Remembering

Today is Remembrance Sunday and I am remembering my mum.

                                                                
Annie Maria King

Born 31 December 1921 at Wood Green, London
Died 25 August 1979 at Myland Hospital, Colchester

She was one of the youngest of 12 children, her parents owned a bakers shop in London.

As Private Annie Maria Ransom W216466 she served with the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a wireless operator from 28.08.42 - 17.05.46.

In 1958 she met and married John Arthur King, fifteen years her junior, a teddy boy and disapproved of by her family. She was 39 when I was born and 41 when my sister was born.

We lost her in 1979 to cancer, secondary to the initial breast cancer from 1974. She was far too young as were my sister and I, me being 18 just short of my 19th birthday, and my sister only just turned 17. But the greatest sadness of all is that she never saw any of her five grandchildren, my own two and my sister's three. She would have loved them all and they her. Mind you I don't know how they would have responded to hand knitted Fair Isle jumpers but they would have loved her lemon meringue pie.

What I remember and miss most is her laughter and her positive and courageous response to anything that came her way. Her kindness and consideration towards others even when it was sadly lacking towards her. For someone who genuinely had something to complain about, she never did. Just got on with her life without making a fuss and going out of her way to do what she could to help others. And there are plenty of people apart from her biased son who will testify to that and to the goodness of her character.

There is not a day that goes by when I am not thinking of her and missing her. And thanks to the internet I can share her with you. In May of 1998 I wrote this and gladly share it too.

ANNIE  MARIA

If I could have her back

for a day (just 24 hours),
I would choose a spring day
 

When the air was fresh and bright

and cool and sweet fragrant

I would not burden her with my heavy heart

but tease her until she laughed (like I used to)
 

Then I would kiss her goodbye and say thank-you

And tell her I loved her

as I should have done an eternity ago