Muriel Lane

One of my mother's many cousins (a first cousin once removed) was Muriel Irene Lane who was born in 1908, a year before Mum. She and Mum got on well and corresponded right until Mum's death a couple of years ago. Then Muriel continued swapping Christmas cards and brief notes with Jo and I each year. Muriel had the most beautiful and distinctive handwriting and even on last year's Christmas card it was far more legible than mine has ever been.


Muriel married John Pearce and lived in Poole, Dorset, before moving to Stourport-on-Severn. They had one son and two daughters and after John died in 1996 Muriel lived with her elder daughter, Moira.

This morning I e-mailed Geoffrey Lane, another cousin, to check whether Muriel was still at Stourport-on-Severn (and effectively to check she was still with us) because her hundredth birthday was coming up nest week. Sadly it was to find out that she died a few days ago. She did not quite make it to 100, but from what Moira tells us, she was beginning to weary of life, and was rather less impressed than some of her relatives by the prospect of reaching such a great age. By sheer chance I caught Geoffrey as he was about to set off to the funeral - just six days before she would have been 100.

Our sincere commiserations go to Moira, Stuart and Hilary and their families.

Despite her marriage she was always known in our household as Muriel Lane. I met John a few times when he passed through Liverpool on his way to Ireland but so far as I can recall I never met Muriel, yet she will be missed. She was the last of a generation of real ladies and gentlemen.

The Lanes

 

William Henry Lane (standing left) and Adeline (seated with cap) with Cyril, Ronald and Arthur and relatives from the Dee family.

My maternal grandmother’s mother was born Louisa Sophia Lane in 1849. One of her brothers was William Henry Lane who married Adeline Dee. W.H. Lane was the proprietor and headmaster of Northampton House School. They had five children – Arthur; Cyril Albert born 1897; Ronald; Thomas Warden; and Muriel Irene born 1908. These five were therefore my Mum’s second cousins (and my second cousins once removed) and two of them – Cyril and Muriel - were in regular contact until Cyril died in the 1990s.


Muriel, who later became Muriel Pearce is still going strong and exchanges Christmas cards and good wishes with us each year – not bad for someone in their hundredth year. She lived for many years in Poole, Dorset, and more recently in Worcestershire.



Cyril, one-time house master at Radley college, was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1990 for environmental services for his work as a voluntary warden at Wychwood National Nature Reserve. He had been wounded in World War 1 and that same war had taken the lives of his brothers Ronald and Arthur.


I don’t know in which engagement Arthur died but this post card was sent by him to my grandmother on 21st June 1915 and was his last communication with her. It reads “Dear Auntie, Thought you might like one of the crowds of patriotic p.c.’s that are sold out here. Everywhere you go you always come across these cards; even hawkers selling them. We are now back at -----; for Divisional rest. Yesterday we had a Church Parade and H. C. {Holy Communion?}. This morning we have been out practising attacking. Love from Arthur.”