Mum was born in Guildford on 8th March 1936 to Florence and Albert Crane. Mum lived and grew up in Guildford with her siblings Ron, Bettie, and her younger brother Alan (who arrived a few years after Mum).

Clearly, I don’t have lots of knowledge of this time but I do know Mum raced bicycles around dirt tracks with the Park Panthers in Guildford. As I found out the last time I spoke to Mum, she was useless at darts, unlike the rest of her siblings!
She met Dad and married on the day before her 21st birthday. They were mattied for 63 years. After getting married they moved to Boxall’s Lane in Aldershot. I arrived a year and half later, followed by Douglas (or Doog as he became known by me) 2 ½ years after that.

Mum and Dad moved to Farnborough in March 1960 and lived in a block of flats. She made lifelong friendships with other young couples and their families such as Yvonne and Dave, Daph and Les and June and Tom.

My memories of life in Farnborough at this time are many (perhaps I ought to write them down for my funeral!). But I guess it’s ok to say that Mum and Dad didn’t have lots of money and things were tight. Mum made sure we were always looked after in every way that she could. She was very much a family person and always ensured we kept close to all of Mum and Dad’s family as well as her friends.
One of the funniest moments I can recall of Mum is her first day out on the moped she bought. She didn’t quite make a corner and ended up wedged between a road sign and a GPO box.

This last year has been a trial for Mum as she had a couple of falls that seriously affected her already limited mobility following a stroke around 6 years ago. After several years of trying, we managed to get Mum and Dad somewhere new to live where they could continue to be independent but have the care that they would need. Mum was so looking forward to moving in and managed this on 24th July. Sadly, she only managed 5 days in her new flat as the dreaded illness started to take hold more forcefully. I’m probably not alone in thinking we did all we could for Mum during this time but at the end death was a relief for Mum. I know she thought the same.
My last memories of Mum are in a somewhat delirious state. She knew she didn’t have long left and said so. She wasn’t angry or distressed but was seeing things we couldn’t, talking about the past and most importantly, smiling. She always had a smile for everyone. She even joked about needing someone to nag Dad after she’s gone.

Mum was a special person and was widely loved my many as a generous and caring person. I will miss the person I have known all my life and has always been there for me.

I love you Mum and I think you know how much I’ll miss you.

Chris xxxx