Doris Holland (6 Mar 1923 - 28 Apr 2021)

In loving memory of Doris Holland who sadly passed away on 28th April 2021
Doris was born in Hampstead on 6th March 1923, the first born of Elizabeth & William Davis. She attended the local primary school & then won a scholarship to the prestigious Camden School for Girls/motto Onwards & Upwards! She was a good scholar & also enjoyed playing hockey, which she continued to play after she left school. The school was evacuated to the West Country during the war but her parents didn’t want her to go so she moved with them to Stanmore, where it was safer from bomb blasts. She attended Harrow College where she did a secretarial course. All dreams of becoming a doctor were ended due to the war & she spent 3 years of the war working at the Admiralty as a draughtsman , in the very building where Churchill had his bunker. She spent many evenings on doodlebug watch & nights spent sleeping in the underground during air raids, unable to get home. Their home in Stanmore had it’s windows blown out by bombings & mum told of nights spent sleeping in the Morrison shelter under the kitchen table. Eventually they moved out to rural Aylesbury before returning to East Sheen after the war.
Mum left the civil service & became secretary to Anthony Millward, later Sir Anthony, Chairman of the newly formed British European Airways. She spent holidays during the war working as a land girl in Kent and after the war she had cycling & youth hosteling holidays in Dorset with friends as well as skiing in Austria.
It was in 1951 she went to a dance with her friend Doreen, who worked with a ‘nice chap named Jack’ in the civil service, who brought his brother Peter along. The rest is history-64 years of it. They married on 14 th November 1953 in East Sheen, mum wearing a royal blue velvet dress. They honeymooned in Palma, Majorca-very exotic in those days. They flew from Croydon Aerodrome to Marseille & then on to Palma courtesy of BEA. As was the norm in those days, mum gave up work & became the homemaker in their new home on Whitton Avenue, Greenford, close to Jack & Marjorie.
Sadly mum & dad had a daughter who was stillborn, but went on to have ‘the twins’ , Shirley & Leslie. She rarely referred to us as the twins but always treated us as individuals. She baked cakes with us, took us on walks over Horsenden Hill, mended our grazed knees & nursed us through all the childhood illnesses. We always had plaice, mashed potato & peas when we were ill-worth being ill for! It also meant mum could go to the fishmonger & buy herself some scallops for lunch, which she loved. She was a member of the local Townswomen’s Guild & chair for a year. They arranged many evening classes & mum learned to make lampshades, did leatherwork-we both had pencil cases made by her-, canework & dressmaking. She made many of her own & Shirley’s clothes & of course Leslie’s knitted swimming shorts! She was always baking, making jams & marmalade & cooked plain wholesome food-rice was definitely only for puddings!
She saw us through our teenage years ,when we were living in Harrow on the Hill, relatively unscathed. She was our chauffeur to our various activities. At this time she was introduced to a neighbour- ‘Wiltshire like the county’ & mum replied ‘Doris Holland like the country!’ Touché-she was in fact Shirley’s new headmistress at Haberdashers!
Mum had immense patience, always encouraging but never pushy. And always kind & understanding, however, we knew if she disapproved-there was that little look....During this time dad was away every other week in Europe so mum got a part time job at Glaxo Laboratories as PA to the HR Director . She was also chief dog walker for her much loved English Bull Terrier, Bess. Family holidays were spent in Cornwall, Yugoslavia ( as it was then) & Menorca.
It must have been hard for mum when we both left home at the same time after our A levels but she was always on the end of the phone, interested to know what we were up to (censored versions!) & always pleased to see us & our friends. At this time they moved to Farnham, Surrey, as dad’s office had moved from Westminster to Woking. There mum made friends, learned to play bridge & did a cake decorating course. Her pride & joy, an Easter cake decorated with roses, was sadly eaten by Bess who had snuck upstairs into the room where mum was hiding it.
She experienced student life with Shirley when she stayed with her in Oxford , & in Edinburgh visited the tattoo & festival.
She had wonderful handwriting & exchanged fortnightly aerogrammes with Shirley during her 15 months travelling & nursing in Australia. Always so exciting to receive one at a remote post office in rural Australia telling of jam making, preparations for Les & Anne’s wedding & life in Surrey.
The next move was to Bedchester, Dorset after dad retired in 1981. They had 10 happy & busy years there spending many hours in the big garden together, walking & visiting friends. They travelled frequently, visiting Les & Anne in S Africa & then in Melbourne with their expanded family. Mum loved spending time with the grandchildren & helping Anne with them, sewing sequins on Jac’s dance outfits & watching Andrew & Mark play Aussie rules football. She didn’t cope well with the heat but loved the coastal trips & their adventures in Alice Springs & the journey on the Ghan train to Adelaide.
Their next move was to Stalbridge as Bedchester was a bit too remote when they reached their 70’s & mum no longer drove. In fact she never enjoyed driving & took 4 attempts to pass! Mum enjoyed living in their bungalow in Stalbridge with a large garden & easy access to shops. They continued to travel abroad, often with Jack & Marjorie or other friends & visited Australia every other year for up to 6 weeks. At home they were members of Probus & the local gardening club & went on trips to gardens & even the Houses of Parliament. They came up to East Bridgford fairly regularly to see us all & baby sat for Tom & Lizzie. Mum knitted lovely cardigans for Tom & Lizzie & jumpers for Andrew Jac& Mark- often with something on the front she felt was appropriate! She sent postcards to the grandchildren whenever they were away.
The next move to Sherborne seemed to coincide with mum’s memory deteriorating. She hid it well & dad always protected her. She would smile her lovely smile & say ‘I don’t remember’, but was good at writing down messages for dad, who left her notes around the house when he went out. Gradually her memory declined so that dad took over all the domestic chores & she was no longer able to knit or read. At 6pm she would disappear into the kitchen & start peeling potatoes for dinner if dad didn’t get there first. And of course 5.30pm was always ‘first of the day’ when the ice would slide into the gin glasses & they would sit in the conservatory with a few crisps & nuts & contemplate another lovely day spent together. And this is how we should remember mum/ grandma/ Doris, sitting contentedly with dad/grandpa/Peter in her lovely calm, unassuming way, happy with whatever life had in store for her.
The last move was to Lambley & the Nottingham Care Village where she & dad were so well cared for. Happy memories there too of meals out, dancing & singing in the lounge with the other residents & mum trying to escape & keep the staff on their toes. But always smiling & much loved & missed.