Emma Sunter 1893-1978
Both the birth and death certificates for Lofty’s mother Emma arrived today, and, as ever there is some sadness.
First the good news…
The birth certificate shows that Emma was born on 16th August 1893 to John William Marsh and Jane Marsh (formerly Spencer). John William Marsh was a Pit Sinker and the family was living at Hickleton Main Cottages, Thurnscoe.
Hickleton Main was a colliery and the cottages were provided for its workers:
Victorian Countryside, by G. E. Mingay – Google Books
The birth certificate gives confirmation that Emma’s mother’s maiden name was Spencer.
The death certificate adds to the evidence that Emma became institutionalised.
Her death was recorded as taking place at Winterton Hospital, Sedgefield, Durham on 16th January 1978. Loft is given as the informant.
Winterton Hospital appears to have been an asylum. There is no indication of how long she had been in the institution.
In the nineteen seventies, when Lofty was researching his own family history, he asked me to drive him up to see his rediscovered mother.
We tried to go up on a Winter’s morning, but we had to turn back because of fog on the motorway (my first experience of motorway madness). The radio was broadcasting that Graham Hill, the racing driver had died in a plane crash the day before. So this must have been 30th November 1975 (I wonder why I was off school?). The visit was rescheduled for early the following year.
I remember sitting in a bay window, the light behind me, when they wheeled in Emma. Lofty gave her a hug and looked towards me with tears in his eyes – clearly moved.
The nurse said to Emma “here’s your son Emma”. Her response was “Billy? Is it Billy?” and, sadly, that was about the extent of the conversation.
Lofty was stoic on the way home and explained that when his father disappeared she had been put in a workhouse and had never really left institutions in one form or another.
On Emma’s death the state, having stolen her life, having pushed her from one institution to another, having placed Lofty in a children’s home at the age of 3, sent him the bill for the funeral.
‹ 1901, Who, What , Where, When Lofty enters children home ›