Edith KNAPTON (née Edith BELLAMY 1906-1993) whom I always knew as Aunt Edith was the younger sister of my grandmother Emily ASHFORTH (née Emily BELLAMY 1903-1992). Edith married George KNAPTON 1903-Deceased at Sheffield, Yorkshire in June 1926.

My recollections of Aunt Edith are:

A very loud voice.
A great gossip (in the nicest sense).
A shopkeeper (and owner of numerous shops, though not all at the same time, in and around Hillsborough, Sheffield).
Always referred to sweets as 'spice', which she always offered me when I visited her sweet shop at Holme Lane, Hillsborough, Sheffield.

Uncle George was the complete opposite: quiet and patient, and I seem to recall had an interest in electronics.

Aunt Edith and Uncle George had two children, a boy and a girl, both of whom, as far as I know, are still alive, so I will withhold their names for privacy.

During the summer of 1991 my younger sister and I decided to take our grandmother Emily who was still residing at Hillsborough, Sheffield to visit her sister Edith whom she had not seen for many years and who now lived at Bridlington, East Yorkshire. Edith's husband George KNAPTON 1903-Deceased was now deceased and Emily's husband Ernest ASHFORTH 1905-1990 had died at Sheffield in September 1990. Edith's son had moved away from Sheffield and settled at Flamborough near Bridlington, East Yorkshire and Aunt Edith who in her latter years lived close by her sister Emily at Sheffield, had taken up residence in a care home at Bridlington so her son could oversee her welfare. Both Emily and Edith were now in their eighties. My sister and I both felt that this might be the last chance that the sisters had of ever meeting again.

We arranged with Edith's son to meet at his house at Flamborough. He collected Aunt Edith from her care home and we collected our grandmother from Sheffield and drove to Flamborough, East Yorkshire. I had not seen Edith since she had moved to Bridlington and it was many years since I had seen her son. I was struck by how much weight Aunt Edith had gained, so much so, that for quite some time Emily failed to realise that this person was her sister Edith. Edith's son and his wife were very hospitable and we had an entertaining day listening to family reminisces.

A few weeks after this visit our grandmother Emily suffered a debilitating stroke that left her with limited movement. Emily died in November 1992 and her sister died a few weeks later in January 1993. So it turned out to be quite fortuitous that we arranged the meeting when we did.

I attended Aunt Edith's funeral at Sheffield and to date this has turned out to be my last meeting with the remaining members of the BELLAMY branch of the family.

Notes:
If any members of the BELLAMY / KNAPTON branches of the family happen to read this I would very much like to hear from them. To access my contact form please click here.