A Life of Service
Written by Elizabeth Ellen Osborne
ISBN: 1 901253 15 5
108 pages, paperback, 27 Black & White photographs, 146mm x 208mm.
Price: £ 5.99 Postage and Packing: £ 1.15
Published by Leonie Press, April 2000.
Reprinted September 2000.
Nellie also has a phenomenal photographic memory and her recollections of her early life paint a vivid picture of times which have gone for ever, when infant mortality was high, water was fetched from a spring, school discipline was brutal and her mother received second-hand clothes in lieu of wages. She describes the flashes and meadows, flowers and birds of her rural surroundings and can even list the names of all the other children at Davenham School in the early Twenties.
Her experiences in service evoke the days when the ‘toffs’ could not exist without an army of servants, toiling away for long hours and earning a pittance. But Nellie never let them break her spirit.
To assist genealogists and local historians the book has been comprehensively indexed. The index can be consulted on-line, so that you can see if there is mention of a person, place or event of interest to you. To access the Index, click here
Recently, Nellie has been encouraged to share her treasure-trove of memories and she’s become a popular speaker at meetings of local organisations.
A couple of years ago she discovered that she was suffering from incurable and chronic leukaemia, which has the side effect of very painful arthritis. But Nellie does not let this get her down. She wrote the book - originally for her grandchildren - when the pain was keeping her awake at night and she wanted to immerse herself in her memories as a distraction. She still uses this technique to ward off the pain. Her remarkable memory is such that she can 'see' every detail as clearly now as she did the first time she looked at something, seventy years ago.
She says: "I spend a lot of time awake during the night now I’m older, and to help me pass the long hours I often take a trip down memory lane. I gather baskets of blackberries, and pick mushrooms, or bunches of honeysuckle. I listen to the skylark, and you would be surprised how these memories help the night to pass. It is a regular thing for me to say to my dear husband: 'I’ve had a lovely time. I went for a walk along the canal last night' or 'I’ve been for a trip to Boots Green, I feel better for it.'"
"A story of bravery" - Northwich Chronicle
"An incredible achievement" - Northwich Guardian
