When my mum passed away, we discovered a a collection of notebooks full of fascinating memories of growing up in Somers Town, London NW1.

Her story is from the unique viewpoint of a young woman, growing up amid war and poverty, and paints a vivid picture of a world marked by hardship, but also resilience and the close bonds of family.

Childhood in Hard Times

She was born in 1926 in Somers Town during the Great Depression into very poor circumstances, and was thirteen when World War II began. At the age of fourteen they family were evacuated to Leicester, where her mother was desperately ill in hospital.

At the age of just fourteen she was took on the responsibility of carrying for her three younger brothers.

Family Roots & Strong Women

Her mother was the eldest of seventeen children.

Her father’s background remains a mystery, and an intriguing family puzzle yet to be solved.

Her paternal Grandmother was a suffragette and her Maternal Grandfather the first Pearly King of St Pancras’.

A London Vanished

The book takes us on a fascinating journey into a London long vanished, bustling markets, coal yards, local shops, and unforgettable neighbourhood characters.