Margaret Huggett (17 Sep 1941 - 13 Jun 2021)

In loving memory of Margaret Huggett who sadly passed away on 13th June 2021
Margaret Reid, as she was then, was born on 17th September 1941 in Canning Town, London. She had one older brother, Alan. She left school at 15, having played netball for Essex Schools in her teenage years.

She quickly secured employment at Collaros in Barking. They manufactured gramophones and record players. At the age of just 16, Mum was in charge of an assembly line of women. I’m sure that’s no surprise to any of us!

She then changed jobs to work at BICCs in Tottenham Court Road, in the heart of the City of London.

She always dressed smartly, and I can picture her, running across from Fenchurch Street Station to Tower Hill in her stilettos. Her diaries reveal that she was sometimes late for work.

She had first seen Ray, Dad, when he came to her school to play the piano in a concert. She was a typical cheeky schoolgirl, and I can imagine her giggling away with her mates through the entire performance.

But, with Dad’s Uncle Reg being a foreman where she worked in Collaros, the relationship continued from those early years and blossomed.

Dad was obviously the shy retiring type, so he got his uncle to ask mum out on his behalf! Dad said he couldn’t believe that someone as stylish and beautiful as mum would say, “Yes.”

They started going out in 1959 and were married on 3rd February 1962 at Barking Registry Office, and (cough) I was born six months later.

Sue followed in 1963, and Collette in 1965. In 1967, the family moved to Benfleet.

In those early years, there was one particularly happy childhood holiday in 1976, with all of us going down to Padstow in Cornwall. We stayed in an apartment above a shop by the harbour, and I can remember, when we got there, thinking, “Wow, how posh!”

Us three girls sat on the harbour wall, our legs dangling over the edge, fishing, while Mum and Dad sat and watched us, beaming with contentment and pride.

Mind you, that holiday also featured the boat trip where Collette threw up all over the captain’s shoes!

Dad spent most of his working life as a compositor initially in London, which often involved night shifts, whilst Mum took a succession of daytime jobs to ensure that she was around for us girls.

She worked in the kitchens at our junior school, taking qualifications so that she could also be a cook. And then she became a cleaner at the secondary school where we went.

I am sure that she did this, so that she could keep an eye on us. I can imagine her sidling up to one of the teachers and saying, “My Caroline, how’s she really doing at maths?”

After our school years were over, she took a job at Sainsbury’s in the finance office in Rayleigh, where she stayed for over 20 years, rising to a responsible position in that organisation.

She retired at the turn of the millennium, and, always ready to drop everything and help anyone; she was there to support her children and grandchildren when needed. This was in addition to visiting and helping her own mum when she came to live in a care home nearby.

In recent years, mum’s health deteriorated, and she found getting around more difficult as the time went on. Her trips out became less and less frequent, as she increasingly felt the need to stay close to home, where she was most comfortable.
She died on 13th June 2021. She is survived by Dad, us three girls, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

(Pause)

How, then, should we remember Margaret, Mum? What do we think of when we think of her? Each of us will have our own thoughts and memories.

Liverpool Football Club? We don’t know quite why, but Mum was a huge fan – Bill Shankly and Emlyn Hughes were her particular heroes in the 60s and 70s – through to Stevie Gerrard and Jurgen Klopp today.

I can still see her standing in front of the TV when they were playing in the European Cup in the 70s, jumping up and down, shouting and swearing at the screen – and of course blocking everybody else’s view.

I’ve always suspected that Dad has really supported West Ham all these years, but had to keep quiet about it, being dragged off to Liverpool on a regular basis.

What else? Some of you will remember that mum was quite a character with a cheeky sense of humour.

Only just over five foot tall, she has been described by many as short and slight, but also direct, determined, brave and just a little bit scary. She certainly never suffered fools gladly.

Mum was always there for us to listen, and she would definitely give her opinion, and it was usually right as we would find out in the long run!

She was very special to all of us, and we were very special to her; in recent weeks we have discovered that mum had kept so many cards which had been given to her over the years for valentines’ day, Christmas, Mothers’ day and her own birthday.

She also loved Yorkshire – God’s own country, as she called it. We girls arranged for Mum and Dad to visit York for their 25th Wedding anniversary, and I think that was the start of their love affair with the county.

She loved York, Yorkshire Tea, Last of the Summer Wine, all that. And it was great that mum and dad were able to go up again last summer, at the end of the first lockdown.

What else will we remember her for? Her legendary roast dinners perhaps. Her love of Neil Diamond and Johnny Mathis, South Pacific and My Fair Lady.

Perhaps, more than Liverpool or Yorkshire, or roast dinners or American singers, we’ll remember her for her love of family and her caring support for all of those close to her.

Because, when the chants from the Kop have all died down, and the Yorkshire puddings have all been digested, that is the piece of her that will live on in us.

What will survive of us all is love.

Rest in Peace, Mum. I love you.