'Childhood memories of life in the Isle of Man 1941-1946'
Date(s): 2004
Creator(s): Williams, Wendy
Scope & Content: Wendy Williams uses subheadings in her typescript memoirs to separate her typescript text into topics such as Prospect House, neighbouring shops on Prospect Hill (Gladys Kelly, ladies' outfitter and Ashcrofts All British Wallpapers kept by Mr Adam Bond), Hanover Street School, playtimes and particular songs and games with instructions, Empire Day, Tynwald Day, special one day holiday to collect foxgloves; also wildflowers, the national flower Cushag, North Quay reminiscences, the school route, shops we loved to visit, life in Prospect House, November 5th and fireworks night, Christmas decorations and Christmas celebrations, child ailments, recollection of visitors to the boarding house, St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Sunday School anniversary and outing or picnic, Salvation Army, House of Keys, piano lessons, grandparents' friends Mrs Killip and Tiny Corlett, Douglas harbour and bay, fishing fleet, Peel and kippers, air sea rescue, along the seafront, sunken gardens, visible signs of wartime (sight of internees, their twice weekly designated cinema nights), cinemas, the military stationed on the seafront, HMS Valkyrie, annual naval pantomime at the Palace featuring John Pertwee, HMS St George, Douglas Head, War Memorial, VE Day, visit of TM King George VI and Queen Elixabeth in July 1945, home of Mr and Mrs Mills; also Cronk my Chree, Onchan, seashore, climate, Onchan, the Robinsons, Groudle glen, Molly Quirk's glen, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Onchan School, Victory Queen, grandparents in retirement, Mr and Mrs Kelly, Mrs Myroie, dad returns, wartime tales, time together and attending performances.
Wendy closes,
'It was a wrench for me to leave the IOM. It had been my home for my formative years. I had loved its coves, sparkling sea, and turbid waves. How many times I tried to dodge back quickly whe the waves had come crashing over the promenade. I still got wet from the spray, but how good to taste the salt on my lips. I still picture the headlands ablaze with gorse, and hear the drone of the bees. My music copy of Ellan Vannin is dogeared and stuck with brown sticky paper. It bears a picture of the Steam Packet boats tied up in the harbour, and small sailing boats in the bay. The buildings are not very distinct, but the hills form a fitting back cloth. I re-echo the third verse of the song.
Then memories sweet and tender,
Come like music's plaintive flow,
Of the hearts in ELLAN VANNIN
That lov'd me long ago:
And I give with tears and blessings,
My fondest thoughts to thee - -
My own dear ELLAN VANNIN,
With its green hills by the sea.'
Administration / Biographical History: The author's maternal grandparents William Scotthorn Turner and wife Louisa (nee Rope) moved to the Isle of Man in the late 1930's. They lived first on Derby Square then subsequently bought and ran the boarding house Prospect House on Prospect Hill. Douglas. Her parents, Richard Williams and Kathleen Irene Turner were married at St George's Church by Rev Charles V Stockwood on 18 September 1933.
The author's first recollection of Douglas was at the age of 3 when her brother John Trevor Williams was baptised in St George's at Easter time 1939 - she recalls the church being filled with yellow daffodils. The family was holidaying on the Island later in the year from Merseyside when news was announced of the outbreak of the Second World War. Wendy relocated to the Island with her mother and brother in Janaury 1941 after extensive bomb damage to their home. Her father, a civil servant working in Customs and Excise, stayed, awaiting his call up papers. In 1946 the family moved back to the Wirral.
Language: English
Extent: 24 pages
Item name: memoirs
Collection: Manuscript Archive
Level: ITEM
ID number: MS 14869
Record class: Private
Access conditions: No regulations or restrictions are implemented on this material. Viewable by request during library opening hours at the Manx National Heritage Library and Archives, Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man. Advance notification of a research visit is advisable by emailing library@mnh.im