Happy Birthday Great-Grandma!

On Wednesday, 9th December 1891, Dorothy Hawley was born in Codnor, Derbyshire. She was the fifth of the six children of John James Hawley and Elizabeth Waterfall. 

She was the youngest daughter to survive and the youngest child to survive overall after her baby brother Fred was run over by a bus in the blackout during World War II. 

This is the earliest photo I have of her. I suspect that it was taken around the time of her marriage to Robert William Dawson, which happened in September of 1918. 

He would later tell his granddaughter "She had jet black hair".

Just over 15 months after their wedding, on 1st Jan 1920, she gave birth to identical Twins.

Olive was the elder twin and weighed two and a half pounds, then came Edna weighing two pounds. The two tiny newborns slept together, nested in a drawer.

May Queens' Handover 1936
Incoming Queen Appleblossom (Edna) left
Outgoing Queen Anemone (Olive) Right

In January of 1948, aged 57 she became a Grandmother for the first time. She would have three more Granddaughters before the end of 1952.

Seven Great-Grandchildren followed (5 girls and 2 boys) between 1973 and 1986.

I am the sixth of seven Great-Grandchildren and the last that she would meet personally.

This was the day we first met at Edna and Douglas' house 22nd Jan 1983.

She was 91.

She died on Wednesday 1st May 1985
in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire (where Olive lived), at the age of 93.

Edna passed away that Friday, aged 65.

Her descendants today include 

one more Great-Grand-daughter,

9 Great-Great-Grandsons

and 6 Great-Great-Granddaughters.

Happy 126th Birthday Grandma Hawley

March Relative Focus - My Maternal Grandfather

The one thing I'm suddenly realising about the writing challenge, is that there are so many to choose from. 

Ah. Yes, in fact a quick bit of tomfoolery with the calculator reveals that were I to never add another relative to the tree (yeah, like that's ever going to happen!) and simply tell about one relative at a time, it would take us from now until mid November of 2101.

...at which point, I'd be rapidly approaching 119 and we'd all be sick to death of the whole thing!


I might then, broaden the 'Write about at least one relative a month' and see where it leads us.


March though, in my mind, is always the month that 'belongs' to my Maternal Grandfather.

This is Grandad in August 1986 at his home in Darnall, Sheffield (that's me walking up the backs of my Uncle and Father - by request I hasten to add!). 





There are several key dates for him that fall in March:


                   4th - Got Engaged (1945)

                   7th - His Death (1992)

                   30th - His Birthday (1916) 
       Meaning he would have been 100 this year!





So yes, today is the 71st Anniversary of Grandad's engagement which fell on Sunday, 4th March 1945 - just 65 days before VE day.


In recent months, I inherited Grandma's engagement ring from my Mum . It's been more emotionally intense than I anticipated having it. Grandma died when I was only 28 months old, so a lot of my memories of her include her hands (sometimes, even more than her face) and it can be oddly peculiar, but at the same time nice, to catch sight of my own hands and be flooded with a memory.

You can bet your life I've been wearing it today!

Grandma's & My Engagement rings.

Nails courtesy of my lovely friend Trish:
https://trishmarickovich.jamberry.com/us/en/shop/products/butterfly-bliss#.Vtn6GH2LTcs

...and a slightly closer one that shows the detail a little more clearly (apologies for it being slightly blurry:

This family group shot is circa 1942.

Grandad is on the right hand end of the back row and Grandma is on the Right hand end of the front row.

Also pictured, from Left to right are:
Back Row 
My Great Aunt (Grandma's Twin), My Maternal Great Grandfather - Robert William DAWSON
Front Row
My Maternal Great Grandmother - Dorothy HAWLEY, Robert's sister Florrie WARD

Grandad made a very beautiful entry in his diary for 4th March 1945 describing the evening as "the best night of my life", describing how they went for a walk together and he asked her (he'd already spoken with her Dad)  and how happy her saying yes made him. After, they'd returned to her house for tea and her parents were there, together with her twin sister and various relatives.

They went on to marry on September 8th of the same year at Burngreave Congregational Church.