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Back to Charles North |
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Back to Charles Niven McIntyre North |
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Back to Father Edwin Gordon Niven North |
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FORWARD TO CHILDREN |
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F.W.G NORTH: WHAT WE KNOW |
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Gladys Peabody (above right) was one of the first women “Fannies” in the war trained to drive and maintain vehicles. She went with him to China in 1920 with daughter Joe (below right) but Jill and Jeremy were born in China. He started as technical salesman Kailan mining administration Tientsin. The family had a lavish lifestyle with 10 living-in servants and Gladys loved the social whirl and was always talking about it in later life . |
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The family left China in 1936 just ahead of the Japanese invasion, luckily for them as many of their colleagues and friends were put in prisoner of war camps. |
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FWGN joined Stephen Clarke and Asssociates 1936-1938 but contracted TB in 1938-1939, and had his lung collapsed (standard treatment). The second world war in 1939 and FWGN`s TB came as a great shock to the family after the Chinese lifestyle, especially as the family was very dispersed in the early days of the war, with all three children in boarding schools and FWGN in a sanitorium. He served in the Civil Defence force after coming out of his sanitorium.He was Director and Chief Mining Supplies Officer at the Ministry of Fuel and Power, then Chief Supplies Officer Coal Board from 1946 (Under Hugh Gaitskill). Domiciled in this period at 60 Moss Lane, Pinner and 1 Russell Grove Mill Hill 1943-1949. His lung was allowed up following antibiotic treatment in 1949 but he was hospitalised with severe thrombosis whilst gardening at 1 Russell Grove and died 36 hours later in University College Hospital in 1949, aged just 55 years old. Gladys survived him by over 40 years and gallantly and fiercely kept her independance, though towards the end she was always was touchingly gracious, courteous and appreciative of any help given. She lived until just before her 95th birthday Jeremy North, her son, said at her funeral: “My own first memories of her were very much as a struggling wartime wife and mother, keeping a home together whilst father went daily into the blitz to work by day and to firewatch by night sometimes too. She made it, like lots of women all over London, all seem quite normal even when the V1 and V2 weaons started to reach us in Pinner.” |
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