Reminiscences
This week our Vice Chairman, Roy Howard, reminisced about his upbringing in London during the blitz, his cousin Joss Naylor the Cumbrian fell-runner and his interests in mountaineering, music and ballroom dancing.
Roy gave his talk at very short notice because Mrs. Judith Yeats from Wesley Chapel was ill. He began by comparing life today with the period of his birth when there were no televisions, computers or washing machines. He explained how he overcame sickness as a child and how he has struggled to overcome agoraphobia all his life.
He saw the Crystal Palace on fire in 1936 and the Jarrow Hunger Marchers and later experienced the blitz. His family moved to Harrogate in 1940 and he attended Harrogate Grammar School. He was a capable violinist but found, as an adult, that his mother had thrown all his music away. Roy worked for years as a Civil Servant for the National Assistence Board.
He was a keen mountaineer, fell-walker and photographer and still enjoys ballroom dancing. During questions after his talk, he said that he is glad each day to be alive after a serious operation some years ago.
Roger Bancroft gave the vote of thanks and drew attention to the importance of recording this kind of family history for posterity.
John Taylor
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