Vera Robinson

         

           Vera was born at St. Mary’s Hospital on May 29^th, 1923, one of two children to her parents. Her father worked for Post Office Engineering and they lived in Withington. During the War, she was a Plotter for the RAF and worked in a number of stations in the Norfolk area. After the War, she left Manchester and got a job in Canada, at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, a place that she and I used to talk a good deal about. Some of you will know that Vera loved Canada, and often spoke positively about it. Me being Canadian myself, perhaps made her more inclined to talk to me about it, but I think that there was always a little bit of Vera that wanted to be back in Canada. We human beings are often divided in our desires and loyalties, aren’t we, and after one has lived a long time in another country it sometimes becomes difficult to feel entirely at home anywhere. Anyway, she had a happy life there for something like twenty years. She liked the work and the people and she attended the local Salvation Army Church Services, but eventually her father here in England became unwell and she decided to return. It was on that return trip, on the ship, the Empress of Canada from the Canadian Pacific Line, that she met Joseph Robinson, a Chief Steward on that boat. He was apparently an attractive prospect, because a romance started and then blossomed, and sometime later they were married and settled right here, in this area. Their first home was on Devonshire Road just down the road from here,  and eventually they ended up in the place that Vera was to reside in for the rest of her life on Beresford Road. Joe had continued to work for Canadian Pacific on their ships but sadly came down with Multiple Sclerosis. He was, I am told, a really great guy, generous and good, and it was great that Vera had him, but of course she returned the compliment by taking care of him for about fifteen years, as he slowly degenerated before he died in 1983. She missed him terribly, his death made a big hole in her life, but by then her mother had moved in with them and so, when Joe died, Vera put her energies into looking after mother. Her mother too, I am told, was lovely but eventually, she also died and then Vera set her mind to caring for others.

           And now I want to say a few words about Vera’s character, a dubious thing to do about anyone really because all of us are complex, and mixed with good and bad, and none of can be easily summed up but I do want to say a few things about her. She wasn’t perfect. None of us are. She liked to speak her mind and sometimes did so in ways that could be a bit hurtful but always, I think, with the intention of bringing about some greater good, because she really cared about people. She had a great sense of right and wrong and when she knew about a certain wrong she was prone to do everything that she could to right it... and sometimes in the process she was a little insensitive but she was a firm defender of fair play and a strong advocate for anyone who had received unjust treatment. She was a great friend, a fierce protector of all those in her circle, and she tried hard in one way and another to look out for, and after, others. Not only did she give years of care to her husband and mother she went on to support various charities including The Women’s Refuge House that was once on Palm Grove, The Ark, Action for Children and The Bold Street Bread Church in Liverpool. And when I say that she supported these charities it wasn’t just a matter of giving her own donation. She also organised fund raising, manned tables at church functions where she sold goods in support of a certain charity, and spearheaded support from others, strongly. One of the last things she said to me at the hospital was “Blair, you’ve got to keep the bread church going.” And, of course, she said it in a way that precluded any negative response from me. I felt for a moment like I was being given a great commission not unlike the ones that we find in the Bible, to which only proper response could be, “here am I Lord send me!” At first, I thought that she wanted me to keep that church going all by myself, a little unfair really given that I have one or other jobs I have to do, but then I realized that what she really wanted was for the Bread Church fundraising that she had organised and worked for here at TwPG to continue....and she was commissioning me with that responsibility...a responsibility that I intend to fulfil...so all in all my answer is still “here am I Lord send me and I will have a try at it.”

           Vera had a very strong faith and that faith shaped her view of the world and also fired her sense of justice. She prayed regularly, or at least she often consulted with the one that she respectfully referred to as the Boss. Often, I think she had questions for God about why the world was the way it was, and indeed the Boss may well be getting something of  a grilling from her in some more heavenly place even now, but always her questions were from point of someone who trusted in and cared about the good of God and the good of people. Originally, I think she was a Primitive Methodist and she felt a deep sympathy for the work of the Methodist Church. She sometimes spoke about the Wesleys, and  of John Wesley in particular, with a real sense of respect but she was not close-minded. She was prepared to recognise and celebrate good wherever and in whomever she saw it. Finally, it must be said that Vera was not afraid to die and often spoke about death as kind of going home. Indeed, I don’t think she liked to use the word “death” at all, because she thought that it implied a finality that wasn’t in keeping with a God who never lets us go. We don’t know what comes after we die, but for Vera it wasn’t a terminal, cold, ending. The God who cares for us all our lives, who with us right through the glory and despair, the sadness and the joy, does not (said Vera) dessert us when our lungs stop breathing and our hearts stop beating, but in some mysterious way that we cannot understand, opens the door and welcomes us home. Resolutely, that is the way that Vera saw it. She was going home; Home to grace, home to love, home to peace and all good things eternal. Home to warmth,  home to light, home to that which is good and to all that good stands for;  Home to the creator of the Rocky Mountains and Vancouver Island and all that she loved about this country; Home to forgiveness, home to joy and ultimately home to the generous God who gives us our remarkable lives in the first place. Vera has not simply died. That would not have been the way that she would have wanted us to speak about it. Vera, instead, has gone home.       

 

Barbara Hunter

          

Barbara Campbell was born on December 8^th, 1922, in Birkenhead, the youngest of two children to her parents. Her father worked at Camalairds and they lived in Claughton on Ashburton Ave. She went to Birkenhead High school, which was evacuated in her six form year,1939, to Shrewsbury. She was very sporty; she was on the school tennis team and also enjoyed badminton. I understand that with the exception of one grand son, Dan, she was a little disappointed that her grand children did not follow pick up her sporting interests. She trained as a physiotherapist in Liverpool and qualified at the end of the War. After that she worked in four or five different places from Edinburgh to Warwick. Barbara met Frank in 1947 on a blind date. See what good can come from a blind date! Frank had meant Barbara’s brother, Graham, in Athens during the War and afterwards Graham was the special connection that led to Barbara. Apparently, Frank had access to his father’s car, a Rover, and that may well have added to his appeal. Cars were not that numerous in those days and to have the keys to a Rover was special but of course there was a lot more to it than that. They married in September of 1949 at Trinity Presbyterian Church and went on to have a very long and very happy marriage. Their honeymoon was Guernsey and Jersey for which the local travel agent here in Birkenhead booked the boat crossing. This proved to a problem though because unbeknownst to the travel agent the booked boat service was closed for the season. This meant that when they got to Weymouth, there was no passenger boat and they had to get a crossing a cargo boat. I understand that this cargo boat was rather basic, indeed rough and ready, and they had to sleep in separate cabins; Frank in one of the Men’s Cabins and Barbara in one of the Women’s….it was after all 1949 and mixed dormitories on cargo were perhaps not in vogue.

          

Barbara had three daughters, Jan born in 1952, Carol in 1954 and Sarah in 1957. The lived on Shrewsbury Road and Barbara and Frank actually resided in that home for 33 years. They created a secure loving home of which their children have many wonderful memories. Barbara was an excellent mother and a wonderful homemaker. She was always there for her children and indeed later on she was always there for her grand children. If something went wrong she was strong and supportive and a great comfort. She provided sensible advice and a sympathetic ear. I am told that she was really the hub of the family and that she kept in regular touch with all family members by phone and by letter. Even when the grand children were in places like Singapore, Chile and Mexico Barbara kept writing and phoning and showing them that they were very much in her thoughts.

          

Barbara and Frank celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary last month…a considerable achievement. With a view to Barbara’s failing health their 60^th was a low key affair but ten years earlier, at their golden anniversary, they had a proper party and celebration, complete with a Marquis in the garden.

          

Barbara suffered from arthritis from her late forties. This proved a matter of considerable pain for her. She had two hip operations in the late eighties…..and then seven years ago she had major heart problems that required a quadruple bypass, but she was strong throughout all of this. For the most part Barbara was able to stay at  home, with Frank supporting her,  right up until her last trip to the hospital. Barbara was a very determined person, so even though she was in great pain she kept going and she kept things in perspective. Friends often remarked on her cheerfulness and her smile….and to be sure she did have a wonderful smile.

          

With a view to her determination Jane, Barbara’s district nurse, tells the story of how she visited Barbara for about five months in order to treat her leg. At that end of this period, there was a special meeting with the occupational therapist and physiotherapist at which they talked to her about the things that she would need to do and the support that she would require. Apparently, it was quite a long discussion because they wanted to make sure that Barbara understood what she was going to have to do get better. Barbara listening attentively and then, having understood, she thank them, smiled, and said “Well, I won’t be doing any of that.” This proved to entertaining, if a little frustrating, for those who were trying to help her but Barbara was very much her own person and that is an important thing to hold on to at any age.

          

By way of interests, she did voluntary work delivering with Wheels on Meals for some years. She was also very interested in art and history. With an organization called Nadfas she documented the church treasures and contents in this locality. She was very interested in and very proficient at cooking. She liked to provide meals for family and friends. She talked to everyone and was genuinely interested in other people She loved the countryside and when she was able she loved walking. She also loved the garden and was able to make all kinds of things grow. On occasion, I understand that she had to stop Frank from pulling out her flowers when he thought that he was pulling some weeds and this too was a matter of some entertainment.

She had green fingers and was excellent at propagating plants. Indeed, things in general just seemed to flourish under her care and that care, I know, will be warmly remembered and greatly missed by all of you.

 

 

Friends Remembered

Vera Robinson, Barbara Hunter,

Glyn Edwards, Bobby Jones,

 

 

 

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