Our Aunt, Mary Nuttall, died on 10 January 2023 in her own bed, in her own home. She had reached a good age (97 and a half). Mary was born in Madras where her father was a Major, later Lt Colonel in the Indian Medical Service and she had many memories of her early life in India. She came to England as a schoolgirl and attended Wadhurst College in East Sussex.
At the outbreak of the war she joined the Wrens (as she liked the hats) and when she was told there were no vacancies, she managed to persuade them to take her on, as she explained one of her relatives was a paymaster on a ship of Nelsons. She worked at Stanmore, an outpost of Bletchley Park, but was unable to tell anyone, even her parents what her work entailed.( Roll of Honour | Bletchley Park)
She had a long association with Walberswick as her parents bought Dudley Cottage in 1946, then her Uncle Laurie moved to the village and Mary eventually inherited his house. Mary worked in London as a Personal Secretary for Halcrow Construction, then retired to Walberswick. She was involved in many groups in the village including WATS, writing short plays for their January performance and also the History Group and the WI. Mary enjoyed services at the church, especially the carol service and the evensongs.
Mary would eagerly await the arrival of her newspaper every morning, completing the sudoko puzzles and crosswords. She was painting watercolours regularly mainly of the flowers in her sitting room. She also loved her garden and would, until recently walk down the path to the end of the garden and it was good to see that some of the snowdrops were just coming out on the day she died.
We would like to thank all those who gave support to Mary
- Those from the Walberswick Support Group during the covid years and beyond. She was always very grateful for your help, friendship and the food you provided
- Margaret, her cleaner, who not only cleaned and sorted her washing but also brought her things from the shop over many years
- Reg, her gardener, who worked for her for over 30 years and kept the garden she loved looking wonderful
- Her friends in the village
- The carers from Prestige, who she considered her family and friends
- The Anchor, who provided her weekly ‘fish and chip supper’, which she always looked forward to and really enjoyed and those who collected this and brought it to her house
- Neighbours who also brought in meals for her
- And all those whom I may have forgotten.
Tessa and I would like to invite you all to a ‘Tea Party’ to celebrate Mary’s Life on Friday 17 March at 3.30pm at the Anchor. You will be welcome to tell us any stories or your memories of Mary, if you so wish. We would love to see you there.
Hannah Isherwood and Tessa Newcomb.
Mary's own words have featured in the History Group's Newsletter on a number of occasions.
In October 2020 Mary described her part in bringing the War to an end in 1945, as a Codebreaker in the WRNS (Women’s Royal Naval Service). She explains that when she left school at 16/17 she had already made up her mind that she wanted to join up. "I thought the WRNS; their hats were much nicer." You can read the fascinating account about the codebreaking process here in issue 62, including how her Great, Great, (several greats) Grandfather, Frederick Newcomb was Paymaster General in the Navy in Nelson’s time.
Mary described post-war Walberswick, Walberswick in 1946, where she give an insight into the changes of the last eighty years. "What a different village from today! A quiet little backwater, rather than a popular holiday village as it is sometimes described as today, about half the size to start with. As you drove in, opposite Westons one had a fine, sometimes bleak view across fields to the sea." You can read the full article here in issue 50.
Mary's recollection of VE Day follows:
Remembering VE Day
I cannot describe the euphoria that overcame me on that day when ‘Peace in Europe’ was declared. This first thing that struck me was the lifting of the blackout. Streetlights lit up. People could fling back their curtains and let the light stream out, and they did. We were still finding our way around with a small torch with a layer of tissue per over the bulb, to lessen the glow.
I was in the WRNS and, on that night with some of my friends, we made our way to outside Buckingham Palace, where we cheered and cheered, especially when the King, Queen, Princesses and Churchill came out onto the balcony. Huge crowds, many in uniform, all so joyous, dancing and cheering.
The throng carried us along, down the Mall, to Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. Churchill came out onto the balcony of one of the buildings and made the famous speech “This is Your Victory”. There must have been tannoys erected, as his words echoed everywhere and the cheering went on, drowning anything else he might have added.
At some stage we reached Piccadilly Circus and gazed at the lights and advertisements. Among them I remember Johnny Walker with lights making him walk along. Now we might think “how tawdry” but nothing like this had we seen for five or six years.
It was a wonderful feeling to realise that no longer would we hear of ships being sunk (no survivors was the norm), of aircraft that never returned, or of the high casualty rate of fighting in Europe (Japan was yet to surrender). And on the home front, the blitz, the bombing of towns and cities, doodle bugs, the threat of ‘A’ bombs or other deadly missiles that the Nazis might send over, they were not going to happen anymore, and our lives would be safe.
Of course, there was the realisation that war was still being waged in the Far East. Many men, women and children’s lives had been cut short. I had lost three of my childhood friends; two drowned at sea, one a prisoner of the Japanese. My brother had survived and was in the Middle East and thankfully would be returning to England sometime soon.
But any gloomy thoughts were banished. This day was one of rejoicing and jubilation.
Mary Nuttall