Today would have been my Great Grandmother's, Annie Prudence Butcher (nee Harris) 116th birthday. I knew her as Granny, and later as I began my research I affectionately called her APH. My cousins knew her as Big Gran, because their Grandma looked after APH in her elderly years and I guess to a child having two Grandma's in the same house was confusing!
This picture is taken from the Christmas card Granny sent to family and friends in 1955. I have inherited the one she sent to my Grandfather, Grandmother and Mum.
The first official document I saw when I began researching my family history in earnest was the 1881 Census, which in 1988 was the last official Census available to those of us in the United Kingdom.
 |
| Image courtesy of Ancestry - RG11/780/6 Puttenham Surrey Crown Copyright |
The Census shows, Annie aged one year old. I recall the moment I spotted that entry line as I muttered the words wow! complete with that tingly feeling of excitement.
That very same Great Grandmother who cuddled up to me as an elderly lady. Smelling of talcum powder and lavender. Who had the firmest, yet gentlest cuddle of all. She would wrap me in her arms and tickle me and I would wriggle with excitement. I can almost feel that cuddle as I write this and all of a sudden I miss this elderly lady, who loved her family passionately and yet despite her frailness, always gave me one of those lovely safe and reassuring cuddles.
Here is a picture of how I remember her, surrounded by flowers and the love of her family.
 |
| Annie Prudence Butcher nee Harris 1879 - 1972 |
Julie, What a beautiful tribute to your Granny. I can almost feel her cuddle just from reading your description.
ReplyDeleteI can almost feel those cuddles that you so beautifully described. Your love fro Granny oozes from this post.
ReplyDeleteJulie, a beautiful gathering of memories...I never knew my Irish grandmother, but I also recall the excitement of finding her name on the 1901 Census, as a baby, then as a 10 year old in 1911..
ReplyDeleteThe first photo I ever saw of her ( and there are only two) was taken a few months before she succumbed to TB and there was my mother as a young girl... something else I had never seen..
I did know her sister, my Great Aunt Molly and I've always been told that they were almost like twins and one of the things my mother told me was that her cuddles were almost as warm as her mother's...
So, as well as treating us to your lovely family memories, you have reawakened some of mine... Thank you so much.
This is a very sweet post! I wish I could have met my Great Grandmother.
ReplyDelete