whitcoulls Ltd.

Lloyd has been a Methodist Lay Preacher since 1953 and has conducted services in all the Auckland Methodist churches between DOT Warkworth and Bombay. He served 25 years on the Methodist Trust Association, and has been on the Pitt Street Trust since 1972 where his real estate experience has been greatly appreciated.

He played cricket until he was 38 and has lectured in real estate and one year all twelve class members passed the Property Management exam.

With his first wife Marilyn, there are three children—Delwyn, Vicki, who died 12 February 2006, and Lance.

Lloyd married Geraldine Neller in October 1970 and they have two children—Matthew and Joanne. Geraldine worked in the Union Steam Ship Coy until the children arrived; later she became the secretary at the office of the Pitt Street Methodist Church where she has worked for over 20 years.

# 7.2—Lily Bertha Gaskin—1908-1981

Lil, as she was usually called, was born to Dot and Edgar on 3 Sept 1908 after the family arrived in New Zealand in December 1907.

With the rest of the family, she moved around various parts of Auckland and attended local schools. Sister Rene says that when she was growing up Lily was something of a tomboy and that in fact her family called her 'Billy' in her early years.

All four girls were badly affected by scarlet fever, presumably in the major outbreak around 1917. Lil had the further disadvantage of having a fairly pronounced stammer. Because of this she preferred not to work, as did the other sisters, in the family bakehouse shop. She worked in a factory that made chocolates. For the same reason she didn't go out a lot socially and led a fairly sheltered life. Lil met her future husband Dudley Gaskin through a newspaper advertisement—not a common way to meet in those days.

Dudley had worked first as a shearer on outback stations in the South Island. By the time he and Lil were married, the family thinks he was working at Fletchers and then later with the Auckland Tramways. While he was on the trams he bought six acres of land at Mangere and ran a market garden and poultry farm. He eventually gave up the day job on the trams to work full time on the property but later sold the farm and bought a milk round. Ngaire says that in those days milkmen started work at midnight and had to be off the road by 8am as the sun spoilt the milk.

That meant that I had to be home from dates by midnight as he wouldn't go to work until I was home. God help me if he was late for work!

After he sold the milk run he started a paint and paperhanging business. He sold that and bought out a greengrocery business and worked that until he retired. Ngaire recalls a day when her mother was pregnant with one of the younger boys and took a short cut through the cow paddock. She didn't know that Dad—

—had just taken the calf off the cow. When the cow saw her she let out a bellow and took off after Mum. Mum's short legs never went so fast. She leapt the gate like a pole vaulter. We didn't know that she could run that fast.

Lil never had much of a social life but enjoyed meeting up with her sisters for lunch on a regular basis. Ngaire thinks these visits might have been as often as twice a month; nothing sophisticated— just a sisterly meeting in each other's home. Lil also had regular contact with a special long-time friend, Joy Martin. They were friends from school days right up until Lil died.

When Dudley retired they lived in Manurewa for their last years but these were rather uneventful. Ngaire can't think of any special things that they did and ventures the suggestion that Dad spent a lot of time down at the Cosmopolitan Club and Lil spent a lot of time keeping dinner warm for him! Lil, says Ngaire,

... did really beautiful embroidery. It was so fine you would think that it was done by machine. It was so good you couldn't tell the right and wrong sides of the work.

Her sister Fran used to crochet the edges for her. She did this work right up until her strokes, just three months before she died.

She had very bad varicose veins, which ulcerated and caused her a lot of trouble. She had a series of strokes over about three months and died in Middlemore Hospital in 1981. Daughter-in-law Berys was with her when she died.

# 7.2.1—Ngaire Jean Prentice—1939-

Ngaire was born in Auckland on 20 Sept 1939, the first of Lily and Dudley's children and their only daughter. They lived in and around Auckland as she grew up and she attended several schools including Kowhai Intermediate. Her mother had also been to this school—they even had the same teacher.

Her dream was to become a nurse, but her father was not big on education and he got her a job as a machinist. She began on her 15th birth day. As soon as she was brave enough she left the factory and got a job at Hannah's shoe shop and later at Nicholas Lingerie.

She married Percy White on 16 Sept 1961 and they had a son George and a daughter Ngaire-Anne. Percy was a plumber and about the time that George was born they started up their own plumbing business. There was a staff of eight men when Percy died at the age of 37 from cancer. Later Ngaire married Don Prentice and although they didn't have any children they did have 13 grandchildren. Don was a survey draughtsman, but specialised in Maori land work and was top Maori Land investigating officer in his department when he retired.

Ngaire did volunteer work all her married life, firstly in Auckland with her church. She ran the cradle roll and a support group for young mums and later became involved in feeding disabled children at the Robertson Rd Hospital. Later she worked with Birthright. When she moved to Hamilton to marry Don she worked as a volunteer social worker with the Social Welfare Department.

They have had two trips to Aussie and have been all around NZ. Their best trip was to the Chatham Islands where George was sole policeman and they spent three weeks living in what really is "A Land Apart". They have also spent many, many happy years fishing on the Manukau Harbour, a pastime that they both loved, but stiff joints have made them sell the boat. They now spend time swimming at the Te Rapa Pools in Hamilton and soaking in their spa pool.

# 7.2.2—Neville Gaskin—1941-

Neville was born at Grey Lynn in 1941, the oldest boy of Lily and Dudley Gaskin.

The family lived at Norana Rd, Mangere where they had about five acres of market garden, fowls and ducks. He started school at Mangere Bridge which was a three-mile walk each way. From about nine, as the family moved around, he went to Grey Lynn, Mt Albert and Papatoetoe Primary and was a foundation pupil at Otara (Papatoetoe) Intermediate. High School was at Otahuhu College.

Neville qualified as a car spray painter but the fumes were a health problem so he joined his father house painting. When Dudley retired, Neville worked for a time as hygiene cleaner at Hellaby's and then returned to painting, as charge painter for school contracts and eventually went out on his own account.

On an impulse he tried cycling and soon became hooked, competing for eight years and winning numerous cups and medals including two silvers at the 1956 Auckland Grass Track Championships. He was selected to represent Auckland at the NZ Championships at Stratford but the meeting had to be abandoned due to rain. The following year he won the half mile and two mile at Auckland and went to the NZ Championships at Stratford and won the half mile taking three seconds off the NZ record. He finished third in the two mile.

Neville met Berys in 1958 at the regular Saturday night dance at Papatoetoe Town Hall. They married in 1961 and built a home in Manurewa where they raised two daughters, Tania and Michelle. They sold in 1985, shifting to 5 Vista Pl and in 2003 sold and built again at 2299 Hunua Rd, Hunua.

Neville and Berys have travelled overseas extensively, having been to England, Europe and Rarotonga as well as many visits to Australia.

# 7.2.3—Victor Gaskin—1944-1992

Vic was the third child of Dudley and Lil Gaskin and was born 18 Aug 1944. He grew up with the other children as their family moved from home to home around the Auckland area.

He appears not to have distinguished himself at school and to have taken up labouring work of all kinds. He enjoyed the rural scene where accommodation would usually go with the job and especially if there was hunting and fishing. Once the Pakuranga Hunt Club dogs came streaming over a hill to find their quarry dead on the ground and Vic standing nearby holding the proverbial smoking gun.

A cousin, Judy, came "up north for a while" to have a baby and stayed with Victor's sister Ngaire who was married and expecting her own first child. Victor was a guest of Her Majesty at the time, due to a fairly serious misunderstanding about the ownership of a car and he was writing anxious letters to Ngaire more often than she had the time required to respond. So she suggested that Judy might reply to some, which she did, before returning home to the Manawatu.

Ngaire's husband, Percy White, helped Victor with a job when he came out of prison. Later Victor went to a position in the Manawatu and looked Judy up. A relationship began and, borrowing Ngaire's wedding dress, they were married in a small ceremony at Palmerston North, witnessed by Ngaire and Percy.

Victor found enough work to keep the family together in that region for some years. But it was not easy and financial affairs eventually got on top of them: one day they arrived back in Auckland with their children, a dog and eight puppies.

The family helped with emergency accommodation and work. But it all became too much for Judy, who began to pack bags to leave. Unable to cope with this latest challenge to his personal resources, Victor took his life on 17 September 1992.

# 7.2.4—Keith Gaskin—1946-

Keith was born in 1946 and lived in Mangere and Kingsland for a few years. When he was six the family moved to Papatoetoe and he attended Central School there.

He went to Cubs for a few months but the fees were a bit much in a tight family budget. His next schools were Otara Intermediate and Papatoetoe High.

He left school in 1961 as soon as he became 15 and started work with the Post Office. At that time it was still a Government Department and offered long-term security. He began as a postman in Papatoetoe and after a few years moved to various positions in the mailroom doing postal delivery sorting and street postbox clearances for several more years.

He then moved back to postal deliveries work but found that the number of dog problems had increased greatly and in a couple of years was back in parcel sorting and administration of the local departmental vehicles. In 1987 the new South Auckland Mail Centre was opened and Keith moved there as Foreman Processing Assistant.

He is still at the centre but the work has continued to change as mail sorting becomes more mechanised and staff numbers are gradually reduced. New equipment reads postcodes and will eventually read hand-printed addresses. Keith had better plan to retire soon.

He used to enjoy fishing and gardening but health problems, particularly a bad back, have taken some of the fun out of these activities. Keith says that these days his primary interest outside of work is "having a good time with friends". In his spare time he can sometimes be found having a drink and a game of snooker at the Cosmopolitan Club.

He also enjoys the occasional trip around New Zealand.

# 7.3—Frances Helen Beatson—1912-1980

Fran was the third daughter of Dot and Edgar Hensley and was born on 24 February 1912 in Onehunga and went to school there.

On leaving school, she worked—as did the other girls—in her father's bakery. From all accounts she worked very hard and was responsible for managing one of the shops at one stage.

She married Trevor Conrad George Beatson on 28 December 1937. Older sister Lily was bridesmaid and May Elliott, a young niece, was flower girl. Sadly, the camera malfunctioned so there are not many photographs of the event but Fran was married in blue with blue straw leghorn hat, crepe dress and lovely blue suede shoes—Pat remembers playing with them as a child.

Trevor was a quiet unassuming man with a passion for cars, speedway and reading westerns. He was born at Cross Creek (on the famed Rimutaka Incline) but lived mainly in the north. He began playing brass when he was ten and over the decades played with Army, Watersiders and One Tree Hill bands until his death at 51. He was a plumber and sheet metal worker.

Fran was a great cook and knitter and was always knitting for someone. She also had a great love of gardening and had splendid gardens at every place they lived.

When daughter Pat went to high school Fran took up work as a hand sewing finisher. Pat says she did not enjoy coming home after school and not finding her mother home.

Fran was very close to her older sister Evelyn and regularly visited Eve and Jack and family wherever they were for school holidays. Fran had a very strong sense of duty to her family and was always ready and willing to have grandchildren to stay.

Her last days were spent with Pat. She suffered from motor neurone disease from which she died at 68.

# 7.3.1—Patricia Helen McArthur—1939-2015

Pat was born 5 March 1939 at St Helens hospital, Auckland, the first child of Frances and Trevor Beatson. She spent all her primary years at Pt Chevalier School and then went to Pasadena Intermediate.

Going on to Seddon Technical School she blossomed and did very well in art and dressmaking. So when she left school she worked as Junior at Evelyn Harrison Designer Salon in Queen St, City. This was the beginning of a life-long interest in garment design and sewing. Over the years she has done a great deal of work in preparing bridal wear.

In October 1959 she married Ron McArthur who was a sheet metal worker and later had a milk delivery round. For a couple of years they lived in a caravan behind the Beatsons' home but by 1963 were in their own home in Manurewa where they have lived in Hill Park and Totara Heights.

They had twin daughters Angela and Susan but the latter had a blockage in the aorta and died in surgery. This was a very stressful time for Pat. Angela has two boys, Samuel and Finlay and Pat has very happy involvement with these grandsons on a regular basis.

She has had a life-long interest in sport and played table tennis from her late twenties until two years ago. She represented NZ against Australia at Veteran level and played at other world events in Melbourne in 1996. She took up lawn bowls twelve years ago and has represented Counties-Manukau at Academy and now Open level. This is a major part of her life these days. "I just really love bowls," she says. Currently she is on the executive of the Buckland Bowling Club.

For the last five years she has been doing two days a week housework for six elderly ladies. She finds this very rewarding and they have become great friends.

# 7.3.2—Raymond George Beatson—1943-1985

Ray was the only son and second child of Frances and Trevor Beatson; he was born in Auckland on 6th March 1943.

He attended Grey Lynn school while the family lived in Western Springs and when their home was required for the new north-western motorway, the family shifted to Te Papapa. Ray went to school there and at Manukau (Royal Oak) Intermediate school and Mt Roskill Grammar.

Ray's dad played the cornet most of his life and he took Ray along to the One Tree Hill Municipal Band practice when Ray was only ten years old. Ray loved it and progressed well with the cornet playing and was a NZ champion solo player and in the national band. He played in the Auckland Waterside senior brass band which was in Championship Grade in the 1960s and toured Europe under sponsorship of Continental Airlines.

Ray also won a road cycling junior title. He commenced a saw-doctor apprenticeship with Henderson and Pollard Ltd, and spent about four years at this position learning to set and sharpen saws of all sizes from hand saws to those over eight feet in diameter. Injured in a work accident, he lost part of a major finger just one week before attending the Outward Bound School in Marlborough where he was chosen as a team leader. Next he was a salesman for an outdoor equipment company in Greenlane.

Ray married Lynn Lee on 3 April 1965 and they lived in a new home in Hill Rd Manurewa where their two sons Scott and Ross were born. Ray bought a coffee lounge in Papakura and each day would bake about 40 pies which were of various varieties but all of a high standard. The same 40 people wanted to buy them each day and Ray was sorry that he couldn't cook more.

Ray died at 42 after a recurrence of cancer following twelve years' remission and Lynn died in December 1998. Scott has also died. Ray packed a lot of fun and hard work into his life and was a real credit to the Attwood family.

# 7.4—Irene May Brittain—1915-2015

Rene (as she is known) was born on 20 May 1915 at 9 Catherine Street, Onehunga and she lived at Cardwell Street until she was two years old. During the 1917 scarlet fever epidemic, Rene and her three sisters were admitted to hospital suffering from the illness.

She started school at Mt. Eden after the family moved to 25 Victoria Avenue. This street is now known as Horoeka Avenue and the Hensleys lived there until 1924. Rene remembers her first day at school, being enrolled and sitting on the Head Master's knee, crying. Big sister Eve came to the school gate at lunchtime with Rene's special teddy bear wrapped up in brown paper, for her.

Because of the hours Edgar worked and the fact that he had to sleep during the day, Rene recalls that she and her sisters always had to be very quiet. Saturday afternoons and Sundays were the only time they saw their father. Hence, Dot did most of the upbringing of the girls. Rene attended primary school for eight DOT years and did not go to secondary school at all.

She went straight to work in the family home cookery shop like Fran. Dot's influence was again evident as she taught her daughters how to serve the customers the way she had been taught by Mrs Balfour in London. Both Rene and Fran enjoyed working in the shop.

Rene had known Dave Elliott since she was about fourteen years old and when she was sixteen, they kept company for another couple of years. They were married when Rene was nineteen and Dave was twenty, at The Friendly Road on 28 May 1934. The Reverend Scrimgeour (Radio's "Uncle Scrim") officiated at the service. Over the next seventeen and a half years they had ten children—May, Jean, John, Irene, David, Judith, Malcolm, Richard, Roy and Christopher.

Dave found it difficult as a young father to obtain suitable work to provide sufficient income for their expanding family. He preferred shift work where wages were better. Over the years he worked as a tram conductor, at The Auckland Star, as a milkman and at Fisher and Paykel as a metal presser. He later worked for Tisco in Carr Road, Mount Roskill.

Their first home was Point Farm where Dave worked for Rene's Uncle Jack Attwood. From there they moved to 21 Gladwin Road, Epsom then into three rooms in a house in Symonds Street, Royal Oak. After several more moves they spent eighteen months living in a transit camp in Western Springs. Finally, in about May 1953 they were able to buy their own family home at 581 Mt Albert Road.

Dave died suddenly on 28th December 1969. In 1976 Rene married Dover Andrews, an old workmate of Dave's who had recently lost his wife. Sadly, he too died in December 1979.

Later, through an advertisement in the local paper, Rene met Jack Brittain and they married in September 1982. He passed away three years later. These days, Rene lives very happily with her friend Ivan Milnes at her home in Taupo Street, Green Bay.

Over the years, Rene has been a voluntary worker for Auckland Hospital Auxiliary and later for Waitakere Hospital Auxiliary. She thoroughly enjoyed crocheting knee rugs for both organisations and still continues to make them for Waitakere Hospital.

At 91, Rene is the oldest living descendant of Dot and Edgar Hensley and the oldest Attwood family member of her generation in New Zealand.

Rene and Dave had 23 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.........and counting!

In 2015 Rene reached her hundreth year and died twelve days later on 2 June.

# 7.4—May Radford—1934-

May was born at St Helens Hospital, Pitt St 10 October 1934.

She started at Model Country School which was attached to the Teachers' College. Each class had children from new entrants to Std 6 to train students for country teaching. She went to Epsom Girls Grammar after the polio epidemic of 1947-48 and left at 15.

Her first job was in sales at Farmers Trading Coy but she loved a later position in mail order where she could do "all the shopping without having to pay for it". It was a busy place and "I think I'm a bit of a backroom girl really."

She had a few boyfriends but met Bob on a blind date arranged by his brother. They married in 1957 at Holy Sepulchre in Khyber Pass Rd and settled on Hillsborough Rd. Later moves took them farming near Tirau and to Mangere where May obtained a position which she loved in a plant nursery.

During this period they raised three children. They went back to the land again up north at Taheke, then to Whangarei and back to Auckland for about ten years. Here May was employed doing clothing alterations.

In 1990 they retired and moved to Hikurangi to be close to two of their children's families. They've been there ever since.

In 2001 they lost their younger daughter Trish to a brain tumour and one outcome was that May became involved with Hospice as a volunteer. Ever since doing a year's night classes in patchwork she has been enthusiastic about this and she makes items for sale by Red Cross. She also bakes and makes jams to help with their fund-raising.

People who know her would probably say that May comes across as a cheerful person who knows that life is what you make it. But she says that there have been times when she couldn't have coped if she'd decided to feel sorry for herself. She seems a great example for her ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

# 7.4.2—Jean Sinton—1936-

Jean was born in 1936 at Auckland when the family were living in Ranfurly Rd, Epsom.

She went first to Epsom School as the nearer Model Country School was filled with American military hospital children.

School was "all right", she says, without much enthusiasm. She went on to MC and Pasadena Intermediate and then Seddon Technical. At 15 she left ("I don't think I had much say in it") to help her mother, who was expecting her last child, Chris.

Her first proper job was housekeeping and general help for the local grocer. She did housework and packaging biscuits and other commodities in the mornings and looked after their four year old in the afternoons. She was impressed to be entrusted with the responsibility of banking the shop takings. However the job she really loved was working as a factory machinist for the years up to her marriage. She still enjoys sewing and knitting and crochet work.

She was a Guide Ranger in her late teens and became involved in a queen carnival for funds for a war memorial hall. One of the Rover Scouts at the event was Graham Sinton and as soon as she was 21 they were married.

For a time they lived with her family but by the time their second child was on the way they were able to cash in the government family benefit and put a deposit on a home at Blockhouse Bay. Graham was an upholsterer by trade but also worked for Keith Hay Ltd and he accepted a transfer to their New Plymouth operation. Later he started his own business but this failed and Jean felt they should sell their home to meet the debts.

Life for a time was difficult but they were able to travel occasionally within NZ and once had a month in Israel. Retirement was sadly marred by Graham's death in 2003.

Jean has been through more deep waters with her health lately but is cheerful and pays tribute to her local Apostolic Church.

# 7.4.3—John Elliott —1937-

John Elliott was born in Auckland 2 August 1937. He attended Normal and Model Country Schools attached to Teachers' College and Pasadena and Balmoral Intermediates. He says his interests as a child were playing, playing and playing.

He went on to Seddon Memorial Technical College where he became very interested in woodworking—but also soccer.

His employment for the first five years of his working life was in a coach-building apprenticeship on the buses and trams with Auckland Transport Board.

John was married in 1968 but there were no children when he was divorced 20 years later. Apart from New Zealand he has lived in England, Canada, USA and Australia. After he had travelled widely around the world he went to work as a welder in Port Angeles, Washington State in 1991. It seems the grass grew up around him and he settled there.

In 1993 he met Jackie LeDoux and they have lived together since then. He retired in 1999 and enjoys bowling and volunteering his woodturning knowledge and skills at the Port Angeles High School Woodshop five days a week.

Asked how he felt people would see him, John thought he would be recognised as a very good wood turner and mentor for the young wood turners in his community. He gives freely of his time and talents to help them. "Kids love me for the spinning tops I make at the various venues we attend throughout the year."

# 7.4.4—Irene Charlotte Oxley—1940-

Irene is the fourth of the ten children of Irene and David Elliott and was born in Auckland.

As the family moved several times she ended up going to nine schools. After high school at Mt Roskill Grammar, she worked at The Farmers in Hobson St, then the Auckland Sunday School Union Bookshop in Upper Queen St.

In 1959 she decided to spread her wings and came to Christchurch where she subsequently met Ian Oxley. They were married in Auckland at the Three Kings Congregational Church on 6 Jan 1961 and sailed that afternoon to Sydney on the MV Wanganella.

After two years in Sydney where Ian studied Youth Leadership (while Irene worked to keep them) they returned to NZ. Ian worked for the YMCA until their first son Martin Ross was born 4 Oct 1963. They then worked on two different farms in North Canterbury, returning to Christchurch in 1968 when there was a serious downturn in farming. Their second son Roger Wade was born in 1966, and their daughter Suzanne Elisa 1970.

For most of the 20 years before retirement Ian worked as a nurseryman and Irene had various office jobs. At the time of their retirement their eldest son and his family were living in England and they were able to have three months with them in 2003.

Irene's hobbies are crocheting, jigsaws, crosswords—all very sedentary. She has belonged to a walking group for several years, although now a bit reluctant to go out in Christchurch's cold winters. Having had open heart surgery last year she goes to exercise classes run by Cardiac Companions.

Irene and Ian have been involved in many church activities and are currently members of Spreydon Baptist Church. They enjoy learning from occasional "homestay" students and, of course they delight in their seven grandchildren.

# 7.4.5—David Andrew Elliott—1942–

David was born in November 1942 to Dave and Irene Elliot in Auckland.

He says his childhood was much the same as that of most kids of the time. He left school in the first term of his Fourth Form to work in a butcher's shop, working there for about nine months.

He left that job, and the family home, to go farming and spent the next few years on two farms then went back home for a while.

Next he went to Australia for a look around and to visit his sister Irene. He spent some time around Sydney and then hitchhiked to South Australia where he worked on Cordillo Downs station.

When he returned to New Zealand he made a promise to himself that he would go back to Australia—but it took nearly twenty years. He did it in January 1981 with wife Robyn and four children: Alice, Karen, Lisa and David. There are now six grandchildren, three boys and three girls.

The family spent four years in Perth and moved to the northern mining towns of Pilbara, Tom Price and Paraburdoo, staying up there for about eleven years. David became involved in speedway about this time—he says at 47 he ought to have known better; "but everyone has had a good time".

Then it was back to Perth for eight years—or so they planned: but after five years of painting jobs and city life they decided to move to the country.

They have semi-retired on 2.5 acres and enjoy three Jack Russell terriers that love the room to run about in the wide open spaces. David says he keeps busy with lots of trees they've planted and "brewing my own beer".

They plan to buy a caravan and explore a lot of the beaches they've only heard about. They're going to do a lot of fishing.

# 7.4.6—Judith Mary Jackson—1944-

Judy was born 4 Jan 1944, the sixth of the ten children of Rene and David Elliott. She went to primary schools in Grey Lynn, Pt Chevalier, Dominion Rd and Three Kings. She attended Mt Roskill Intermediate and finally Mt Roskill Grammar.

She was active in Girl Guides for five years and attended many camps and played basketball as her favourite sport.

Her first job was at D Henry and Co, Plumbers' suppliers in Nelson St, Auckland. She then worked for the Irish Linen Importing Coy in Queen St.

Judy married Bryan Jackson in 1964 and they still live in the Mangere East house they bought at that time. They have just celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary.

Their children are Gaylene Sandra, 1966, Wayne Robert, 1968.

Judy returned to the work force in 1977, working as a secretary for a vintage car spare parts importer. She helped the owner set up the business and worked there for 28 years. Along the way she purchased a 1929 Model A Ford Tudor sedan and a 1931 pickup truck. She and Bryan are members of the Auckland Veteran and Vintage Car Club and the Horseless Carriage Car Club of NZ and the Model T Ford Club of NZ and have attended major rallies.

Both now enjoying retirement, Judy works two days a week as a Salvation Army volunteer. They have travelled extensively throughout Australia over the past 25 years.

Gaylene married Lance McIver in 1989 and they live in Waihi with their two girls. Wayne married Tracey Peterson in 2000 and they live in Whangarei; they have three girls and a boy.

# 7.5.7—Malcolm McGukin Elliott—1946-

Malcolm was born in 1946, the seventh child of Irene and Dave Elliott when they lived in the Mt Albert Rd

area.

He did his primary schooling at Three Kings and Mt Roskill Intermediate. He didn't get too excited about this experience and supposes that he was a pretty mediocre student. Mt Roskill Grammar was much better for him as some of the diverse range of subjects available caught his interest; he remembers learning about the mid-west USA and later travelling in that region and experiencing it firsthand.

He left school to work as a motor spray painter but found this a bit frustrating—"the paint shop foreman was pretty difficult"—so after about a year he accepted an invitation to take up a live-in position on a mixed dairy farm in Walton. He had no idea at the time that it was Attwood country.

After a further year or so he moved back to Auckland where over the next few years he gained a wide range of experience in all kinds of work including brick- and block-laying and working for a firm that erected prebuilt and kitset garages. Most of the rest of his working life was spent as a self-employed builder.

Malcolm was married in 1968 to Jackie Driscoll and they lived at first in Hillsborough, later moving around various parts of Auckland and Coromandel. During these years they had three children: Maree 1970, Rodney 1971 and Wendy 1975.

He served at various times on school committees and managed a representative rugby team and was president of the North Island Model A Club. These cars have been a major hobby for the last 15 years: he owns four Ford Model A vehicles including a 1928 pickup he has fully restored himself. He also has restored a comparatively rare Ford-Ferguson tractor.

Malcolm and Jackie are now retired on a lifestyle block in Kumeu. They have six grandchildren.

# 7.4.8—Richard Lindsay Elliott—1947-

Richard was born at St Helens Hospital, Auckland on 20 Sept 1947, the eighth child of Rene and David Elliott.

Along with the other members of the family, he did his schooling at Wesley and Three Kings Primary, Mt Roskill Intermediate and Mt Roskill Grammar. He says he was not a high achiever but always enjoyed woodwork. Grandad Elliott had been a cabinet-maker and Richard would potter about with his Dad and so developed his interest in woodwork. In 1964 he commenced a five-year apprenticeship with Dorno Products.

He was encouraged to move immediately into a different setting and went to work for GGH Swasbrook in Te Papapa making pool and snooker tables. From 1990 he has been making frames for lounge suites, some of those years self-employed. He finds great satisfaction in the work: "Making lounge frames is enjoyable—no two days are the same."

In 1979 Richard spread his wings and travelled to Western Australia. The excellent weather and the people he met along the way turned what was meant to be a six-month vacation trip into a permanent move.

He met Margaret O'Neal through a dating agency in 1986 and after a brief courtship they were married on 29 June 1987. They settled in Marg's home on the Perth coast then built their own house just two suburbs away. Their daughter Marilyn was born on 11 December 1987 and has brought them great joy and happiness. Since about her eighth year of schooling, Marilyn has wanted to be a primary school teacher. To her credit and her parents' encouragement she is now in her second of a four-year university degree for primary school teaching. They are very proud of her.

Work colleagues and friends have always found Richard to be quick to laugh. He believes it has kept him young.

# 7.4.9—Roy William Elliott—1950–

Roy came towards the end of the large family of Rene and Dave Elliott. Primary schools at Royal Oak, Mt Roskill Intermediate and Mt Roskill Grammar were unmemorable. The last part of his secondary schooling was at Rangiora where he lived with his older sister, Irene Oxley and family.

Roy was drawn to the arts from a very early age but felt he didn't seem to receive any encouragement to develop this interest. This made him feel as though the family was not accepting of him as a person, either.

At sixteen he took up work at Haywrights in Christchurch, eventually working in administration with them. But his passion was for night-time and weekend work in the entertainment industry. He was involved in some minor amateur dramatics and in 1967 1974 he was part-time disc jockey and manager of pop bands in the South Island. He then did his OE, visiting brother John in Seattle and going on to British Columbia.

Returning to Auckland in 1975 at a time when the industry was becoming more professional he gained employment and then set DOT up his own entertainment agency. He worked with a large number of well-known NZ entertainers and compered shows, assembled casts and was heavily involved in the entertainment scene. Summertime Radio Licences provided opportunities for intensive on-air experience as did the Nambasa Festival, the forerunner to Auckland's Big Day Out. One of his acts was flown to Avalon studios and recorded for TV's Radio With Pictures. Although Roy is not now very active in the industry, the six mayors of Auckland recently invited him to submit a proposal for an entertainment show to raise funds for victims of the Asia Tsunami.

Roy was married to Marilyn Kinghorn in 1986 and although now divorced they share twelve year old Stephanie Kelly Elliott who has her father's flair for the arts and recently took a prize for art.

When Roy has time out these days his hobbies are jogging, reading and listening to music.

# 7.4.10—Christopher Elliott—1951–

Chris was the last of ten children so he supposes he was a bit special to his mother but found that didn't make life

any easier.

He did the same schooling as the other younger members of the family but hated it—when he attended, that was. When he couldn't persuade Rene he was too sick to go to school he often went off and hid in the bushes anyway. When one of his teachers said, "I don't know why you bother to come to school," he responded, "To eat my lunch".

He loved doing hands-on things and enjoyed woodwork, engineering and making models but had no time for sports. In any case, he was always breaking a bone somewhere; the greengrocer called him "Casualty Chris".

Chris says that he and Roy rebelled against the pressure of the family's standards and religious beliefs; he felt out of step and as if he was at the bottom of the heap. There's still a lot of distance between him and the rest of the family.

Leaving school he worked at a huge variety of jobs: making arc welders, builder's labouring, installing swimming pools and so on. In 1981 he took shares in a block of land on Great Barrier Island and moved there. The partnership didn't work out ("It was like being at home again") but he stayed on the island and has been there ever since.

He does a lot of rock fishing and pig-hunting and he prides himself on his very high quality bone-carving which has been retailed in local market days and on Auckland's Queen St.

Chris has had some partners over the years but there was no one with whom he really settled down. The legs don't work so well these days, he says, but he continues to be active. He can usually be found at the local general store in the later part of the afternoon, taking advantage of their off-licence for a quiet drink or two.
8—Arthur Attwood—1877-1934

Arthur was born at 15 Taunton Road Lee on 25th December 1877. He was often called Nick because he was born on St Nicholas' Day. As a fourteen year old he was a florist's labourer in Lee.

At the time of his marriage to Emily Maude Sarah Sims in 1896 he was living at 46 Mount Ash Road, Sydenham. His bride Minnie (as she was known) lived at 301 High Road, Lee. Minnie's teenage education was at St Margaret's High School in Lee. Her piano teacher was Professor White who was strict and had no interest in pupils who did not want to work hard.

During the next thirteen years their nine children were born at seven different addresses. Two sons died in infancy. Arthur worked variously as a gentlemen's gardener, a master florist, a milk carrier and at Hersham he and Minnie managed the Central Dairy which was a shop with accommodation above it. Minnie made butter pats for sale and Arthur was the dairyman.

They moved to 5 Earlswood Street, Greenwich and this is the address they left to sail to New Zealand on the Rangatira, 9 January 1914. Minnie was an accomplished pianist and was often called on during the six-week voyage, to entertain or to accompany soloists at concerts held on board.

Once in Wellington, they caught the overnight train to Frankton Junction and had to wait at the station until 8am to get another train to Cambridge where they were met by brother Jack. He took them by buggy to Ambury's farm near Monavale in the Leamington area. They all stayed with Jack and family until Arthur found a local cottage to rent.

From there, they moved to Fencourt and back to Leamington where Arthur share-milked. Their next move was to Vogel Street where Arthur worked as a gardener which was the type of employment he enjoyed far more than farming. This house was sold over their heads and they moved again to Leamington. Another move to Maungatautari for one share-milking season, then on to Wharepoa near Thames and more farm work. Their final move was to "Westmead" 26 Hamilton Road Cambridge.

Arthur enlisted to serve in WW1 but was discharged as he had seven children.

Their daughter Ethel was born in 1917. During the depression years Arthur spent some time working at the Post and Telegraph works camp in Hangatiki. He caught the train to Te Kuiti and was driven by car from there. He was able to return home some weekends. The temperatures were dismally cold and in his own words "the work there was slavery." He was employed by the P&T Department for fourteen years. At the age of 58 Arthur was killed when the cycle he was riding along Hamilton Road was in collision with an oncoming car on the afternoon of 8 September 1934. Minnie remained living at "Westmead" for the next thirty years.

Arthur is remembered as a tall, "gentle giant" with a good sense of humour. He had a flourishing vegetable garden, his speciality being celery and he was also keen on wallflowers, cornflowers and granny bonnets. There was a grape vine which wandered over the trellis and Arthur made home brew in a large barrel, stirring it with the copper stick. He was an untrained musician and there are several recollections of him being able to play the piano, violin, banjo and was even known to knock a good tune out of a row of plant pots. He always sat up to see the New Year in and played the piano with the keys covered with a cloth so as not to wake the younger children.

Over the years Minnie had several boarders who provided some company for her and helped a little with her income. She taught her children to play the piano and two of the girls became music teachers. The family attended St Andrews Church of England in Cambridge and Minnie and some of her daughters sang in the choir. She played the piano to accompany silent movies at the Cambridge picture theatre. She was a skilled sight reader. Other talents were sewing and hat trimming.

For the first six years she had none of her own family in New Zealand until her brother and family arrived in 1920. She was always proud to be English and always referred to England as "home" or "the old country". She was extremely proud to belong to Men of Kent, as opposed to Kentish Men—the distinction being established by which side of the River Thames you were from. Because she'd been born in Eltham, correct pronunciation of its name was vital to her: it was Elt meaning chief and ham meaning village. Not Eltham as she heard "New Zealanders who do not know the origin of the name" pronouncing it.

She and "Westmead" became legendary in the memory of her grandchildren as most of them stayed there for holidays. Westmead had bedrooms called the middle room and the blue room and there were always maidenhair and cactus plants crowded around the back door. Her personality is remembered as being kind hearted, but she was a strict disciplinarian, with the harshest threat for bad behaviour being the umbrella case. Those who broke the rules were called fiends.

Minnie used to cook roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on Sundays. She cooked on a coal range and a small gas ring. The washing was done in a copper in the outside wash house. She had some quaint sayings—"I always keep a tin of salmon in the cupboard so I have got something to fall back on". Another was "they have got pots of money." The thought of Grandma falling over tins of salmon and people walking around with pots of money, intrigued grandchildren and is still recalled vividly.

She encouraged her daughters and grandchildren to play the piano in the Cambridge competitions and was very proud when they did well. She had such a keen ear that if she was in the kitchen listening through the wall to someone playing in the front room, instructions to "play F sharp" would be called out if the wrong note was struck. Playing card games like 500 was always a great source of enjoyment for her. Over the years, her appearance changed very little, but as she shrank in stature, growing grandchildren had the chance to give cheek about her being shorter than they were.

Often Minnie would stay with her children. Once, when she was visiting Gordon's family, Graham coaxed her into getting on his tractor for a financial bribe. She could not resist but as soon as she was in the driving seat, he slipped the tractor into gear and they made a lap of the paddock—much to her displeasure.

Minnie was extremely superstitious and would never wear anything green, put a shoe on the table or open an umbrella indoors. She always called a spade a spade.

Minnie was the matriarch of the family and wore her cloak of authority ARTHUR with distinction until her death in July 1964. She was a tower of strength to her children when life was difficult. She was of the generation of women who left everybody and everything behind to go with their husbands to an unknown land on the other side of the world, knowing they would never return 'home' again.

Arthur and Minnie are buried in Hautapu Cemetery.

# 8.1—Gordon Wellesley Attwood—1897-1985

Gordon was born at 16 Fransfield Grove Sydenham on 30 January 1897 and was named after two British Generals. He grew up in Catford, Lewisham, Wandsworth and Hersham where he earned 2/6 a week as a paper delivery boy. When the family moved to Greenwich, he earned 10/- a week as a shop assistant for David Greig.

He had few recollections of the journey to New Zealand on the Rangatira but did remember fellow passengers, the Davy family, who would come back into his life years later.

On arrival in the Waikato, Gordon was reunited with Uncle Jack and best mate cousin Sid and he worked as a farm labourer for them. In February 1916 he put his age up two years and 'signed up' with Sid in Cambridge; he was very keen to fight for King and Country and to visit relatives he thought he would never see again. He trained at Trentham and served on the battlefields of France and Belgium where he witnessed the horrors of Messines Ridge, The Somme and Passchendaele. Three cousins, Gordon, Sid and Tom were in the same machine-gun unit and visited their relatives when they were on leave together in England.

Back in the Waikato, Gordon was a farm labourer for the Riddells and lived in their homestead, "Woodlands". Working with horses was his great interest. Olive Winnifred Menary was a domestic servant on the farm next door and they married in May 1923. They had two sons, Leslie and Norman. Gordon worked briefly for his brother-in-law Charles King in Waharoa then moved to "Ruatuna" in Matakohe where he worked for the Coates brothers. When Prime Minister Coates wrote a reference by telegram for Gordon it read: "Attwood good character steady sober Coates". A fellow "digger" loaned him money that enabled him to start Attwood's Freight Service in Huapai. He carried fruit to the city every day and had a depot in Carr Pountney's warehouse in Fort Street. During this time, Winnie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis from which she suffered for five years before passing away in February 1932. Prior to Winnie's death

Gordon had become reacquainted with the Davy family who lived in nearby Waitakere. After Winnie died, Gordon looked after the boys alone. He worked very long hours and with help from his sister May and neighbours he struggled on.

After a brief courtship he married Peggy Davy in Cambridge in March 1933. They had four children—Ronald, Graham, Doreen and Allison. Gordon continued his carrying business and bought a 56 acre farm in Trigg Road Huapai. He had cows, pigs, hens and picked fruit for neighbouring orchardists to supplement his income. Gordon and his sons often worked in the neighbour's packing shed at night making wooden apple boxes. Cutting and bagging firewood to sell to city friends and the local school also meant a few more shillings in the kitty.

During WW2 Gordon was a sergeant in the Home Guard and drove locals to take part in exercises around the district. He was involved in the very "hush hush" job of installing guns at Whangaparaoa which were to protect the harbour entrance. He also drove Bob Semple's "tank" which had a top speed of eight miles an hour. His job was to sit in the middle of Riverhead Bridge and stop the Japanese from capturing Whenuapai airbase! Gordon was the side drummer in the Kumeu Brass Band for eight years. He loved music of all kinds, especially military music which stemmed from his days as a bugler in the Featherston Trumpet and Bugle Band and a side drummer for A.Company 13th Reinforcements in 1916.

Peggy was a very capable wife and mother and thrived on being a home-maker. She sewed trousers and lined them with flour bags for the boys. She preserved dozens of jars of fruit, jams and pickles every year. She baked cakes every Saturday and enjoyed preparing weekend lunches for visiting 'townies' who were always welcome. She was a member of CWI for over fifty years. They retired to 9 Northall Road New Lynn in 1956.

Gordon survived the horrors of WW1 where he saw his best mate Sid killed in action. He experienced the loss of his first wife and only brother to MS and lost his father in a road accident. He suffered the effects of the depression years and WW2. All of these events were stoically borne and rarely discussed. His strong principles, eternal sense of humour and the loyal companionship of his wife Peggy for fifty-two years, carried him through. Their ashes are interred in the Soldiers Cemetery at Waikumete.

# 8.1.1—Leslie Gordon Attwood—1925-1994

Les Was born in Matamata Public Hospital on 20 May 1925 and was educated at Huapai School and Helensville High School. As a teenager he often went fishing at Muriwai Beach. He and Norman rode out on their bikes and sometimes fished from the rocks. These expeditions were the foundation of his life-long love of the sea and fishing.

He started work in the telephone exchange at the Kumeu Post Office in November 1941 and after four years went to Wellington to study Morse code, Telex and Creed machines. He also received some Meteorological Office training. He spent over a year on Campbell Island around 1947 with three colleagues; they took rain, wind and temperature readings and Les transmitted the results back to the Met. Office. He also found time to go fishing.

Back in Auckland he was stationed at Music Point where he was a radio operator. He met Gladys Leach who lived at Bucklands Beach. They were married on New Year's Day 1949 and lived for forty years at 8 The Parade Bucklands Beach, with the sea at their front door.

Les loved gardening as much as he did fishing. Another hobby was scuba diving and in later years he took up playing the electronic organ. With their children Paul and Pamela he and Gladys enjoyed sailing holidays on Cantina, their catamaran which was anchored opposite No. 8. He was the proud owner of a Morris 1000 car and a VW Combi van.

Gladys owned and managed a fabric and bridal shop in Panmure for many years. Les worked in several Post Offices and retired as postmaster at Mangere.

He looked after Gladys during her terminal illness and he died suddenly in August 1994.

# 9.1.2—Norman Frank Attwood —1926-

Norman was born in a private nursing home in Ruawai in 1926. He attended Huapai School and when he left Helensville High School he boarded and worked in Auckland travelling home by train every weekend.

He met Dorothy Adderson at Thatcher's Bible House which was in Symonds Street and they were married on 19 August 1950 in Pitt Street Methodist Church. They lived in The Castle, Castle Drive Mt. Eden, later moving to Glenfield. They then bought a tiny bach in Salisbury Road, Birkdale and lived in it while their first home was being built.

Norman built himself a car on an Austin 7 chassis which he had dragged out of the tide at Mechanics Bay. He used the engine from another Austin 7 he had already overhauled and his brother Ron built the bodywork. Norman and Dorothy used the "Puddle Jumper" for six years, including driving it all around the North Island.

Shirley was born in 1955 and Adrienne in 1958. Because of Shirley's poor health they moved again, to the top end of Birkdale Road. Over the years, the family enjoyed many holidays travelling together by car throughout New Zealand.

Norman worked as an engineer at Mason and Porter. He was a fireman and later an engine driver on the Auckland Harbour ferries. He also drove a bulldozer and did drain laying. He retired after driving buses for Birkenhead Transport for several years. As a retirement hobby Norman made and painted wooden rocking horses. In 1989 Norman and Dorothy enjoyed a trip to the United Kingdom for three months and later they visited friends in Vancouver for a month.

Shirley and Ian Wilson had three sons Daniel, Joel and Simon. Adrienne and David Smith had two sons James and Andrew.

# 8.1.3—Ronald Arthur Attwood—1934-

Ronald was born in the family home at Matua Road Huapai in March 1934. He has many memories of his childhood on the farm at Huapai including family outings to Muriwai Beach netting, fishing and gathering toheroa. His farm chores included helping bring firewood in by horse and cart, minding cows on the road-side, pulling swedes for the cows to eat and feeding the pigs. He fished for eels and minnows in the farm creek and shot rabbits and quail.

When he left Avondale College Ron became an apprentice carpenter and served 10,000 hours with a local builder. They worked on farm buildings, houses and schools including Whangaparaoa Primary and Orewa College.

Soon after moving to New Lynn with the family, Ron met Marion Thompson at a Bible Class Camp in Henderson. They married in February 1960. Ron started building their dream home in Pupuke Rd Birkenhead in 1959, living in a caravan on site and doing most of the work himself. Marion often helped on Saturday mornings.

Ron's working life was mainly in the residential building industry. He was also an owner/operator of a concrete pumping business and worked in a caravan factory. He and Marion ran a coffee lounge in Orewa and for seven years he was the maintenance man for a large hotel in Anzac Avenue.

Ron has done voluntary building work for Christian organisations in Japan, New Guinea and India. In recent years Ron and Marion have enjoyed taking ballroom dancing lessons together. Ron designed and built the home they have retired to in Manly.

Ron and Marion have four children: Dianne, Carolynn, Kendall and Fleur and eleven grandchildren.

# 8.1.4—Graham Trevor Attwood—1936-

Graham arrived in April 1936 at, he says, a cost of $21. He reckons the departure tax will be a lot more but he's the same cute cuddly little boy today—just a little older. For the early WW2 years, when food and other things were rationed and in short supply he learned to eat what was put in front of him and not to waste anything.

Huapai School was the place of his primary education. He walked barefoot throughout the year. Avondale College followed in 1949, presumably with footwear. Going to school was one thing, but being in school was something that he was not programmed for. He left on his 15th birthday to become a dairy farmer.

The family lived on a dairy farm of 56 acres and milked 21 cows and usually had six pigs and a few hens. Part time on the farm and part time in the orchard over the road produced $5.35 per week. When his parents sold the farm he found work in a local sawmill in Huapai. It wasn't long before the sawmiller's daughter Rona Wall took a fancy to him and they were married in 1959 in the Kumeu Baptist Church. They had a new house put on the Huapai section which became 369 Main Rd when the postal service changed from rural delivery.

Graham and Rona still live at Huapai where they brought up Trevor, timber salesman; Annette, travel consultant and Alastair, systems administrator in the sawmilling company where Graham worked as mill manager for 28 years.

He spent many years on the committee of his old school. When the children progressed on to Massey High it was the same deal: board member and then Chairman of the Board of Governors.

Most of his 44 years of working life was in sawmilling and forestry. Several retirement interests keep him busy; dahlia growing and showing continues to give pleasure.

# 8.1.5—Doreen Elizabeth Smith—1938-

Doreen was born in a Nursing Home at 4 Herbert Road Mt Eden in February 1938. As a child she walked a mile to Huapai School until she was old enough to ride over the metal road on her bicycle, known as a "bitzer". She attended Avondale College and travelled there daily by bus.

Doreen worked as a shop assistant and later worked in offices as a telephonist/clerk. She met Norman Smith, a neighbour in Northall Road and married him in 1960. They lived in Kelston and Murray and Rosemary were born in the Henderson Obstetric Hospital.

Doreen was very involved in Kelston League of Mothers for over thirty years. As well as committee responsibilities, she was well known for the many skits and songs she wrote for members to perform on special occasions. Norman was an enthusiastic member of Western Suburbs Radio Club for over fifty years where he taught practical Morse code to beginners. Doreen and Norman were both keen gardeners and enjoyed providing vegetables for the family table. Many happy holidays were spent together at Muriwai Beach, Huia and Kawakawa Bay.

Murray and Susan have two children, Chantelle and Douglas. Rosemary and Steven had two daughters, Karissa and Jenny. Norman died in 2000 and Rosemary died six months later aged thirty-seven.

Tatting, poetry, card making, keyboard and Country and Western groups are Doreen's main interests. Every year she organises an informal get together for past pupils of Huapai School.

Doreen believes in her parents' edict "waste not want not" and enjoys sewing clothes and towels that other folk throw away, into blankets, for the dogs at the local animal welfare centre.

# 8.1.6—Allison Margaret Attwood—1944-

Allison was born in "The Puriris" Maternity Hospital, 6 Roberton Road Avondale on 12 April 1944. The account totalled four pounds fourteen shillings. She went to Huapai School and Kelston High School where she excelled in bookkeeping and shorthand. Her first job was as an accounting machine operator at Alfred Buckland. She later worked at John Chambers and Neil Housing.

Knitting, crocheting and working tapestries were favourite hobbies over the years. In the Swinging Sixties Allison enjoyed going dancing three and four nights a week at the Crystal Palace and Oriental Ballrooms. She travelled around New Zealand, Fiji and parts of Australia and in 1968 went to Queenstown to do something completely different. She worked as a housemaid/waitress for seven months before returning to Auckland intent on going to England.

Once there, her interest in her personal ancestry developed rapidly. Endless arduous but satisfying hours were spent in archive offices, writing letters, making phone calls, visiting churches and searching graveyards. She visited the addresses where her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were born, married, lived and are buried. The highlight of her ancestral journey was to visit St George the Martyr Church in Southwark where Emma Ward married James Attwood. Here Allison felt she had come home to where her Attwood roots began.

After living and working in London for ten years, she finally settled in Auckland and bought a cottage in Titirangi. Her next move was to Glendene; she currently lives on Te Atatu Peninsula.

Allison has always worked in accounts and office administration and continues to do so. Family history is still an enjoyable and ongoing interest as is collecting Crown Lynn pottery.

# 8.2—Dorothy Minnie Purdon—1899-1994

Doll was born in Wandsworth in 1899. Her mother, Minnie, called her two oldest offspring "Lord Gordon" and "Lady Doll". However, while known around the family as Doll or Thea, she preferred her given name. She was schooled in England until she was 14. Because her family emigrated to New Zealand she was unable to take up a scholarship she had won.

Arriving in NZ as a naïve English lass, she later felt she disgraced herself in front of her cousins: her Maori contemporaries were happy to sit on the footpath, feet in the gutter. Doll felt that this was obviously the right place to eat an ice-cream she had bought.

There was also exasperation among her five younger sisters when they received a letter from "home" saying they had been sent a parcel containing hair ribbons. The English relatives were disappointed at not receiving an acknowledgment of their gift. Alas—there was another unrelated Attwood family in the district and guess whose hair sported the ribbons at school.

Some of her single days were spent in other people's homes as a useful pair of hands in helping out with the many chores that came with big families. This included cutting wood to stoke the fire under the copper so that the water was boiling as linen and clothes were prodded down with the copper stick.

Ernest was a New Zealander of Scottish stock and in 1916 went into the Army and was severely wounded in France. He spent many intervals in hospital throughout his life. In the 1920s he was in the Evelyn Firth Home for veterans and his sister brought her good friend Dorothy to see him. They were married in 1929. The crutches on which he walked to the end of his life were not visible in the wedding photos.

Their first child, Marigold, was born in 1935 and Laurel in 1937 when they were in a china and fancy goods business in Ohakune. Their specialties included Royal Doulton and Royal Albert china and Webb and Corbett crystal. The shop is still there. She was an able cook, having learned her skills using the coal range as the oldest daughter of eight children.

Doll had a very compassionate heart and was strongly motivated to achieve good results in projects she undertook. One was forming a young women's Bible Class when she was doing shop work in the far north. Together she and Ernest did a lot of work for the families of the forces, distributing clothing and trying to uncover the needs of families suffering, in many cases, from both the war and the depression. Ernest was an able speaker and Dorothy used her secretarial skills in these endeavours. He was also a member of the Ohakune Town Council.

In about 1940 the family moved to Wanganui where the girls travelled by tram to school from Aramoho. Two years later they moved north to Whangaparaoa for a further two years. Laurel remembers the family packing for one of these moves: they filled the drawers of a chest with clothes and books and the driver and kind friends found lifting it a daunting assignment. Thereafter it became small crates for packing. The personnel of the house travelled by train to the next destination—as they also did for holidays. A frozen hip made these times painful for Ernest.

Dorothy organised two garden parties to raise funds for a church organ for St Stephen's at Whangaparaoa. They also began an interdenominational Sunday School in their little kitchen. It was wartime again, and there was only one car on the peninsula so the children walked considerable distances to attend. Often they left with a rock cake in hand for the long walk home.

"Military" TB had started to take its toll on Ernest and he left the peninsula a very sick man. The next family homes were back in Wanganui and then in Wellington where he finally died in 1947 in the Red Cross Hospital.

Doll was warmly supported and comforted by relatives among the Attwood family in Lower Hutt. She moved on to Cambridge where they lived with her mother Minnie. Here her daughters finished school and left home. She then worked mostly in the Auckland area until she was 70, spending some retirement time in Australia with Laurel and finally returning to Auckland. She died in the Lady Allum Home ten days before her 95th birthday in 1994.

# 8.2.1—Marigold Shirley Poot—1935-2010

Marigold was born in Ohakune in 1935, the first of the two children of Dorothy and Ernest Purdon.

She started to learn piano at age four. The family moved to Wanganui for two years and then to Whangaparaoa where her parents started a Sunday School. She says that her sister Laurel always sang and she was the pianist.

Then she went back to Wanganui to boarding school, which she loved. Their father died in 1947 and the family moved to Cambridge and lived with Grandma Attwood for one year before their mother bought her own home, also in Cambridge.

Marigold began to fulfil a childhood ambition by commencing to learn the pipe organ at the age of twelve. After leaving school she joined the Post Office becoming No 3 Teller and operator of the machine which produced the old yellow telegrams. Because of Saturday work and the resultant conflict with playing the organ for a great many weddings and funerals (weddings were almost always in church, then, of course), she left to work in an office for a regular five-day week.

In 1956 she married Huybrecht Poot and they bought a dairy farm in Taneatua. During those years their four children were born: Margaret, Rosemarie, Edward and John. They sold that farm in 1966 and moved to a dairy farm at Pirongia, retiring to Te Awamutu in 1992.

They attend the Presbyterian Church in Te Awamutu and are both involved in leadership there. Marigold still loves to play the pipe organ weekly. She is also active in Country Women's Institute and enjoys it immensely. Their grandchildren are Hamish and Emma Jane Reichardt and Gavin, Tessa and Trevor Poot.

Margaret died 17 April 2010.

# 8.2.2—Laurel May Kunz—1937-

Laurel was born in Ohakune, 10 June 1937 to Ernest and Dorothy Purdon.

They moved five times within the North Island during Laurel's school years; she says it was rather too often for her liking. One home was on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and her parents' Sunday School there was greatly enjoyed by seven-year-old Laurel and the other attendees most of whom walked some distance to be present. She remembers there were two cats and three wild rabbits kept as pets.

Later, when they had moved to Wanganui, she went to boarding school there but says she didn't get enough sleep. When their father died the family moved to Cambridge. Laurel, who felt she was an average student, left school at age fifteen. She enjoyed the challenge of responsibility in a senior office job.

At 22 she looked for a change of job and went flatting in Christchurch. Here she met and married George Kunz. They moved to Auckland and had two girls, Angela and Christine. Laurel enjoyed being a full-time home-maker and was also very involved in church and Christian groups.

In 1977 the family moved to Melbourne where they lived for nine years. Sadly, Laurel's marriage ended, and she and the girls came back to live in NZ, initially with her mother.

Laurel is now the greatly treasured grandmother of four, and has huge input into her grandchildren. She is comfortably ensconced in a granny flat on Angela and Martin's property. She wrote an account of her life for her grandchildren and emphasised that her personal faith has been a central feature of her life for the past 27 years.

# 8.3—Arthur Ernest Attwood—1902-1962

Jim—as he was known—was born at 29 Lochaber Road, Lee on 26 May 1902. He was a schoolboy when the family arrived in New Zealand and after finishing his education he worked as a farm hand in Walton and other places in the Waikato.

At the age of 21 he had a serious illness which left him quite frail and recuperation was slow. While in the Cambridge Hospital one of his carers was Frances Menary and when Jim was discharged she was invited to spend her days off at the Attwood home. A romance developed and they married in 1926 in Hamilton East. Francie was an older sister of Gordon's first wife Winnie.

Jim returned to farming as a share-milker. Over the years they moved many times to bigger properties. One of these was in Thornton in the Bay of Plenty where they had the first Friesian herd in the area, a diesel engine to run the milking machines and employed three men. Whakatane was their nearest town and Jim canvassed the district and founded a branch of the IOOF Lodge which he presided over for several years. Other moves took them to Mangere, Edgecumbe, Te Aroha and Te Awamutu. Jim retired from farming and worked for a while with a relative of Francie's in a grocery partnership in Hamilton.

In the mid forties they shifted to Hepburn Street in Ponsonby and Jim was a maintenance man at the Tram Barns in Manukau Road Epsom. Their next move was to Prospect Terrace in Milford and it was here that Jim was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He had his Ford Prefect modified with hand controls so that he could continue to drive. From there they moved to Rawhiti Road Onehunga.

As the MS advanced and his sight weakened, he learnt basket making at the Institute for the Blind as a therapeutic hobby. His strong hands enabled him to make beautiful sturdy baskets of all shapes and sizes. Gordon and Peggy used to take him to the Formica factory in Onehunga where he was able to buy colourful offcuts to weave the baskets on. His nephew Ron cut the wooden bases on his bandsaw and Peggy drilled the holes in them. Slowly he turned his hobby into a cottage industry to supplement his income. His product range included waste paper baskets, hanging baskets, tea pot stands, toast racks, kitchen trays and bicycle baskets. Jim was always meticulous in seeing that his customers got the exact base and cane colours they had ordered.

In the late 1950s he moved to be close to Gordon and family so they could be of more assistance without having to drive to Onehunga. A ramp was built to accommodate his wheelchair.

Jim and Francie were devoted to one another and he always called her Dearie. He was a tall solidly built man and is remembered by all as being extremely intelligent, very well read, a stickler for the correct use of words and had a jovial personality. His sense of humour was quite infectious and he used it to keep his spirits up as the disease advanced. He and Gordon were always chiding one another and their laughter together is well remembered. He was a brilliant chess player and his nephew Dennis remembers the delight Jim got from playing Fool's Mate. When Jim and Gordon faced off over the chess board Jim nearly always won but occasionally Gordon triumphed much to the annoyance of his younger brother.

Francie is remembered as a lovely lady, a gracious hostess, a superb cook and always attentive to Jim's needs. Jim was a self-confessed non-gardener but he did enjoy writing out newly collected recipes for Francie. One of these being a fruity baked slice covered with chocolate icing; it is still known as Aunty Francie cake. He derived hours of pleasure listening to talking books from the Institute for the Blind, with his budgie Chipsy perched on his shoulder.

Francie died suddenly on 11 March 1959 leaving Jim devastated. However, through his own strong perseverance and a lot of help from Gordon and Peggy, he was able to continue living alone. Once this was no longer possible he moved into Tyler House in the Everil Orr Village Mt. Albert. He spent his last days in Cornwall Hospital and died on 31 January 1962. He was buried with Francie at Waikumete Cemetery and thus reunited with his Dearie.

# 8.4—Elsie Madeline King—1904-1947

Elsie was born at 37 Mount Ash Road, Sydenham, London on 22nd March 1904. There was a special bond between her and younger sister Ellaline May and because they looked alike and were often dressed similarly, they were called "the Milkman's Twins"—their father being the milkman! She was twelve when the family sailed to New Zealand.

When she finished her primary education, it was not usual for girls to attend secondary school, so she stayed home to help with the younger children and household chores. Later when the family moved to Wharepoa she heard of a retired English couple in Thames who were looking for "help" so she accepted the position of lady's maid and spent several happy years there. During this time she sang in the local Methodist church choir. Elsie spent one holiday with her brother Gordon and Winnie who were working on a farm in Waharoa. While there she met Charlie King, who was later to become her husband.

By the time Elsie was in her late teens, her family had shifted back to Cambridge and she returned home to live with them and worked as a shop assistant for the local jeweller.

Elsie and Charlie married in 1926 and Fred was born the following year in Matamata Hospital. Having come from London and always used to having people around her, Elsie found country life away from the family quiet and lonely. Up until this time her contact with Maori people was nonexistent. Hence one afternoon when she went outside to check on her baby sleeping in the pram on the back lawn, she was dismayed to find a group of Maori women peering in at him. They all had mokos on their faces and she was alarmed by their appearance and thought they were going to kidnap her baby. She was petrified. Fortunately, Charlie came in for afternoon tea just at that moment. The "admirers" greeted him like an old friend, then wandered over the paddocks to the nearby pa.

Olive and Brian were born during their time in Waharoa, then they moved to a bigger farm in Motumaoho. It was the early 1930s, time of the great depression. Charlie was unable to meet his financial commitments and arrangements were made to leave the farm and return to Waharoa to work for wages on a farm where a cottage was available. Details of the "deal" are unclear, but they were eventually able to go back to the farm at Motumaoho. Velma and Winston were born there.

Elsie suffered indifferent health for a number of years and because surgery was still only performed in extreme emergencies, she had to travel to Auckland by bus or train at regular intervals for specialist treatment. On these occasions Gordon, (now a carrier in Auckland) would meet Elsie on his daily trips into the city and take her to her appointment or, pick her up afterwards and drive back to her lodgings. His kindness and jovial disposition always meant a great deal to her.

Power failures were common and often Elsie donned overalls and would help milk the cows by hand. Each cow was known by name.

Tragedy struck in 1938 when their home burnt to the ground while everyone was out. Elsie was shopping in Morrinsville, Charlie was at a cattle sale and Olive and Brian stood helplessly watching the blaze from the nearby school playground. All that remained was the chimney and coal range with an iron kettle on it. Charlie's brother was a carpenter and together they built a new home while living in a tent throughout a Waikato winter.

In 1940, they bought a farm in Papakura. Elsie enjoyed being nearer to civilization and was able to walk to the Great South Road and catch a bus into Auckland. She attended Country Women's Institute and enjoyed the wider interests that these meetings offered. Charlie enlisted for the army and went into Papakura camp in January 1943. He was transferred to Kamo where he was in charge of the butchery shop and army stores department. Elsie was left to manage the farm and helped by the two older boys milked twice daily and kept the wheels turning.

Charlie decided he did not join the army to run a food store and applied for a discharge which was granted later in the year. Elsie was diagnosed with a terminal illness late in 1946 and died in February 1947.

# 8.4.1—Frederick Charles King—1927-

Fred was born to Charles and Elsie King at Matamata on 2 February 1927 and attended local schools and Pukekohe High and Seddon Memorial Technical Schools. He did part-time study to qualify as a secretary and in accountancy.

In 1950 he married June Lorraine Paton. Their son Brian died in an accident in early childhood. Their three daughters all became teachers and there are six grandchildren.

Fred started work with Guardian Trust & Executors and then managed an accountancy business in Morrinsville from 1950 and held executive positions with the WL Cooke and AS Paterson companies in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1972 he was lecturer in Trustee Law and Accounts in the Auckland University of Technology and later set papers and examined for the NZ Chartered Institute of Accountants.

He retired early in 1987 to lecture at a Bible School in Fiji. He and June arrived in Fiji the day before the first military coup led by Sitivini Rabuka and because of the curfew their activities were somewhat restricted. They spent about five months in Fiji and returned to New Zealand where subsequent years brought wider opportunities for mission under the umbrella of Christian Missions in Many Lands. Fred and June have done preaching and teaching in four countries in South America , India, parts of Asia including five visits to Japan. They work together as a married couple in this ministry.

Fred has been an executive member of the Stewards' Trust of New Zealand, the legal owner of most Open Brethren properties — churches, rest homes and camp sites. He keeps his brain alive and well with involvement in several large farming charitable trusts formed to support Christian work.

Fred and June see themselves as a team. She has been very involved in church work, Probus and Country Women's Institute as well as active in their ministry work overseas. They have lived in Greenlane, Auckland since 1958.

# 8.4.2—Olive May Hay—1928-

Olive was born in Matamata in 1928 and was four when the family moved to Motumaoho. After fire destroyed the family home in 1938 Olive, Brian and Velma went with their mother to live with Grandma Minnie for a short time in Cambridge and Olive attended school there.

Their next move was to a bach at Waihi Beach where she and Brian went to school until the new house was advanced enough for the family to return home. When Olive was twelve they moved to Papakura where she attended primary school for 18 months and then travelled by train to Pukekohe High School. When her father joined the army, she left school to help out at home.

She took up a sewing apprenticeship at George Courts in Auckland. Leaving home at 6.30am, she cycled one and a half miles to the bus stop for the journey to Karangahape Road. Her weekly wage was 10/4. Later Olive started nursing training at Waikato Hospital but returned home to care for the family when her mother became ill.

When she was free to join the workforce again—without experience or qualifications—she settled for shop work in Auckland for six years and then two happy years in Christchurch. When the maternity hospital opened in New Plymouth Olive packed her bags and did twenty months' maternity training at Westown.

She married Walter Hay, a police constable, in 1960 and the family moved to Auckland on his transfer to Central Police Station. They had two daughters: Glenda and Beverley. From 1984 to 1988 Olive was matron of Bryant Ladies' Rest Home in Raglan.

Church interests have always played a part in Olive's life and over a number of years she was actively engaged with the Every Girls' Rally, Girls' Brigade and Ladies Fellowship groups.

She has been interested in needlework all her life and in latter years has focussed mainly on patchwork and quilting. She now lives in retirement in the One Tree Hill area.

# 8.4.3—Brian Ernest King—1930-1949

Brian was born in Morrinsville on 11 March 1930. He went to Motumaoho, Waihi Beach and Papakura primary schools and completed his education at Otahuhu College.

He was fun-loving, witty and had a rollicking sense of humour. He had an insatiable craving for books, which often got him into strife because he would become so absorbed in his reading, lose track of time and arrive late at the cowshed to do his chores. His siblings recall that after 'lights out' Brian regularly smuggled a book and torch down the bed!

Brian loved music and enjoyed singing and playing hymns on the organ and piano. He was an enthusiastic member of the Papakura Athletic Club. At college he played first fifteen rugby and was in the senior A cricket team. He also won distinction in 120 yards hurdles, shot putt, discus and speech making. He gained University Entrance and a Higher Leaving Certificate with A grades in English, mathematics and science.

During the holidays in 1948/49 Brian stayed with his grandparents in One Tree Hill and worked at Manukau Timber Company to earn money for his university fees in the forthcoming year. Sadly, as he cycled to work on 28 January 1949 he was involved in a collision with a car and never regained consciousness.

The following was part of a tribute written in "Kotuku", the Otahuhu College magazine, after his death.

To his acquaintances he was a strong, cheerful lad with a keen sense of humour, but those who knew him better were aware, too, of his deep but simple religious faith. He was cut off at the outset of a promising life.

# 8.4.4—Velma Beverley Stewart—1936-

Velma was born in Hamilton in 1936 and from an early age she enjoyed farm life and was always keen to help her father at milking time as well as feeding the calves.

She attended Papakura Primary School and later travelled by bus to Pukekohe High School, where she played hockey for the first eleven. Her working life began at Lees Bros. Ford Dealers and she then moved to the accountancy firm of RB Swann.

Velma married Desmond Stewart and they had two girls and two boys. When the children were young she regularly made large batches of scones and took her turn selling food to farmers at the weekly stock sale to raise funds for Plunket. She was president of the local Plunket Mothers' Club for two years. Velma played competitive badminton for fifteen years before taking up golf. Music has always been an interest and she belongs to two organ clubs. On Tuesdays she joins a skiffle band to play music for the entertainment of elderly folk. She was widowed at sixty-one and in recent years has moved back to farm life.

When she was young, most of her school holidays were spent with Grandma Minnie Attwood in Cambridge which meant a bus trip from Papakura. On one occasion when they were travelling together the road at Mercer was flooded and impassable, so the bus driver picked Grandma up and carrying her under one arm waded through the water to a bus which was waiting on the other side. Velma enjoyed going to church or shopping in Hamilton with Grandma as she always dressed in a hat, kid gloves and fur coat for these occasions. Both Grandma and Aunty May were very special people in the life of a girl who lost her Mother at ten years of age.

Velma has six lovely grandchildren of whom she is very proud.

# 8.4.5—Winston Arthur King—1939-

Winston was born on 23 September 1939 and when he was 10 months old the family moved to Park Estate Rd, Papakura. Winston always felt that Papakura was "home" and wanted to give something back to the town of his upbringing. When Papakura became a city in 1972, he helped form a choir which became known as the South Auckland Choral Society. He formed the Papakura City Orchestra and later the Training Orchestra, to bridge the gap between instrumentalists at high school and the City Orchestra.

Winston trained with Juan Matteucci as an orchestral conductor and has conducted many of the major orchestras in New Zealand. He is also a well known pianist and organist and plays for three or four church services most Sundays.

Winston attended Auckland Teachers' College and after three years teaching in Essex, England, he taught or was principal at schools between Paparimu and Kaitaia. For thirteen years he ran a 300 acre farm in Northland and taught at the same time. He began university aged forty and found he enjoyed the study and completed a BA Degree.

In 1996 he returned to Auckland University where he still studies theology in the evenings. He also trained as a teacher of English to students from other countries.

Highlights of his life have been attending a residential course at Addington Palace in England studying church music for seven weeks, being tutored by music directors of the major churches in England; and singing in the choir of Westminster Abbey. Another highlight was developing his own farm from a tangle of blackberry, gorse and rusty barbed wire.

These days there is a foster grand-daughter to occupy what little spare time he has.

# 8.5—Ellaline May Thompson—1905-1996

May was born on 18 December 1905 in Sydenham, Kent—the only child her father named. She finished her schooling in the Waikato. Excelling at mental arithmetic, May spent eight years doing the accounts at Boyce's store in Cambridge.

She subsequently moved to Auckland, and did shop work by way of relief from close work with figures. In 1929, May went to Norfolk Island, staying with a private family. Her main mode of transport was a horse which was never in a hurry, thus enabling her to explore the island at leisure and to return home with a wonderful collection of photographs and improved health.

William James Reginald (Reg) Thompson was born in Liverpool on 17 December 1905. He was working on May's brother Jim's farm when they met, having previously visited NZ as a seaman and then worked his passage out on the Arawa. They were married in the Cambridge Methodist Church in 1934 and, after a spell at Thornton, moved to Edgecumbe.

Despite a Catholic upbringing, Reg became a nonconformist and also joined the Freemasons. During WW2 he was classified as essential industry, working in the Rangitaiki Dairy factory, having tried in vain to return to the Merchant Navy. He later became well known as a painter and decorator. Reg was a pianist in a dance band and played for functions and dances from Tauranga to Rotorua to Opotiki. A kind and generous man, he was also an avid reader.

During the Edgecumbe years May was a well-known piano teacher. In school holidays she sometimes took the bus to Auckland to buy new music and stayed with Gordon and Peggy at Huapai. They were great pals and enjoyed talking and drinking endless cups of tea until the early hours. By ritual Gordon would delight in lining up at least three pokers for Sammy (his nickname for May) to prod the embers with—she could never resist stoking a fire.

A life-long keen reader, May particularly loved Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie. She did beautiful knitting and tapestries, and took prizes in her younger days for her exquisite embroidery. Although she rarely used a recipe book, her cooking was legendary.

May loved animals. In the early farming days in NZ all the cows were named and were special friends. Later, Bluebell (her beloved Siamese), Monty (white poodle), Nordic (Samoyed/Alsatian cross) and Bola (the celebrated ginger cat) stood out in a star-studded line-up spanning 60 years.

May was an extremely kindhearted, gentle person with the serenity of a swan and had a wonderful sense of humour. She also possessed a special indefinable quality which drew people to her. During three visits to Switzerland she became "Mum" and "Friend May" to an extensive cross-section of the world's nationalities—one Nigerian man adopting her as his "South Pacific girlfriend".

A poignant moment for May was returning to the 1914 home in England and finding it unchanged over 60 years. Reunions with relatives she remembered and meeting others on the Thompson/Kennedy side were also special moments.

May and Reg moved from Edgecumbe to New Lynn in 1969. Reg died at home on 29 May 1971. May remained on her own in the house until her last week. She died in hospital on 1 May 1996.

Their first child, Reggie died after a sudden illness aged nine months. His parents never got over losing him and often talked about him. An enlarged coloured photograph of him hung on the sitting room wall and he was a real presence in the family over the years.

The children that followed are Dennis, Dorothy and Anthony.

# 8.5.2—Dennis James Gordon Thompson—1937-2012

Dennis was christened at the Church of England in Cambridge, where the Attwood Family had attended services throughout the years.

At the age of two, he was rushed to hospital with peritonitis and his life hung in the balance for ten days. Not having a car, his father used to bicycle the 24-mile round trip Edgecumbe to Whakatane and back every evening after work to visit him.

During school days Dennis was a great reader of newspapers and informative magazines and his teachers were always amazed at his general knowledge.

Upon leaving school he joined the Telegraph Office in Auckland and went to their training school at Trentham for several months to specialize in Morse code and reading the dotted messages on teleprinter tapes, in preparation for a permanent position in the overseas cable station in Auckland.

During a period of special leave in Australia, he worked at the Meteorological Station in Darwin and enjoyed the experience. After early retirement Dennis travelled to England three times, enjoying the company and friendship of Thompson relatives. Particularly meaningful in his travels were visiting Liverpool (his father's home town), a tour of Ireland, three canal boat trips in England, and visiting battlefields and war cemeteries in France and Belgium. Dennis has always had a special affinity with animals and his exceptional kindness to them is legendary. He inherited the Attwood fondness for gardening, and has maintained a life-long fascination with ships and the sea. He lived in Silverdale and died 20 December 2012.

# 8.5.3—Dorothy Evelyn May Thompson—1939-

Dorothy was born on 18 July 1939 at Whakatane.

During her early years it was thought that Dorothy would pursue a full-time musical career. However, she left NZ at eighteen and, following a short spell with her grandmother in Liverpool, she worked first at the NZ High Commission in London, then at the NZ and subsequently the UK Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York.

In 1961 she returned to Liverpool to join her parents, who had gone there essentially to attend to her recently deceased grandmother's affairs. Part of 1962 was spent in London and at Trematon Castle in Cornwall, working with Lord Caradon on his book "A Start in Freedom".

In 1963, Dorothy joined the United Nations Office at Geneva, where she remained until retirement. She travelled quite extensively with her job and made regular trips to NZ to visit her mother.

Apart from getting to know relatives in England over the years, she also met up with her pen pal in Manchester. They had been corresponding since they were eight years old and have remained close friends.

Dorothy enjoys classical music (particularly piano concertos), traditional church music, classical ballet and traditional jazz. An avid All Black fan, she also follows the major tennis tournaments and artistic ice-skating.

She bought a chalet in a Swiss mountain village where she can indulge in her love of animals and the countryside. She has visits from a "pet" fox who comes every night for his dinner.

Dorothy maintains her New Zealand nationality.

# 8.5.4—Anthony Peter George Thompson—1940-

Anthony (Tony to some )was born in Whakatane on 17 July 1940. He was a very quiet child, spending a great deal of time making models with his Meccano set. He took an engineering degree and worked with Kingston Reynolds in Auckland, where he met Pamela Edney who was employed there as a draughtswoman. They were married in February 1967.

Following their marriage, Anthony and Pam went to Europe and England, meeting up with relatives before sailing for Canada where they spent five years, first in Sudbury and then Windsor.

Upon return to NZ, they bought ten acres of bushland in Titirangi, subsequently keeping four acres for themselves and selling the rest. They drew up their own plans and built their own house, modelled on one they had seen in Kentucky. Their first daughter Sarah was born soon after in March 1972, and their second daughter Louise was born in October 1975.

In 1981 Anthony branched out into business on his own, with Pam in the office, and APG Thompson (Engineering) Ltd. has been responsible, among other things, for air-conditioning systems in hospitals and cinemas and other buildings in NZ as well as in overseas plants, including a dried-milk factory in Sri Lanka.

Anthony is a very active vegetable gardener and has also nurtured seedlings of all kinds of native trees, in addition to growing a variety of fruit trees. He has a keen interest in history—particularly in what the Romans got up to, and his fascination with the two World Wars has resulted in visits to some of the European battlefields, various museums and war cemeteries, as well as personal contacts with veterans. He also has a collection of books and video documentaries on the subjects.

Anthony and Pam still live in Titirangi and run their business in Auckland city. Both their daughters are currently overseas.

# 8.6—Mary Frances Mickell—1907-2004

Mary was born in Sydenham on 6 August 1907. She remembered the day the family arrived in Wellington in 1914 as being bleak and misty. They huddled over a fireplace in the railway station while they waited to catch the train to the Waikato.

At school the other children commented on her funny accent and her red hair. She attended six primary schools, Thames High and Hamilton Technical High School. She excelled in shorthand/typing and English. Mary later taught at Hamilton Tech, both day and night classes.

She was chosen by the school to work as secretary to the Post Master at Hamilton Chief Post Office but was unable to continue there because she had a nervous breakdown. After she recovered, Mary became secretary to the Mayor of Cambridge. While in that office, she was asked to accompany 60 Army officers to Te Awamutu to report on the battle of Orakau. She had to sit on a tombstone and take notes about the event from a Maori Elder.

During this time she studied music which she absolutely loved. She sat her ATCL exams in piano and singing followed by LTCL exams in piano and attained the highest marks in Auckland. She left office work and slowly built up a teaching practice. She advertised in Morrinsville shop windows for pupils. Initially she cycled between Cambridge and Morrinsville, sometimes encountering bulls and horses on the road which was terrifying. Mary taught in her sister Elsie's lounge and overnighted there.

To earn extra money, she did secretarial work for local lawyers which enabled her to buy a Morris car with a dickey seat in the back. When she drove nuns from the local convent, they were so troubled by her driving skills that they bought her a St. Christopher's Medal to ensure their safety on future trips! Mary had pupils in Cambridge and Morrinsville and she gave recitals in both towns. She also travelled fortnightly to Auckland for further music lessons and after passing more exams she started teaching singing too. She learned the pipe organ as well.

She and her sister May took part in many musical events in Cambridge. Including the Anglican Church Choir, the Competitions and the weekly practice of the Choral Society in St Peter's School Hall, which was something special. Mary was a very good sight reader which was an asset when she played the piano for the silent movies. She wrote in her memoirs "Music became my life and it brought much success and happiness."

In her early twenties Mary had a holiday in Devonport with friends. She met an officer from the Diomede and he asked her to accompany him to a ball in the Auckland Town Hall. She stayed overnight in Herne Bay with her cousin Annie Allum. She wore a handmade, green crepe de chine dress which was beaded and her mother made a silk fringed shawl for her to wear. She recalled that evening as being one of the highlights of her life.

Aged twenty-two, Mary climbed Mt Egmont with a girlfriend. In 1937 she went to Australia and was able to pay the return fare with £16 prize money she won at the Cambridge Competitions and some remuneration for playing the church organ.

Gordon Mickell was a gentle kind man from a pioneering family who farmed next door to Elsie and Charlie King. Mary became friendly with Gordon and they were married in St George's Anglican Church in Whakatane. They lived on the farm in Motumaoho until 1952. Their five sons were born during this time, including Gerard who died in infancy and Rodney who died in an accident as a toddler.

When Gordon retired the family moved to Rangitoto Terrace, Milford. He did part-time work at the local auction rooms. Their next move was to Willoughby Avenue Howick.

At 72, Mary answered a radio advertisement to accompany a group of students to Fiji for fifteen days. She loved it! Soon she was off to Japan to see Warwick and to the Blue Mountains to see Humphrey. She also visited Norfolk Island with Humphrey.

Gordon died in the Howick Baptist Hospital after a very long illness. Mary shifted to a small unit in Marsden Avenue, Mt Eden and lived there until she moved into Resthaven and then St John's Hospital, Epsom for a year. She became physically frail but remained very alert mentally. Mary died in her 98th year on 28th December 2004.

# 8.6.1—Warwick Gordon Mickell—1938-1993

Warwick was born in 1938 in Morrinsville. He went to primary school at Motumaoho before going on to Hamilton High and Takapuna Grammar. His mother taught him the piano and his musical interests developed at high school where he learnt to play the viola.

Warwick became interested in hifi systems and built a number of amplifiers and loudspeakers—much to the chagrin of his Mother who was often heard to say "turn that noise down!", usually when she could no longer stand the lounge windows and walls vibrating. Later in life, he worked part-time as a reviewer for a hifi magazine.

He also took a great interest in cars and motor cycles and became the proud owner of an Alvis Grey Lady and a Sunbeam 500cc motor bike. He did all the repairs and maintenance himself. He sang in the Dorian Choir.

Warwick trained as a teacher at the Auckland College of Education and taught for one year at Orewa Primary. He left this profession to become Secretary of the World Record Club for a number of years.

He moved to Wellington where he met and married Margot Brown. In the seventies he went to Japan to teach English and subsequently became an advertising executive, running his own company there for many years. In his globe-trotting days, he sold diamonds in Arizona and remodelled kitchens in Los Angeles.

He had a devilish sense of humour and was known for being very meticulous about detail in everything he did.

When Warwick returned to Auckland, he built his own home in Waterview.

He died there in November 1993.

# 8.6.3—Lionel Ernest Mickell—1942 –

Lionel was born in Hamilton in 1942 and he went to school at Motumaoho before moving to Milford primary. He completed his education at Takapuna Grammar where he studied the Academic course and attained School Certificate.

His sporting hobbies were rugby and cricket. He also attended Boys' Brigade for seven years until the age of seventeen. When Lionel left school he went farming in Maketu for three years for relatives Colin and Eileen Gerring.

He returned to Auckland and trained at North Shore Teachers' College for two years and taught at a variety of schools in the Auckland area. He was principal at several primary schools for seventeen years.

Lionel married Glen Ross in 1967 and they had two children, Andrew and Amanda. He later married Dale Novak who was also a teacher. They lived in Wellington for a year and then returned to Auckland. Their children Sam and Anna were born in 1982 and 1984. Lionel and Dale lived for many years in Mt. Eden and had

happy family holidays camping at Port Jackson for fifteen years. ARTHUR They also enjoyed sailing and boating together. Dale died in 2001.

Having resigned from being a principal, Lionel now works as an advisor to principals throughout the South Auckland area. He has always been a keen jogger and plans to keep running half marathons.

A new interest in his life is his first grandchild Olivia.

Recently Lionel purchased a house on Waiheke Island with the intention of retiring there and he is looking forward to hanging the Gone Fishin' notice on his front door.

# 8.6.5—Humphrey James Mickell—1948-1996

Humphrey was born in Morrinsville in 1948 and after the family moved to Auckland he attended Milford Primary and Westlake Boys High School.

His first job was as an advertising manager at Fisher & Paykel Limited. When he left there, he travelled to Britain and initially worked for Yeagers Menswear. He earned enough money to pay his rent, daily commuting expenses and little else. He wrote home to his Mother asking for recipes using kidneys, liver and mince as they were all he could afford to cook. He worked in hotel kitchens in London and Wales which gave him the opportunity to start learning the restaurant trade. He attended courses, read widely and studied to become a wine sommelier which was an aspect of the restaurant industry he was particularly interested in.

When Humphrey returned to Auckland he went into partnership with a Chilean friend and together they owned and managed El Patio restaurant in High Street for several years. They introduced lamb shanks to their menu and subsequently this dish became very popular in many other Auckland restaurants.

In Australia, he and his partner established and managed a guest house in the Blue Mountains. Humphrey developed the gardens as well as doing the daily management duties. He then spent time in Holland before returning to Auckland again. He later featured in a television documentary on euthanasia, a subject he supported avidly.

Humphrey's great interest was food preparation and he enjoyed cooking delicious meals for his visitors. He was hard working, very humble and had a gentle, philanthropic nature.

Although ill at the time, Humphrey busied himself setting up a compact and delightful flat in Mt Albert where he died in 1996.

# 8.7—Irene Mabel Ashby—1910-1986

Irene (sometimes called Rene) was born in the accommodation above the Central Dairy, Hersham in 1910.

Arthur, Minnie and family arrived in Wellington on 1 March 1914 which was Irene's fourth birthday. Two of the primary schools she attended were Maungatautari and Wharepoa and she had her secondary education in Hamilton.

Irene worked as a hairdresser in Te Puke where she met her future husband Ron Ashby. He was born in Rotorua and went to Rotorua Boys High School. He served in the Pacific during WW2.

They were married in Cambridge and raised four sons Clifton, Phillip, Paul and Peter. While living in Hamilton, Irene managed her own hairdressing salon and Ron worked as a builder.

They had a beach bach at Te Puru on the Thames Coast where Ron often enjoyed fishing trips with his brother-in-law Gordon. He was also very interested in boat-building and engine maintenance.

The family moved to Auckland in 1959 where they lived for many years in Island Bay Rd, Beachhaven. Irene loved animals and birds and here she was able to keep hens, chickens and a huge ram called Billy. Later she moved to Churchill Road, Murrays Bay.

She worked for several years in the china department of John Court Limited in Queen Street. Irene thoroughly enjoyed dealing with the regular customers and handling beautiful china, especially the dinner sets.

Irene's interests were her family and reading. Her son Phil fondly recalls how she made a patchwork quilt for him and his two sons. She was a very keen gardener and really enjoyed listening to talk-back radio.

Irene died in July 1986, nearly twenty years after Ron.

# 8.7.2—Phillip Raymond Ashby—1945 –2014

Phil was born in 1945 and attended Hamilton East school before the family moved to Birkenhead where he went to Peachgrove Intermediate and Northcote College.

He says "we did what we were told, really,"—it was the era of being seen and not heard and he learned a smile at the wrong time got you the strap at school or a beating-up at home. Any ideas other than tradition seemed from his point of view to be frowned upon.

He was in the First Fifteen at College and played Senior A for Northcote and Senior B for Mid-Northern. He played cricket right through school and was in the First Eleven.

He worked first for a Customs agency for £3.3.6 a week but has spent most of his life operating heavy machinery or boning meat with Auckland Farmers' Freezing Coy.

He did volunteer work twice a week for the Intellectually Handicapped Children's Society for four years. He has lived his adult life in Whangarei. "It's more laid back" he says. "There's good fishing, it's warmer and there's a wonderful coast with kingfish to spear and catch, a diver's paradise."

Phil worked on an American 2000 tonne tuna boat for a while, visiting Samoa and various parts of Mexico and USA. He has holidayed since in Solomon Islands, Fiji, Australia, Rarotonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tahiti and Tonga.

He was married for six years and has two sons and the three of them spend countless hours fishing, trail-biking, riding and hunting ducks and opossums and anything else that moves. Though he says they all prefer nature to live in peace—except the odd pig and deer now and then!

# 8.7.3—Paul Brian Ashby—1949 -

Paul was born in Hamilton in 1949 and attended Hamilton East Primary School.

When the family moved to Auckland he continued his education at Northcote Intermediate and Northcote College. He played first fifteen rugby for three years.

After leaving secondary school, he dropped out of university and went off to Australia to work for a year. He took up flying and obtained his pilot licence while living in Sydney.

Paul returned to Auckland and began working for the Auckland Star as a machine operator and general hand. After twenty years, he was made redundant at a time when it was difficult to find work. He worked at several jobs and finally returned to university after turning forty. He also got married and divorced.

During these years Paul's hobbies included studying the guitar, ikebana and karate, for which he obtained a Black Belt at the age of twenty-eight.

Since graduating from university in 2000 with a languages degree, he has been teaching English and studying calligraphy in mainland China. Paul enjoys teaching there and is working on improving his Chinese conversational skills and his interest in Chinese calligraphy.

He admits to being computer illiterate and not a very good cook but says reading and watching TV are two of his favourite pastimes.

# 8.7.4—Peter Francis Ashby—1951-

Peter Ashby, son of Irene and Ron was born 22 May 1951 in Hamilton East. In 1959 the family moved to Auckland where he attended Birkdale Primary, Northcote Intermediate school and then Northcote College. He played school rugby, joined a surf life-saving club on the West Coast and started to try golf.

He left high school at seventeen to work for the ANZ Bank in Birkenhead and Auckland City over the next seven years. He then joined South British Insurance in Auckland and after three years bought a house in Massey in West Auckland. Around 1973 he was married for eighteen months but became divorced.

In 1980, he rented out the home and worked on a prawn trawler in the Gulf of Carpentaria before being sent to Cairns after an injury. While recuperating, he did labouring jobs for a year and met Gail Gordon. On 30 October 1982 they were married and immediately returned to Auckland to be nearer to Peter's ailing mother. Over the next few years they had Daniel (1983), Matthew (1985) and Michael (1988) and Peter adopted Gail's son, David.

Peter joined the Guardian Royal Exchange in 1983 selling life insurance for about seven years. There were many opportunities to travel to overseas conferences and events which gave them an interest in other cultures.

In January 1990, they returned to Cairns and Peter joined National Mutual Insurance until 2003. He kept up his attempts with golf and did a lot of fishing on the outer reef.

In 1992 Peter became a Christian and it changed his life. In 2003, after a brief encounter with a visiting missionary, he knew he had to go to Thailand. They sold their home and business and went. Peter says, "That two-year trip was exciting—to say the least!"

He is now back in the insurance industry in Cairns. All of them learned much over that two year period. "I now realise how fortunate a life I have had."

# 8.8—Ethel Emily Kirkby—1917-2012

Ethel was the youngest child of Arthur and Minnie Attwood and the only one of their family to be born in New Zealand. She is now the only living member of her generation in the family and has lived all her life in and around Cambridge.

She attended primary school there and went on to further her education at Hamilton Technical High School.

Most of her working days were spent at the Cambridge Post & Telegraph where she was in the telephone exchange. She sang in the St Andrews Church choir along with other family members.

Early in the second World War she married Charlie Kirkby, who left shortly after that for overseas service. On his return they set up home in Cambridge where he had a motor repair garage and petrol station. They had one daughter, Lorraine.

Ethel and Charlie lived next door to her mother Minnie and in the twilight years of her life they took her into their home where Ethel cared for her mother until she died. Ethel lived only a few hundred metres from where she grew up but died on 27 March 2012.

# 8.8.1—Lorraine Helen Hunt—1943-2013

Lorraine was born in Cambridge in 1943. Her father Charlie was serving with 2NZEF in the Middle East during World War 2 and she was two and a half years old by the time he returned home.

While Charlie was overseas, she lived with her mother Ethel and Grandma Minnie Attwood at 26 Hamilton Road, Cambridge. On his return, the Kirkby family moved next door to number 24.

Lorraine attended primary and secondary school locally, then she worked as a Nurse Aid in Matamata and Cambridge. Later she joined the catering staff at St. Peter's School, a boarding school for boys.

In 1975 she became a farmer's wife when she married Ken Hunt and later the family moved to Mystery Creek near Hamilton. Lorraine has a son Martin, a daughter Pearl and two grandchildren.

Lorraine lived in her home town of Cambridge.
9—Marie Annie Evett—1880-1967

Marie was born in 1880 in Lee, South East London. James Attwood, their Father, was in the Metropolitan Police Force, and owing to the fact that he was a 'bobby on the beat' he suffered in all weathers from rheumatism caused by leaking boots. We have a copy of his discharge paper giving as the reason for leaving the force as being 'worn out'! Can you wonder? asks niece Margaret Shearing, to whom we owe most of this account.

Marie used to recall her mother taking orders for dressmaking, and charging 2l D (12.5p) for a garment with pin-tucks, lace, bead stitching and lining! They lived in a little lodge at the entrance to the Manor Way in Blackheath. This was a private road with gates that were opened each time a horse and carriage went through. How many of the family were crammed into that little house is not recorded. Marie and Nellie (Helen Rose) used to have the task of running to the shop in Lee Green to buy a penny-worth of mixed vegetables for Mother to make soup for the family.

Although most of her brothers and sisters and their families left for New Zealand from 1905 onwards, Marie remained in England as did her oldest sister Emma and youngest Nellie and their parents.

Marie had the Attwood gift of music and for her it was a rich mezzo contralto voice. At one stage she gave singing lessons but her vocal talents did not descend to her own family.

Margaret wonders if it was those large dreamy eyes that won the heart of James Mackrell Evett. He was a draper, born in Aylesbury. He had his own shop in Romford and was choirmaster at Wesley Methodist Chapel.

He and Marie met, fell in love, married, had three sons and a daughter. They lived for a time in Wimbledon in South West London where they had a drapery shop. Both were dear, kindly folk, but not business people and sadly the shop, house and everything in it had to be sold to clear their debts.

So where did they go? To sister, Nellie, of course, who lived in a terraced house of five rooms with her husband, Albert, and their two small children, Roy and Margaret. Where they all slept we will never know, but this is known, that they all—six children and their four parents—sat round a lovely coal fire on Christmas Day. Some were wrapped in blankets and Margaret remembers that some of them had measles—she was one of them—but she remembers the excitement as her daddy carried into the room a linen basket containing brown paper parcels, tied up with string, one for each of them. No doubt they all contained something that the Mums had lovingly knitted, so why worry about fancy Christmas wrapping and tinsel! One wonders how high the temperatures of those children went as they unwrapped their parcels. But who cared? Margaret still remembers that Christmas Day at 5 Chalcroft Road in Lee.

When the Thomas Attwoods came to London in 1925 Rose tells us that in June "only Mrs Smith and Auntie Marie" are at the NZ stall and Thomas has to be available to open apple cases for them. Presumably she was paid for this work but it is possible that the Fruitgrowers' Federation budgeted a little less than they should have for their operation and she was just helping out. But the following month Marie's son Alan is staying with Nellie's busy household "on holiday" and Mac and Marie have to come with young Joyce to collect him a couple of weeks later. It seems that Marie did not necessarily live close by. In the event the TW Attwood couple met Marie only infrequently in 1925.

As the years passed Marie's boys married and settled in England (Jim and Ken) and Australia (Alan). When Mac died, somewhat prematurely, Marie and her unmarried daughter Joyce went to live in Bexhill. Joyce worked as a book-keeper by day and spent all her spare hours creating a beautiful garden. She had the Attwood green fingers.

Having heard from Emma and Nellie about the wonderful seaside town of Whitstable, Marie and Joyce decided to join the family and moved to be near them. Joyce obtained another book-keeping job, this time at a fish factory in Whitstable harbour. Somehow the bracing air did not agree with them and soon they moved back to Bexhill on the warmer coast.

Joyce had a friend living in Eastbourne and so made her final home in a flat nearby in the Queen Alexandra Cottage Homes where Marie lived.

Marie died in St Helens Hospital, Hastings, on 13th Feb 1967.

# 9.1—Herbert James Evett—1904-1991

Jim was born in 1904 in London with a cleft palate and hare lip and had to endure a huge amount of teasing in his boyhood.

He was a devout Christian within a loving family with two brothers and a sister. He was always known by his wife and family as Jim, although his mother and sister always called him Herbert.

Educated first in a Dame School run by a Miss White he went on to a Council School in Streatham, London. He then worked for a family dairyman (there were plenty of them in the family but we don't know which one) on leaving school and remembered seeing a German Zeppelin caught in searchlights in WWI.

In March 1926 he went to Canada and stayed for nearly nine years on farms in Saskatchewan and in the bush in Manitoba. He worked his way home on SS Brandon as "nursemaid" to a herd of cows being shipped to England to improve the Holstein breed. A short pencilled diary tells us about the details of this assignment.

Back home he worked in timber yards and joined the Metropolitan Police.

In 1937 he met and married Ruth. Their daughter Ruby believes it was at a dance as she can remember them going dancing when she was small.

During WWII Jim worked as policeman, ARP warden and Civil Defence Officer. He told his daughter that he rescued ladies from burning buildings carrying them down ladders and she believed it for years.

After the war he joined Long and Hambly's rubber factory in London as a press operator and worked 12-hour shifts throughout the week. They moved to Buckinghamshire when the works relocated there and branched out into plastics about 1948. Jim and Ruth were lucky to be allocated a factory house next to the works and later they were offered a council house with an extra bedroom when Peter was older. His discomfort about his appearance led him to seek surgery and his harelip was repaired.

Jim was very much a family man, a great Dad and loving Grand-dad. He was a great reader, enjoyed his cigarettes and latterly small cigars. He and Ruth always had animals; cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and he always gave the dog a daily walk when his arthritis enabled him. Male dogs were always called Timmy and female dogs were always called Judy. The cats were usually Tiddles.

Jim suffered for many years with arthritis, especially in his legs, which eventually became quite bowed (Ruby says you would have thought he was a jockey) but he bore his pain with fortitude and went along with any new treatment available. In later years he had gold injections which were very painful but did nothing to alleviate the problem. He also became quite deaf and had to wear hearing aids, which constantly whistled; he never did get used to them and answering the telephone was a nightmare for him. He also had stomach problems and went to hospital on a few occasions.

He enjoyed watching football on television and snooker but was not one to actually play these sports. Nor was he one for gardening or decorating. Ruth did all those things and he appreciated what she did but did not do them himself.

He was Church Secretary at the local Baptist Church. They were both very involved in the church and both were baptised when they were in their later years.

Jim died in hospital in 1991.

Ruby, drafting this, felt that it did not seem to be much of a tribute to a wonderful man who was married for over 50 years.

But the years were hard and work was even harder and there was not much time for pleasure; nor, indeed, was there much money in those days for pleasure. But it was a happy family life, marred only by the war and by the worry of his son whom he dearly loved.

# 9.1.1—Ruby Margaret Evett—1938-

Ruby was born in 1938 and had a happy childhood with very little memory of the war years. But she does remember playing in the garden and seeing a strange plane. She called her father and he grabbed her and rushed her indoors. As they went inside a bomb fell nearby and Ruby was

trapped between two rooms with a ceiling down between her and her father. Eventually she managed to get to the bedroom where her mother was lying with Peter and when the neighbours came to see if the baby was OK Ruby was sitting in bed with her Mum quite unharmed. But she had lost all her toys in the garden which was covered in debris.

Ruby lived in London until 1948 when her family moved to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire when her father's job was moved down from London. She had a good education and went into the local bank when leaving school.

She met and married a sailor, David Smith, and had two daughters, Carol and Susan. Sadly the marriage ended in divorce and after a few years of single parenthood Ruby met Allan Newell and they have been together, unmarried, for 26 years. She reverted to her maiden name of Evett and this is the name she is known by now.

Ruby has worked in offices all her working life and only had short periods of time off when the girls were born. Initially trained as a shorthand typist, she did secretarial work for many years and latterly has gone into accountancy work.

Allan had to take early retirement due to ill health so they decided to move to Norfolk for a quieter life. In 1994 they moved into a bungalow in a quiet spot in a village near the town of Kings Lynn. During the recent years Ruby, far from being retired, has managed to acquire several jobs, the latest one helping in a craft shop. She still keeps her hand in, typing letters for the local vicar, though.

Settled now, she enjoys walking the nearby beaches, reading, making cards and indulging in embroidery and cross-stitch.

# 9.1.2—Peter James Evett—1944-

Peter seemed like any other child when he was born in 1944. But when he went to school it became evident that he had learning difficulties. He was labelled as mentally backward in those days; today he would be more sympathetically described as having learning disabilities.

The family tried him at a private school for a while but eventually he was sent away to a home. He came back to Jim and Ruth for weekends and holidays and they visited him in the home on occasion. Upon reaching adulthood he was moved to another home where he was very happy.

In later years it was found that he had a significant genetic failure but the diagnosis did not make any difference to the very moderate quality of his life.

His later adult life has been spent also in a home but it is more like a normal household with day-care facilities. Peter is very happy in that setting and has learned many new skills which would have delighted his parents if they had been alive to know.

When Ruby and Allan moved to Norfolk it was mooted to move Peter too but this was discounted. Instead they keep in constant touch and visit him when they go back to Buckinghamshire.

# 9.2—Kenneth Douglas Evett—1907 1990

Ken was born 20th October 1907 to Marie and Mac Evett.

Nothing much is known of his early years except that he inherited a good singing voice from his father and loved to sing the old songs learned from his parents. He was doubtless brought up as a good Methodist.

He married Iris May Miles on 25 June 1936 and they lived first in the Twickenham area and later in Esher in Surrey where Jill was born in 1945. For some years at this time he worked as a 'tally man' collecting insurance premium payments.

He was in the Royal Air Force during the war and told the young Jill that he was responsible for guarding ammunition stores in France. After the war he went into business as an estate agent in Esher.

Here they lived with Iris's parents and became involved with the work her mother did as the well-known professional medium Estelle Roberts. Before her marriage, Iris had been secretary to her mother.

When Ken retired they moved to Bournemouth. Here they had their own flat and looked after the ageing Estelle, who also moved to the same block of apartments.

After Estelle's death, Ken became unwell and they moved into an annexe they built on to the home of their daughter Jill at Ringwood. Here they were able to enjoy life in the country while watching their two grandchildren grow up.

Ken died in May 1990 after an extended illness. He was a lovely man, very gentle and tolerant with a wicked sense of humour. He was also a very quiet soul and hence the lack of information on the detail of his younger years.

# 9.2.1—Jill Cullen—1945

Jill was born 8 January 1945 at Surbiton Hospital in Surrey when Ken and Iris were living in Esher. There had been a still-born sister some years earlier so Jill grew up as an only child.

She went to village school on the Esher Village Green and later to Claremont, a private school based in a historic house once owned by Clive of India. She enjoyed school though was far more academic than artistic or sports oriented, and indeed spent a lot of time and effort avoiding physical exercise of any sort!

She decided not to go to university and took a job locally in a women's wear shop where she learned management, buying and window-dressing. Moving to Bournemouth in 1965 she later got a position at the Air Training College at Bournemouth Airport.

Jill and Ron met in 1966 and were married 3 June 1970 and moved to Ringwood where they still live in the same home. Jill continued working at the airport until the birth of Elizabeth in 1974 and did not return to regular work until after the birth of son Andrew in 1977. During those years she worked in market research and also ran a children's playgroup from home.

She returned to regular work in 1981 working on the checkout in the local supermarket and had become a customer services manager when she took early retirement in 1996. She was then a telephonist for an Out of Hours medical service and then a doctor's receptionist, and finally back in another Out of Hours medical service where she still works.

Elizabeth lives in Harrow and is an HR manager and Andrew is in IT living near Colchester. His son, our first grandchild named Thomas was born 11th July 2005.

Ron has suffered from Parkinsons Disease for some years but we love our home in Ringwood—even with its large garden—and have adapted the house to make life easier for both of us.

# 9.3—Alan Clifford Evett—1916-1991

Alan was the youngest child of James Mackrell Evett and Marie Attwood and was born at Romford, England on 18 September 1916. He was baptised in the Methodist Church at Romford.

Alan had two brothers, Herbert and Kenneth and one sister, Joyce. The family left Romford and moved to Wimbledon, South West London.

During his time in Wimbledon, he was a member of the boys' choir up until he was 12 and was successful in choir competitions. His schooling took place in Wimbledon where he completed his education and then he went on to study accountancy in London. He undertook his study during the years of the depression and also worked at the same time.

This way of life continued until World War 2. In 1940 he was called up into the army and saw bombing of many of the large cities in England. It was also during the war that he married Eva Collins. This marriage did not last very long and they were divorced six months later.

In 1947 Alan married Ethel Findlay and moved to Penang, Malaysia. During his time in Malaysia, Susan Mary Shepherd (07/07/1950) and Alan Jonathan (21/08/1948) were born. The family stayed in Penang for three years and then they moved to Perth, Western Australia. The marriage to Ethel did not last long after this and they were divorced.

In Perth he met Peggy Squires, who was to become his third wife. They became good friends and sometime later Alan moved to New Zealand where he met up with his relatives on his mothers' side. (the Attwood clan). Peggy and Alan kept in touch and eventually she joined him in New Zealand. They were married in the Methodist church at Epsom, Auckland on 30th December 1957.

After spending some time in New Zealand, Alan and Peggy returned to Australia where they were joined by Alan and Susan.

They settled in Cronulla where Robert James Evett (16/3/1961) was born and then moved to Lakemba where Margaret Evett (9/5/62) was born. In 1964 they moved to Blaxland in the Blue Mountains where they remained until Alan retired in 1984. During this time Alan established a small stamp trading business and subsequently a successful accountancy practice.

Alan was an active member of St Margaret's Presbyterian Church in Blaxland where he was treasurer for many years. He was also a lay preacher and quite often took services at the church when called upon.

In 1984 Alan finally retired and they moved to Hazelbrook, also in the Blue Mountains. Throughout his retirement he was dogged with ill health. Having suffered a stroke in 1985 and an amputation of a limb because of diabetes in 1986, he still always managed to smile.

However, complications caused by diabetes finally took their toll and Alan died in hospital on July 20, 1991. He was cremated on July 24, 1991 and is buried in the Pinegrove Memorial Park, Minchinbury, NSW, Australia.

# 9.3.1—Alan Jonathan Evett—1948-

Alan was born on August 21, 1948 in Penang, Malaysia where his father was working.

He lived in Penang for three years and then came to Australia. His parents divorced and Alan, along with his sister Susan, were placed in an orphanage in Western Australia for a period of seven years while their father worked in New Zealand.

His father Alan married Peggy in New Zealand and it wasn't until they returned to Australia in 1959 that Alan was reunited with him. They settled in Cronulla, New South Wales where Alan attended Cronulla High School for a year. The family then moved to Lakemba where Alan finished off his schooling at Belmore Boys High School.

Alan joined the navy in 1965 at the tender age of 17. He stayed in the navy until 1975 and during that time he had four tours of duty to Vietnam. He was awarded a commendation for bravery in 1969 when he rescued sailors after a collision between HMAS Melbourne and USS Frank E. Evans. Leaving the navy, he moved to Adelaide to be with his family. During that time he held down many jobs including driving buses for the state government.

He was married in 1971 to Janine Parker and they had three boys– Alan 1971, Andrew 1974 and John 1975. Alan and Jan were divorced some time later. Alan re entered the navy in 1979 and stayed on for ten years, serving on many ships including HMAS Sydney, HMAS Swan and HMAS Stalwart. His time varied from patrolling the oil rigs in Bass Strait to assisting in the withdrawal of Australian forces from Vietnam.

During his second stint in the navy he met Lorraine and they were married in 1982 in Sydney. When he left the navy Alan and Lorraine moved to Port Douglas in Queensland for 11 years before moving to Yeppoon, Queensland in 2000. They are now both retired and touring Australia, at present in Western Australia.

# 9.3.2—Susan Mary Shepherd—1950-

Susan was born on 7th July, 1950, in Penang, Malaysia to Alan and Ethel and lived in Penang until they all came to Australia.

When her parents divorced Susan went to an orphanage with brother Alan while their father worked in New Zealand. Their father married Peggy Squires in NZ and eventually returned to Australia in 1959 and Sue was reunited with her dad.

They settled in Cronulla, New South Wales where Sue attended McCullins Hill Primary and Cronulla South Primary. The family then moved to Lakemba and Susan commenced High School at Kingsgrove North High. She was there for year 1 of high school and part of year 2 before the family moved to Blaxland in the Blue Mountains, NSW. She completed her high schooling at Nepean High School in Emu Plains and left school in 1965. Dad was heavily involved in the church and Susan became a Sunday School teacher at St. Margaret's Presbyterian. She also coached the church's basketball team.

Her first job was with Fletchers Department Store (which became Myers). She stayed there for about a year and then left to start her new career as a dental assistant with a local dentist.

She married Brian Gordon Shepherd on 6 May 1972 and they set up home in Richmond, NSW. Both are keen golfers and where they lived was close to Richmond Golf Course. They stayed in

Richmond for approximately five years and then moved to Winmallee in the Blue Mountains until 1994. During that time Susan continued to work for local dentists but in 1990 decided upon a career change and purchased a small haberdashery shop in the local shopping centre. She operated this shop for approximately three years before selling it.

In 1994 she moved to Bribie Island, Queensland where she still resides. She is currently working as a Dental Assistant for Queensland Health.

# 9.3.3—Robert James Evett—1961-

Robert was born on the 16th March 1961 at Caringbah, New South Wales, Australia. He went to Blaxland East Public School from 1966 to 1971. In 1972 he attended Blue Mountains Grammar School where he was Dux of Year 6. He commenced high school in 1973 at Blue Mountains Grammar School, but moved schools to Newington College some months later.

During his years at Newington he played Rugby Union and represented the school in a world Rugby Tour in 1977. He also undertook rowing as well and represented the school at the Annual Head of River (a rowing race between all the Greater Public Schools) on four occasions.

After finishing school in 1978 he commenced work with Norton & Faviel (Chartered Accountants) and stayed with them until 1985. During his employment with them, he was able to finish his Bachelor of Business Degree.

In 1985 he left Norton & Faviel and commenced work with RA Smith & company. In 1988 the existing Partners invited him to become a partner of the firm and he joined that firm as partner on January 1, 1988.

It was also in 1985 that he married Felicity O'Neill and on 15 April, 1989 their daughter Katherine Louise Evett was born. Robert and Felicity were divorced in 1991. In 1994 the business partnership changed name to Dawson Evett.

In the same year Robert married Carolyn Margaret Ermert on October 15, 1994. Two years later on October 24, 1996 their son James Alan Ernst Evett was born and subsequently on January 11, 1999 they were further blessed with the birth of twin boys—Joshua Robert Evett and Daniel Lloyd Evett.

In December 2005 he became sole principal of the firm. Robert and his family now reside in Kellyville, NSW, Australia.

# 9.3.4—Margaret Thomas—1962-

Margaret attended Blaxland East Primary School and was Vice School Captain in Year 6. Her hobbies were ballet, piano, netball and she loved to swim. Many hours during the summer time were spent in their backyard pool.

Alan and Peggy aspired for her to attend the Presbyterian Ladies College in Sydney but there was no way she was going to a "girls school" let alone in Sydney. She got her own way and attended the local High School at Springwood.

Margaret left school in Year 10 with School Certificate and spent a year getting a Secretarial Certificate. She commenced work with the (now) State Bank of NSW , staying with them for 16 years.

At the ripe old age of 22 she moved in with a friend for the next couple of years. She loved her new-found independence and really lived it up—no parents to tell her what to do!

In 1987 she obtained a transfer to Walgett, a small aboriginal town with a very harsh climate. She spent the next year there with the man she was going to marry but at the end of this year this relationship fell apart.

So it was back to Penrith for work and another new life: she hooked up with a childhood friend, Wendy, and they flatted with another girl for the next five years. She says she "found my drinking boots and had a fabulous time, really lived it up."

In 1992 she met Neale Thomas and they were married at Ebenezer, NSW on 11 December 1994. The wedding reception was held at Old Government House in North Parramatta. It was MARIE 35 degrees Celsius but a very beautiful day.

Margaret and Neale are living at Woy Woy with their children Aaron, 1996 and Imogen 1998. Neale is an electronics engineer and Margaret has just found employment again as a waitress.

Margaret is involved in the local Surf Life Saving Club and this year qualified to do surf rescue. She hopes to compete this summer in the over 40s competition.

# 9.4—Marion Joyce Evett—1911-2004

Joyce, or (Aunty) Jo as she was sometimes known, was born in Romford and lived in Streatham and Wimbledon. She attended South Wimbledon Methodist Church and kept in touch with friends made there over the years and was a bridesmaid to one and sometimes babysat for another.

She worked as a personal secretary for many years for accountant Stanley Potter in Peckham and became friends with the boss's family. When they retired to Eastbourne in Sussex she still kept in touch. While Joyce was still working in Bexhill, Sussex, she cared for her mother, Marie, until she died.

Upon her mother's death it is thought that Joyce then moved to Eastbourne to be near her ex-boss and the family. At first she was in a flat where she was not particularly happy and then an opportunity arose for her to move to a Queen Alexandra Care Home nearer to the centre of Eastbourne. It was on a direct bus route from where she could still keep in touch with her old friends. She went to the local Methodist Church here, too.

At some stage during this time she told members of the family that she had a church gentleman friend, Reg, but they never married. It is not known what happened to him.

Her flat was very small but adequate, with its own front door, so she kept her privacy. To begin with Joyce kept herself to herself but gradually she joined in coffee mornings and other communal events.

There was a relatives' flat available and Ruby went down to stay once a year. They were able to take outings at first but Joyce was diabetic and had very bad arthritis and later walking became impossible.

The staff at the home were particularly kind to Ruby when Joyce died in the local hospital. Ruby was able to use the flat to stay and sort out all the arrangements.
10—Helen Rose North—1882-1979

Nellie, as she was mostly known, was the youngest girl in the family of James and Emma. She held a special place in the hearts of some of the older brothers and sisters and especially her distant sister-in-law Rose Emma.

The family were stalwarts of the Bible Christian Chapel in Lee High Road. They were a somewhat conservative branch of Methodism (the nickname was bestowed on them because of the habit of carrying their bibles to and from services) but amalgamated with two other branches of Methodists in 1910 to form the United Methodist Church.

As a newborn babe, Nellie had rickets, which made her legs very crooked. Her father called her "snuffers". When she was about three she had to be lifted out of bed in the night to sit on her potty but somehow managed to squat over the candle and doused the flame. When she married Albert Abel North in May 1907 he proudly declared that even after more than five years of courtship and engagement he did not know she was so bandy until after they were married.

She did not have much education and soon left school to work as an office girl in a Turkish Delight factory in East London. Being good at figures and wishing to improve her position she decided to take lessons in book-keeping. So, clutching her sixpence she went to enrol at evening classes at Emersdale school. However, on hearing a singing class in progress she changed her mind and joined that instead.

Nellie was a wonderful actress, and loved performing. She wrote poems about members of the family and performed some real gems at parties and social events at church. A little book of poetry about her two children was formally published and these and several scraps of paper bear witness to her ditties and more serious works of poetry. Does anyone have the little ditty each verse of which ended with "...for they were off to New Zealand the very next day"?

Marriage and family

Her marriage to Albert Abel North took place just before the second Attwood migration in 1907 and it is what the NZ family called "The Grand Social Occasion". Almost every one of the many people in the huge studio photograph has been identified. Albert's family lived in their immediate neighbourhood in Lee, his family having come from Heckmondwyke in Yorkshire. Abel, had been widowed three times and according to Albert his second step-mother was "a bit of a tarter".

Albert and Nellie had to wait nearly six years for the arrival of their first child, Kenneth Roy. In 1915 Nellie was appointed the official Sunday School visitor to supplement, but not replace, the visits of individual teachers, a position she held for 22 years. In 1920 Albert was appointed Sunday School Superintendent, a position he held for 25 years. In those days Sunday Schools met in the afternoon.

She loved sewing and made most of her own dresses and baby clothes. She even tackled Albert's shirts and would sit at her old sewing machine with Albert, when he was available, turning the handle and reading to her at the same time.

Wembley

A high point in their lives was the visit of Nellie's oldest brother, Thomas, from New Zealand. He was President of the NZ Fruitgrowers' Federation and managed their displays at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 and 1925. On the second trip he brought Rose Emma with him and they lived with the Norths in Lee for ten months. Rose's letters to her "darling daughter" Dorothy Surtees provide us with many insights into life in the North home at that time.

Nellie was a very artistic person; her sister in law was strictly practical. Nellie penned charming little verses about everyday life; Rose did the dishes. Nellie published a little booklet of poems about her two children; Rose insisted on turning down all the beds to air before making them. One gets the impression that Nellie reflected on matters of faith and life while Rose pursued dust in every corner of the room. But it is Rose's dedicated weekly letter to Dorothy that gives us these insights and it was Nellie's generosity in opening her home for most of 1925 that enabled them to complement each other so magnificently.

It is a matter of regret that these two extraordinary women did not get to spend more time in each other's company but the ties held firm across the world for more than a generation. The editor recalls food parcels being packed in the Lower Hutt home during the war to send to "Auntie Nellie". There were shortages and rationing in NZ, too, but the Thomases, the Surtees and the Mullans put together what they could to send "home". Dad Mullan hand-stitched the parcels in flour-bag cloth which would later be carefully taken apart to be sewn into useful items. Nell beautifully lettered in Indian ink the name and address of the Aunt Nellie she would never meet on the other side of the world.

Other members of the distant family did receive the gift of the London Nellie's hospitality: Annie Allum's elder son, Jack, and her sister Rose and others. The spare room in the North house was often occupied by someone needing extra nursing, a temporary resting place or even a home in which to spend their last days.

The fun-loving, fun-giving Nellie had a deeper spiritual thread woven into her life. She always tried to get up before the family in order to have her quiet time committing the coming day to the Lord. She had some great sadness too. She had a still-born baby son who she never saw but named him "Alan". She was very ill at the time and took months to recover.

Albert

Margaret Shearing, in recalling the birth of her first son, Brian, mentioned that another special event happened in almost the same hour—8 pm on 20th May 1943. Her father, Albert, was going down into the waters of baptism at Rye Lane Baptist chapel.

In 1925 Uncle Tom Attwood, back from NZ, asked Albert to assist him at the Wembley Exhibition with the Fruit Federation's promotion and afterwards this led to Albert obtaining a job in Covent Garden Market managing the banana warehouse. One would have been forgiven for thinking that the leather attache case which he carried each day to town contained important government papers, but no, in the morning it held his lunch and in the evening it was packed with broken bits of banana crates to keep the home fires burning.

Albert was a telegraphist and thus did his war service at home. Margaret says he was brilliant at interpreting dots and dashes at speed, but later in life had to resign from his civil service employment owing to having writers' cramp.

Nellie and Albert had a long retirement at Tankerton where her carefully tended garden continued to give pleasure to her and others for many years. But after Albert died she gradually became rather frail.

Twilight years

When Nellie eventually went into a nursing home she regained much of her physical strength, and at the age of 97 would dance around the room singing one of her home made songs and emitting squeals of laughter and revealing her poor old bandy legs.

Margaret Shearing wrote,

She was a wonderful mother and, as Albert died doing one of his favourite things—going to a prayer meeting—so Nellie too died doing one of hers—drinking a cup of tea.

They could not have planned it any better.

# 10.—Kenneth Roy North—1913-

Roy was the only son and elder child of Albert and Nellie North and was born in March 1913 at Lee in south-east London when the family were living in Brandram Rd.

His parents were active members of the then United Methodist Chapel there. Early in life he manifested some interest in music and at the age of five started having piano lessons. It seems that there was some inheritance there, as Margaret followed suit. They were both students of Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and from time to time played duets and, occasionally, duos. Whereas Margaret became more proficient with the piano, Roy's interest turned towards the organ.

In 1937 he was appointed organist at the chapel on the departure of the holder of that position. Furthermore, he became interested in hymns and more than once was asked to do some research into the lives of some of our hymn writers, a task he thoroughly enjoyed and found intensely fascinating.

On 30th July, 1938 he married Jessie Butler in the Lee Methodist Church and they settled in a downstairs flat that had been created at his father's home at 66 Southbrook Rd, Lee. Jessie was from Bermondsey and they had got to know each other when her family moved to Lee around 1933–34.

They found themselves less than satisfied with the local Methodist church and Jessie started attending a local Pentecostal Church. Roy did his duty as organist with the Methodists in the morning but went with Jessie in the evenings. The incumbent minister told them he didn't care for this "dual association" so they both left.

During the Second World War Roy was called up for military service and found himself in the Royal Air Force in what he describes as "non-flying and non-technical roles, often in civilian billets." When the war was nearly over he was sent to West Africa and spent some time in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast and Nigeria. Describing his war service as something of a long holiday Roy emphasises that he has the great respect for those for whom the war was a much more perilous business. He mentioned in particular that the New Zealand Attwood family lost a son by the name of Sidney in each of the two World Wars.

Jessie suffered much discomfort from the prevalent London fogs and they were easily persuaded to move to Tankerton on the north Kent coast. After a short time at two other churches Roy was invited to become organist at the United Reformed Church in Canterbury. He assumed this position in April 1975 and continued in that office until he officially retired in April 2005. He still plays for the occasional service when asked to do so.

Roy says that he has another abiding interest in railways but regrets that no other member of the family has similar tastes. He hasn't mentioned an interest in cycling but he is another Attwood who was photographed with a bicycle at the end of the country.

Roy visited New Zealand in his retirement, attending the 1984 Attwood gathering in Auckland. He travelled throughout the country again in 1986 and 1989 meeting members of the extended family.

Roy's children are Rosemary and Valerie and he has two grand-daughters.

# 10.1.1—Rosemary Stokes—1944-

Rosemary was born in 1944, the older daughter of Roy North and first grand-daughter to James' and Emma's youngest daughter, Nellie.

Having spent her childhood in Kent, very close to Emma (the oldest and always called Auntie May), Auntie Marie and her daughter Joyce, and grandmother Helen/Nellie (known to her as Nanna) she moved to Leicester when she married in 1968.

She is mother to Rachel (1975) and David (1980) and is Assistant Head teacher at a boarding school for students with physical and sensory disabilities. She has recently agreed to stay on at the partly residential unit so she occasionally has to live in overnight.

An ordinary day may keep her away from home for at least twelve hours each day. She admits it is hard work but she finds it very rewarding.

In her 'spare' time she is an honorary field officer for her professional association and an educator for Hope UK, the reincarnation of The Band of Hope of which Helen was a staunch supporter.

Her church role is largely that of supporting her husband, Geoffrey, who is a reader (lay preacher) in the Church of England. After taking early retirement he has been three times to Tanzania to run training sessions for local pastors and in 2006 will be going to Uganda.

# 10.1.2—Valerie Norman—1948-

Valerie was born in April 1948 in Lewisham, London to (Kenneth) Roy and Jessie North. In 1954 the family moved to Tankerton on the north Kent coast. Secondary education was at Simon Langton Grammar School for Girls in Canterbury.

As a teenager she was a keen bell-ringer and spent many happy hours change-ringing in both tiny rural churches and cathedrals. She trained for four years as a language teacher in Sheffield, graduating in 1970 in education. During that time she served as president of the college Christian Union and met her husband David Norman.

She taught languages in Broadstairs Kent, for two years prior to her marriage in 1972 when she moved to Ilford in Essex. There both she and David were heavily involved in a local church, leading the youth group together and working alongside other groups.

Two daughters, Elizabeth and Rebekah were born to them before they moved again to Upminster, Essex in 1982, where they remain. Valerie continued to teach part-time as the girls were growing up. The family spent most of their summer holidays at this time in France, where all of them were able to indulge their love of mountains.

Valerie maintains an active involvement with the local Anglican Church, leading house groups with David. In 1987 she was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for the north-east London area and continues to serve the community in this capacity. She also acts as a mentor to newly appointed Magistrates.

Valerie's interests include concert-going, listening to classical music and jazz (their daughters are both music graduates), reading, cycling, walking and, more recently, wider European travel.

# 10.2—Margaret Shearing—1918-2015

Margaret was born in Lee, south-east London.

She gave the family, which included five year old brother Roy, something refreshing to occupy their lives after the rigours of the Great War. Later Margaret and Roy learned that their gifts of music were given to them in answer to prayers made before they were born.

The family was stalwart supporters of the newly united Methodist Church in Lee High Road and it was in the lively faith of this fellowship that Roy and Margaret were brought up.

Margaret remembers being a "poorly little girl" with rheumatic fever. Even now, in her 88th year, she still takes three tablets a day in order to keep up the "little metronome" of her heart. At twelve she entered a children's heart hospital (named appropriately Heartsease) in woodland in West Wickham in Kent.

She commenced lessons for piano and singing at Blackheath Conservatoire of Music. Her love of the organ came later when she would sit beside Roy as he manipulated the massive three-manual instrument at their Methodist church. She was often called out from her class to accompany ballet dancing, country dancing, the school choir and junior violin classes.

In the 1930s Margaret spent some of her holidays in Christian Endeavour homes at Barmouth and Ilfracombe. At eighteen she went alone to a Methodist music conference held at Swanwick in Derbyshire soon after the launch of the new Methodist Hymn Book. The head of her department at the South Suburban Gas Co found it difficult to grasp the fact that a young girl would want to travel "up north" to attend such a boring conference. But it was good fun being with so many like-minded folk and she learned much about hymnology.

She was bridesmaid when brother Roy married in 1934 and Margaret says that the best man Ernest Shearing declared later that as they all stood together at the wedding service "he knew he was standing with his future wife." He pursued her until on her 21st birthday in 1939 Margaret said Yes. Ernest had joined the army just before war was declared and had to rush back to rejoin his regiment. They fixed a wedding date in 1940 hoping that he would still be in the UK. On 6 July, a soaking wet day, they managed to get through the marriage service without having to dive down into the air raid shelters. Their honeymoon was spent on a 48-hour leave in a London hotel with air raids and more rain thrown in for good measure. On the Monday morning at 8 o'clock they parted at the barrack gates (still raining, Margaret says) and she made her lonely way back to her parent's home. But these two were in love, a love that lasted until Ernest died in 1990.

During the war their home was destroyed and they went to live with Nellie and Albert; all later moved to Tankerton.

Ernest had resumed accountancy work and commenced building up a new practice in Canterbury after the war and they lived in a half-timbered cottage at Brean. One morning when Ernest was at work and Margaret at a coffee morning at the church, they returned to find their little home had been destroyed by fire. They had not even a clean pair of pants for tomorrow. But both thanked God that no lives were lost.

They spent the rest of their married life in the peaceful Kentish village of Wingham. When Ernest died Margaret moved back to Tankerton where she lives in Abbeyfield House. She has a very dear friend, Ruth, who visits or phones her each day and a four-wheeled electric "buggy". One new hip has alleviated one painful joint but other bones are feeling their age too.

Methodists often sing:

We'll praise Him for all that is past

And trust Him for all that's to come!"

Margaret says "Amen to that". She died on 20 June 2010.

# 10.2.1—Brian Hugh Shearing—1943-

Brian was born in 1943 in Lewisham in south-east London. After the Second World War the family moved to Tankerton on the north coast of Kent.

School was the King's School in the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral, where he played the oboe and developed an abiding love of the great canon of English Church music. He was the first member of this branch of the family to go to university, and in 1964 graduated in mathematics from Queens' College in Cambridge.

Brian became a computer programmer and soon met another named Betty Clarke. They married in 1967. Their first home was in the Bloomsbury district of London. Their second, where their first daughter, Sarah, was born, overlooked Westminster Cathedral. Then they moved south of London, first to Nutfield where their second daughter, Elizabeth, was born, then Caterham, and then Limpsfield where they still live. Both daughters and their families, including three grandchildren, live nearby.

In 1967 he left the comfort of a large company and was director of several small companies, including for a while one with his brother Paul. During that time he wrote compilers and operating systems. Since the 1980s he has worked independently in London, mainland Europe, and North America, helping companies with their software, giving public lectures, writing papers, and sitting on various national and international committees.

Now retired, he is working on a better way of writing computer programs, in collaboration with an old college friend in Montreal.

Over the years he has sung bass in various choirs, and has recently started to take solo rôles, including in Mozart's Coronation Mass, and the part of Jesus in Handel's 'The Passion of Christ'. Performances are usually in the local parish church, but have also been in Southwark, Salisbury, and Rochester Cathedrals.

# 10.2.2—Roma Elizabeth Stahle—1946-

Roma was the first daughter born to Margaret and Ernest Shearing on 21 September 1946 in Whitstable, Kent.

She attended Whitstable Endowed Primary School and Lady Capel Secondary Girls in Faversham. She remembers Nanna and Grampy North and many happy times spent at their home with cousins Rosemary and Valerie North.

In August 1965 she emigrated to NZ with a friend, worked in Wellington for a solicitor and hitch-hiked round the country. She met Bob and Betty Allum and their two sons John and Chris. She remembers John's red MG and many parties. Roma also visited Ruby Allum who was headmistress of New Plymouth Girls' High School.

After a couple of years she left New Zealand and went to Australia where she met and married Terry Bartlett in 1968. They worked around Australia and in 1976, they were managing a Lion Park near Melbourne when their son Dustin was born. While at the park Roma hand-raised lions and a valuable tiger. Other residents of her lounge room were a large python, an alligator in a tank, an owl, a loaded gun (and of course a baby!).

Shortly afterwards Roma and Terry separated and Roma and baby Dustin returned to Melbourne and she commenced some 29 years work for a criminal lawyer.

In 1985 she married Paul Stahle with whom she had a daughter Katherine (19) and Samuel (17). Unfortunately that marriage did not last either and Roma and the younger children have continued to live in Melbourne.

Roma still enjoys the Australian bush and goes camping whenever she can. She is looking forward to travelling around Australia again when she retires.

She loves living near the beach and is involved in the local Uniting Church. She still loves parties and can dance the night away with the best of them.

# 10.2.3—Paul Hamilton Shearing—1955-

Paul was born in 1955 in Tankerton near Whitstable on the north Kent coast, where he spent the first ten years of his life.

He says he has many happy memories of long hot summers by the sea.

When he was ten, the family moved to Sturry a few miles East of Canterbury. He was deeply unhappy with his primary education and loathed school. This situation was reversed when he began secondary education at a newly-constructed technical school in Canterbury—he absolutely loved it: something to do with lathes instead of Latin and test-tubes instead of Greek.

In the sixth-form he constructed an organic-dye laser and this helped him to get to Durham University. He had three years of hedonistic bliss at the tax-payers' expense and subsequently graduated with a beer-gut and a mediocre science degree. However, he had discovered his métier—computer programming—and has been doing this ever since.

His first job with a software house in Horley got him out to the Middle-east and was a great experience. Since 1979 he has been mostly self-employed and work has taken him to a number of countries, including France, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland and Finland.

In 1989 he married Honor Mepham. They have no children—though not through choice. His hobbies include marine fish-keeping, model railway, astronomy and music. He has recently taken up bass guitar after a 30-year break. His musical tastes are blues, jazz, rock and he currently plays his fretless five-string bass at the local Baptist Church. They live in Caterham in a superb location (from which he works) surrounded by woods, with plenty of land and outbuildings, one of which has just been converted into a fully-equipped woodworking shop. Pets include two cats and five chickens. Paul and Honor go skiing most years and he is another cycling Attwood.

# 10.2.4—Pauline Rebecca Slatter—1958-

Pauline Rebecca Shearing was born on 7th September 1958 in St Helier Nursing Home in Whitstable, Kent, England. She is the youngest daughter of Christian parents Ernest and Margaret Shearing.

Pauline spent her first five years in Tankerton. Moving to Sturry with the extended family, Pauline remembers idyllic sunny days in the huge garden and playing on a 21ft long seesaw.

Aug 18th 1971 was a special day, when at the end of a week-long beach mission, Pauline made a decision to become a Christian and follow Christ.

Living with a Nanna who needed growing nursing care, and a chain-smoking, atheist 'uncle', the family reluctantly divided and Pauline moved to Canterbury to the flat above her father's offices, with her parents and brother Paul.

She joined the United Reformed Church and met Billy Slatter. They married on 3rd June 1978 and moved to Essex. Pauline worked for the Inland Revenue for five years, but hated it. In 1984 she went with Billy to Bromsgrove where he worked as a Lay Pastor. Here, their son Philip was born in 1987.

After three years Pauline and Philip moved with Billy to Wesley Theological College, Bristol, to follow Billy's call to be an ordained minister in the Methodist church. Then followed appointments near Gatwick (five years) and Norwich (nine years), where Pauline trained as a Teaching Assistant. Billy is currently serving the Methodist Church on the beautiful island of Jersey in the Channel Islands.

Pauline has used her piano-playing talents inherited from her mother wherever she can. Having prayerfully offered her talent for God's work, she has heard of many folk blessed by her playing. Pauline also enjoys gardening, listening to film music, and embroidery. She continues to work as a Nursery Officer (a preschool assistant) on Jersey.
About the Editor

**2.3.1.1 Dave Mullan** was born in 1935 to Bill and Nellie, and schooled at Waiwhetu, Epuni and Hutt Valley High School staying long enough (by a supreme effort) to get University Entrance. He worked first for Kodak and then with the NZ Forest Service for about three years during which he experienced a clear call to the ministry. Beverley Taylor waited a few more years while he trained at Trinity College but they married at the earliest opportunity and went to their first appointment at Ngatea in 1960. Paul and Christine were born in nearby Thames.

**Parish appointments** followed in Auckland and Taumarunui. During these years he completed MA and Dip Ed part-time. He was then sent as Superintendent to Dunedin Methodist Mission for ten years serving on many district and national committees. In nine years at the Theological College he developed a new programme of voluntary clergy throughout the country. His last church appointment was part-time in the Bay of Islands where he initiated the first Local Ministry Team for NZ Methodist or Presbyterian churches. He has promoted this ministry model in books, videos and consultancy work in five countries.

**Community work:** He initiated a Family Budgeting Service in Dunedin in 1973 and co-sponsored the body which put a national federation of FBS in place. On the Home Budgeting Advisory Committee to the Government he attended 120 meetings around the country. In retirement he has become heavily involved in ratepayer and town planning issues.

**Church:** Bev and Dave are both on the local Uniting Parish ministry team and he takes occasional services and enjoys playing the organ. He is serving a two-year term as Chairperson of the Uniting Congregations of Aotearoa-NZ.

**His hobbies** are video production and book publishing using a binding process he has developed and distributed worldwide. He flew 450 hours as a private pilot in the 1970s.

The Mullans have four teenage grandchildren in Auckland and Sydney and enjoy visits with them. Dave has prostate cancer and at the time of this revision has had some five interventions and recognises that his time is probably limited. In 2016 he is committed to persuading the NZ government to legislate for voluntary euthanasia in specific circumstances.

Dave blogs at _dave-mullan.blogspot.co.nz_ and is Dave Mullan on Facebook.

An ongoing adventure with prostate cancer brought Bev and Dave to the Hibiscus Coast Residential Village  
near Auckland in 2014.

Contact Dave  
 **colcom.press@clear.net.nz**

Visit Dave on **  
Dave Mullan on Facebook**

http://dave-mullan.blogspot.com  
http://www.colcompress.com

Dave's other general books

**A Small Qango** Dave's account of the Home Budgeting Advisory Committee to the NZ Minister of Social Welfare, 1978-1988. This small committee had 120 meetings and ran seminars, consultations and training events. It functioned like to no other Quasi-Autonomous Government Organisation with a degree of independence that left some of the Head Office boffins breathless. It achieved huge financial support for family budgeting volunteers throughout the country. A5 978-1-877357-17-6 (print) or 978-1-877357-24-4 (E-book)

**Attwood of Hepburn Creek**. The life of Thomas William Attwood, who settled in the Mahurangi 1907, initiated the NZ Fruitgrowers' Federation and represented NZ fruitgrowing interests in South America and UK 1923-1925 and then went on to found the NZ Alpine and Rock Garden Society. Lady Anne Allum of Auckland was his daughter. A5. 134p. ISBN 1-877357-01-4

**In and Out of Sync.** Dave's life story up to 2013. Extracted from a more substantial text, this book presents Dave's personal family background and professional life and ministry. Reviewers have said it offers a significant and insightful view of the Methodist Church of New Zealand in a turbulent and challenging time. A5 220p. ISBN 1-877357-10-3

**John Roulston, Grazier of Calkill & Runnymede**. With Val Mullan of Brisbane. Our attempt to trace the life of the mysterious and very distant relation from the Upper Brisbane Valley. He left a fortune to family members in four countries when he died in 1929. Most of them had never met him. A5. 122p. ISBN 1-877357-00-6

**The Saga of Wasp.** Revised and enlarged collection of Dave's short stories, 2014. Some include significant historical material from his early working life with the New Zealand Forest Service. But all were written mainly for fun. Also available as epub, 2015 180p ISBN 978-877357-12-X

These books are available from ColCom Press stock or printing on demand. Some are soon to be made available in eBook format through Smashwords

Contact Dave

Dave's books on church and ministry

**Diakonia and the Moa**. Although published in 1983 this book offers a distinctive understanding of the role of the "permanent" Deacon in the modern church. A5 170p From: Trinity College, 202 St Johns Rd, Meadowbank, Auckland. trinitycollege@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz ISBN 0-9597775-0-4

**Ecclesion — The Small Church with a Vision.** Reflections on the contemporary church and suggestions for revival of the small church in vigorous new styles of Sunday church life, mission and ministry. This book introduces the thinking behind the Lay Ministry Team concept developed for Methodists and Presbyterians in the Bay of Islands Co-operating Parish in 1992. It is being completely revised and updated for e-publication in 2015 as ISBN 978-1-877357-16-9. Print version is A5 140p 978-908815-08-5

**Fresh New Ways — Emerging Models for Mission and Ministry in the Local Congregation**. Ed. Dave Mullan. Papers and reflections from a significant Australian conference, this book details (a) new structures for the church or parish and (b) innovative styles of ministry. A5 130p From: Trinity College, 202 St Johns Rd, Meadowbank, Auckland. trinitycollege@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz ISBN 0-908815-76-X

**Koru and Covenant** : With J J Lewis and L.W. Willing. This book offers biblical reflections in Aotearoa and note some links between the Christianity of the 19th Century Maori and the religion of the Hebrew Scriptures. Warmly commended by authoritative reviewers and some years after publication still very relevant. A5 120p. 120p From: Trinity College, 202 St Johns Rd, Meadowbank, Auckland. trinitycollege@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz ISBN 0-908815-60-3

**Mital-93—The Church's Ministry in Tourism and Leisure.** Ed: Dave Mullan Presentations at an Australian Conference are supported by dozens of flax roots ideas that have helped. "A fascinating study... an enabling resource" (Pat Gilberd). 82p. 220p From: Trinity College, 202 St Johns Rd, Meadowbank, Auckland. trinitycollege@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz ISBN 0-908815-22-8

**The Cavalry won't be coming**. Dave Mullan. Introduction to the concept of Local Shared Ministry in which a team of volunteers spearhead the mission of the small church which is discovering that all the resources for ministry are held within its own membership. Now issued as e-book as ISBN 978-1-877357-18-3. Print version A5 134p, From: Trinity College, 202 St Johns Rd, Meadowbank, Auckland. trinitycollege@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz ISBN 0-908815-99-1

As indicated, these books are available from Trinity Methodist Theological College, Auckland.

trinitycollege@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz

Other ColCom Books

During the last 25 years Dave has published well over one hundred titles for other writers under the imprint of ColCom Press. Most were done in very short runs for niche markets and were delivered to the authors. Some may be still retrievable in some form in 2016.

