Amy HEDGES (11 Aug 1921 - 11 Mar 2018)

In loving memory of Amy HEDGES who sadly passed away on 11th March 2018 at Dennyshill Care Home, Exeter.

Amy was born at 2.50pm on 11 August 1921, her twin sister Mary was born at 3.20 pm. Amy and Mary remained close in spirit, if not physically all their lives until Mary’s death in 2013. While Amy was one of twins with no other siblings, her Mother was one of 6 and her Mother’s mother was one of 4, so large families were the norm.

During her early childhood, Amy’s parents, Alfred and Alice Grace, lived in Twickenham and her Father was a builder’s material checker, later moving to Medstead where he owned and ran his own building firm.

Amy started work at the Richmond & Twickenham Post Office in May 1938. Research suggests that a certain John Hedges started work at the same Richmond & Twickenham office around a year before, in March 1937. Amy and John married on 12th May 1941 at St.Stephens Church, East Twickenham.

Amy was employed during the war years at the Post Office in Bentalls Store in Kingston, Surrey. Rosemary, her eldest daughter was born in 1942 and was looked after in the store nursery during work hours. Amy and Rosemary would travel by train from St Margeret’s station to Kingston Station each day.

John Hedges was demobbed from service in July 1946 and on leave for three months, before returning to employment in the Post Office (now known as the Royal Mail) until retirement.

The family lived at various homes in Twickeham, before moving to Sunbury-on-Thames after the four older children left home. In 1974 John left his job at the Post Office in Twickenham to become the Sub-Postmaster at East Harling Post Office, Thetford, Norfolk. The family then moved to North Bradley Post Office, Wiltshire, where they stayed until John’s death in 1979.

Amy and Christine then moved to Barrington Post Office living next door to Rosemary and her family until 1985, when Amy and Christine moved to North Tawton in Devon. Amy lived there with Christine, who married David in 1993, until ill health triggered a move into Dennyshill Residential Care Home, in September 2016. The wonderful care, consideration and affection Amy was given whilst living at Dennyshill made the last few months of Amy’s life much richer, allowing her to make new friends and stay safe and well until her final illness and passing.

Throughout her life Amy had a love of gardening and flowers, thinking nothing of landscaping banks and gardens to achieve the look she wanted. Even at Dennyshill, she helped with the planting of bulbs and grew her own tomato plants. Although coming later in life to the concept of travelling, for many years she would fly to Canada to visit her sister, and France to spend time with John & Lynne, and with Dorothy, travelling into her 90’s. Also later in life she (fairly gingerly) became a ‘silver-surfer’ using the computer to email family and friends and research her flights to France and things she wanted to buy. She was never trusting enough to purchase online, always passing that job to Christine, and never lost the habit of printing photos letters and emails and posting them to others – probably a product of her life long association with the Royal Mail!

Amy leaves behind five children, 7 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren.