Margaret Bradley (28 Nov 1921 - 10 Nov 2017)

In loving memory of Margaret Bradley who sadly passed away on 9th November 2017

Margaret, my mother remembered

Margaret, my mother, had a long life; born in 1921, she would have been 96 in four days time. She had one son, two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

She loved her family, she was very fond of small children, she was outspoken, she hated crowds, going out for a celebration meal was an ordeal not a treat, she collected many soft toys and dolls, she was highly skilled at knitting and sewing and she was a great mum, grand mum and great gran.

One of six children, Margaret Simpson was born in a cottage in an isolated-row of four homes about half a mile outside of what was then the little village of Gleadless. Gleadless was at the top of one of the steep hills surrounding the City of Sheffield.

She was one of the three younger sisters. That is Joyce, followed a year later by Margaret and then a year later by Dorris. These three were a very close knit group. My mum loved that closeness; she was never alone and was always supported. She was very happy.

A story my mum told of that time was of the three sisters being in bed one night and Dorris had a cold and was coughing. My grandfather appeared with a bottle of cough medicine and proceeded to dose my mother, in spite of her protestations, in order to ease the cough.

All three sisters went to Guides. Margaret got badges for toy making, needle work and knitting; skills she excelled at all her life. However, she didn’t stay long in Guides declaring “I don’t like being told what to do”.

At fourteen she got a job delivering milk but was soon asked to help look after Annie, the sixth child, born to my grandmother in her late forties. Margaret developed a close, life long bond with Annie.

Soon after Annie was born, the family moved to a three-bedroomed detached house with a big garden on the edge of the village. This place featured large in Margaret’s story. It felt secluded and you could be isolated from the world there if you wanted.

Her teenage passion was the cinema, there were no televisions then. She had many books and magazines on films and film stars. On one trip to the cinema she met John Bradley my father. Margaret was married at the age of 19 in 1941. This was wartime and John was in the army soon serving in Burma (now Myanmar).

After the war, they moved to Bristol for John’s job as an outfitters manager. A letter he wrote at the time stated that the job came with a six room flat above the shop rent free. Margaret later described how all the families came down from Sheffield at separate times to visit for a holiday. She was very happy then. I was born in January 1948. John was to become a partner in the business that year. Margaret and John put down a deposit on a house in Clifton Bristol. Then, in October 1948, John died suddenly at the age of 29 at home from a massive internal haemorrhage before any help could arrive. It turned out he had been nursing for some time a tropical disease he picked up in Burma. John’s death was recorded as being in the service of his country.

Margaret returned to her parents’ house in Gleadless, Sheffield and her mother asked everyone to treat Margaret gently. Her sisters were very supportive. In the subsequent years Margaret didn’t venture from home much other than to visit her sisters regularly and her Aunt Annie. Happiness gradually returned.

Margaret was a very caring and supportive mum.

Knitting and toy making were passions of my mum. I remember from my early years how she made artificial flowers and knitted toys for the Gleadless Church fete. I always had knitted jumpers to wear, many with fancy patterns.

According to young Annie, my mum made a point of saying “I always speak my mind”. Those who knew her would agree with that.

Initially, grandad had insisted that my grandma was not to be used as a child minder. Later Margaret tried just a few different jobs but sometimes they would not last long. The longest job was as an outworker making jewellery at which she became quite skilled.

Annie got married and left home in 1958. My mum and I visited her often in Manchester. I got married and left home in 1970 and by 1973 grandad and grandma had died. Mum was at a loss as to what to do. Her sister Joyce came to her rescue as usual together with her husband Leslie. They came to live with her at the house in Gleadless. A few years later however, Leslie died suddenly and Joyce died shortly after.

Much to Doris’s dismay, we then moved Margaret to Keyworth in 1983. This was a new experience for my mum as she had always relied on living with her family. She moved next door to an elderly lady, Mrs Baily, once an active member of Keyworth Methodist Church. With Yvonne’s and Mrs Bailys help, Margaret became very involved with, and a member of, the Methodist Church. She made many friends including Muriel and Ernest Parks, Ruth Harmen, Marjory Knewstubb, Lois Selby and in particular Joyce Warr. She and Joyce went on lots of outings, some organised by Peter Curtis and she enjoyed all of them greatly.

Margaret joined the woman’s fellowship, time to reflect and the craft group where she again put her skills to use making many toys, knitted items and handicrafts for the Christmas fayre. This was a very happy time for my mother when she was at her most outgoing.

Sadly, Joyce Warr died and so did Ernest’s wife. Ernest and my mum became close friends. Great grandchildren began to arrive which was a delight for her and then my mum had a series of mini strokes which impaired her memory and awareness being diagnosed later with Alzheimer’s. Her morning trips to do Lois’s hair continued but mum lost all track of time and would turn up sometimes at 6:00 in the morning in summer as she got up when the sun came up. Lois never rebuked her. Ernest kept her on track with her pills reminding her by phone each day. When he died we would get phone calls from the people who bought his house asking us to come to collect my mum as she had walked round to visit Ernest having forgotten his death. Each time it was a new pain. I would take her shopping on Saturdays but had to keep her from buying soft toys on every trip. Soft toys were much more interesting than food.

She died peacefully after a short illness. She loved her family both past and present. She loved the church. Her family loved her and we will all miss her very much.