Mum’s Amazing Old Papers

Well, they say you should never throw anything away without having a good look at it first – and that has just been proven SO true.

I brought back a busted cardboard box of old looking papers from Richard's house, where Mum's final belongings were being stored. And somehow, there was one huge packet of stuff that I had never, ever seen before.

Such an incredible treasure trove of Mum's history, with things dating back to her school days in Norway (1930s) through to her move to Blackburn in 1939 as the war broke out. And her subsequent achievements at senior school, university and in later life.

All mixed din with things like Mum's own birth announcement from 1929, various family members' birth & death certificates and a whole bunch of stray photos, wedding invitations and stuff. But best of all, lots of cards that I'd written to her over the years, proms from my school days, plays I wrote (pretty dreadful to be fair) and little things that Mum had chosen to treasure across the decades.

Check some of these out. 1941 – Mum gets her place at Blackburn High School confirmed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tiny writing says how well Mum has done to achieve these grades in junior school – especially as she had only arrived that year from Norway, and didn't;t speak English till she came here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not just a scholarship but also one of only 6 girls to go to university that year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the earliest things – it seems in Norway you were issued a 'character book' – can't read a word of it but such a sweet reminder that Mum started off her school years there, skiing to school each day with her brother Jan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah the famous old 'school certificate'…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just love this one – in the tiny top right corner they actually put the children's height and weight – which I guess they monitored to make sure kids weren't wasting away as the war was on – while Mum was a decent Dutch 5 foot 6, she only weighed 8 stone 8. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mum's own birth certificate from 1929 – this is what you got if you were born in Brussels, to Dutch parents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it wasn't till 1960, nearly 30 years after Mum arrived in the UK, that the Home Office registered her as 'a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies'. I wonder if she was on the Register of Aliens mentioned there..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And by this point Mum was already establishing herself in the Psychology world with a post grad – wonder what the fact that it was in Abnormal Psychology says about the three of us kids??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, many years later, Mum even did a very belated A Level in Religious Studies, when she got interested in all things church to a far greater degree. And after that it was the University of the Third Age – she was game for new stuff for so many years..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hats off yet again to my dear old Mum. Many great memories in that box and a lot of surprises that the three of us can keep forever.

Missing you, Mummy x