My mom, Nellie Pratt, was born in Smithdown Road on 29th July 1920. I believe she lived their till she left Tiber Street mixed school on 5th July 1934.
In 1940 she married James Sydney Hesketh at the Parish Church of All Saints, Princes Park, Liverpool. James was in the Royal Engineers and they lived at 95 Alt Street.
Mom joined the ATS and in 1942 she was sent to Egypt where her husband was serving. Mom was mainly posted in Egypt, until 1943 when she discovered she was 3 months pregnant and managed to be allowed to board the last ship from Alexandria back to England. Mom gave birth to my half-brother Jim on May 1st 1944 . Unfortunately when Jim was 2 years old his dad went AWOL with another woman. Mom was devastated. She was living in lodgings, her last address was 90 Rockfield Road in Anfield, working 3 jobs: Woolworths , Dunlop in Speke and a bar job some evenings. She was constantly unwell suffering with her chest, Jim was getting older and it was more difficult to find care for him after school, so she had to make the agonising
decision to put him in a Dr Banardos home. Mom was so poorly she was sent to the Dunlop Convalescent home in Colwyn Bay. That is where she met my dad Joe Higgins, in 1952. Dad lived here in Birmingham so they used to write almost every day (I still have their letters). Dad met Jim several times and they hit it off. Jim travelled with Mom down to Birmingham and mom and dad were married October 3rd 1953. Mom had her utility bedroom furniture sent down and I still have the tallboy. Mom didn't visit Liverpool often, as she couldn't afford to but she missed it till she passed away in 1991. I started visiting Liverpool the year before it was city of culture. I call it my adopted city, l love it so much. And have found my cousin Peter who I haven't seen since I was 9 still living in his parents house, Rose Lane Mossley Hill.
Kindest Regards, Eileen Strawford
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