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PREAMBLE
TO
PART TWO
If you have just picked up this booklet, and thumbed through its pages, you will be aware that I have written it with the aim of shedding some light on my Mother, Florence May Dunsdon’s , ancestors.
It is the second in a series of booklets that I hope to write, all under the same running title, of Wednesday’s Child. The first booklet, written in a similar vein, was to give an insight into where my Father, John Mills’ ancestors originated.
There is no way that either of these could be described as being ‘definitive’ family histories, as there are too many ‘unknowns’ on both sides for them to be wholly accurate. Nevertheless, I am hoping that they will give an indication as to where the families originated from, where they were living, and what sort of work they were involved in.
Hopefully, subsequent booklets will continue follow which will deal with my own life, breaking it down into seven or eight year periods, starting from when my parents married in 1930. They will then progress through the years of my birth and childhood, right up until the moment that I have to stop ----- for whatever reason! By doing it in such a way, it will enable me to work on different sections, as the mood takes me. It will also make it easier for me to amend, add, or delete passages as necessary ---- thus making very generous allowances for my ‘grasshopper memory’ ---- and ensuring that I achieve as much chronological accuracy as possible.
The reason I have decided to call the series Wednesday’s Child is because, whenever my dear old Mum and I talked about the circumstances of my birth, she constantly reminded me that I was born on the 13th July 1938, at 2.30pm, on a miserably wet Wednesday afternoon. Strangely, whilst she was alive, I never really ironed out with her as to whether she remembered the exact timing so pointedly because, (a) it was the joyous day on which I entered her life, or (b) merely because it had been a ‘miserably wet afternoon’!
The idea of writing a series of booklets, has been largely brought about by the fact that I have reached that certain age, where one looks back over one’s life and realizes just how quickly it has all passed. Not only that, by ‘looking back’, it has also made me aware of how little I actually knew about the lives of my parents and grandparents!
As a child, and as a young adult, I merely lived for the day and cared little
about the past. My parents, grandparents and other relatives were all
extremely kind, loving and attentive, but in those days, I never ever thought
the time would come when they would no longer be around. Consequently,
I rarely asked any questions about their early lives. And, even if any ‘ancestors’
were mentioned, I paid precious little heed to what was being said about them.
That is something I now regret! Mind you, I do tend to think that this
is trait which affects most ‘young generations’
---- and is not something that just applied to me! To a certain
extent, I can see the self-same thing happening with my own children and
grandchildren. They don’t ask many questions about ‘family’, but ----
like me ---- the day will come, when they will eventually want to ask a question,
and they will realize that they too have missed their opportunity. Therefore
if I write down what I know, it might go some way to answering any questions
they might have in the future.
I am now into my 67th year, and to my mind, I really haven’t done anything with my life that could even vaguely be construed as being worthy enough to warrant it being committed to paper. What’s more, the very idea that somebody might actually want to read about it, or about my ancestors, seems about as likely as me being given a trip to the moon!
At the very outset, the best that I can boast, is that my life has covered a period of time where vast changes have taken place in the world ---- none of which are attributable to me! The changes that have taken place in my lifetime have been quite amazing, and most certainly would have been unimaginable to my ancestors that lived back in the 1800's and early 1900's. Similarly, if my descendants should ever decide to give me a thought, they would probably find it just as unimaginable for me to have lived through times which will seem quite primitive to them. So maybe, just ‘maybe’, my story might hold a modicum of interest for anyone leafing through its pages.
Because I have never attempted anything like this before, I do have some doubts as to whether or not I will ultimately achieve my goal. However, I am hoping that my Maker, will grant me the will-power to carry it through, the ability to make it interesting ---- and perhaps more importantly ---- the time to get it all down on paper!
Whatever the eventual outcome of Wednesday’s Child, I know that I will have appreciated the excuse that the idea affords. Not only will it have enabled me to research my family’s history, it will have also allowed me to sit quietly and recall memories of family and friends, all of whom have played their part over the years to make my life so enjoyable ---- and I thank everyone for that.
A. J. Mills, Borstal, Kent, (March 2005)
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