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All Saints', Wrington
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All Saints', Wrington
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| Yvonne never owned very much and never had much power, but she did influence those who knew her. I have known her since 1975, shortly after her husband, Frank Cliff, died. In many ways, hers was a life, from the start marked with hardships and difficulties but you would certainly not have thought that on meeting her. When I first met her, she was a dainty little woman, clearly of French descent. She was feisty and determined and if she had made her mind up to do something, nothing would deflect her! She was born on Jersey in 1925 and brought up in an orphanage – a bleak environment by any standards. When she was nine, she developed an ear infection which was neglected. This turned into a mastoid and then to meningitis. There were no antibiotics in those days and the only way to save her life was to remove the ear drum and leave a hole, the size of a 20p piece behind her ear to allow further infection to escape. She was thus left completely deaf in one ear and with limited hearing in the other. She would continue, throughout her life to have to have regular treatment for her ears as doctors struggled to retain her second ear-drum. She had a further horrendous operation performed by a German doctor on the Island. It was not horrendous because he was cruel – quite the contrary, he was a fine surgeon – but because there was little pain relief available. She did not learn to read until she was eleven. She was given some books by the guardians of the orphanage one Christmas and, almost as boldly as Oliver Twist, said, ‘What good are these to me? I can’t read.’ It had the desired effect; a special tutor was found for her and she developed a joy of reading which she never lost. No Mills and Boon for Yvonne – she liked travel and biography. She also learnt to lip-read and tells the story of waiting in a queue, and lip-reading a woman at the front commenting adversely on Yvonne’s new hat. Yvonne marched up to her and said, ‘Did you pay for it?’ The poor woman was most perplexed since she had only made a whispered comment. When she was fourteen, she was sent to work on the farm of one of the leading families on Jersey – the Richardsons. She became very close to them. She returned to Jersey at regular intervals throughout her life and always received support from this family. She was caught up in the German occupation of Jersey and some years ago, Richard Thorn and I managed to get her stories of these frightening and exciting times recorded and written up, thus enabling her to give talks to the WI and the MU. I recall her telling me of how, towards the end of the war, when the whole island – Germans and Islanders – was starving, she went and waited overnight for the first supply ships to arrive from Britain. She was given a large loaf of bread and half-a-pound of butter. She said that she walked back up the hill, taking alternative bites from the loaf and the butter! She came over to England at the end of the war for further treatment at the BRI for her ears. This treatment continued throughout her life and included a much later operation on her other year to enhance what hearing she had. She was an excellent needlewoman and got a job at Tailors’ (a top-class store which was where Habitat now is). To gain the post of ‘alteration hand’, she had to hand-make a buttonhole in ten minutes! She told me that this was one of the happiest times of her life. She joined Bristol Operatic Society to help make the costumes and would cycle from her bed-sit in Redland to rehearsals. She was then diagnosed with TB; this was quite common in young people from Jersey because of the near-starvation there during the war. The Red Cross probably saved her life by sending her to Switzerland for treatment. Of course, the discovery of streptomycin also helped thousands to make a full recovery from this formerly killer disease She then met Frank Cliff who was substantially older than her. He had volunteered for the First World War by lying about his age where he suffered severe wounds and scarring. They married in 1961 and moved to Wrington to a newly-built bungalow in School Road. This was to be their home for many years. Frank died in 1975 but Yvonne continued there until she had to move to Uphill Grange residential home three years before her death, following two strokes. Yvonne was very proud of her connection with the Cliff family and followed their fortunes eagerly. Her nephew by marriage, Michael Cliff has been a great support to her over years as one of her few remaining relatives. Her half-brother made her a name plate for her house: ‘Le petit Maison des Fleurs’, which proclaimed her French Jersey origins and her love of flowers. She filled the front garden with roses and the rear with vegetables. Naturally, she was an expert on potatoes and tomatoes. She was also an animal lover, in particular of dogs. Most people here will remember her three dogs: Pedro, the handsome black poodle, who went blind early, Mickey, the Westy, who had a will of iron and Benjy, the jolly little rescue dog who was the companion of her last years and now lives with Richard and Veronica Thorn. Twice a day, she could be seen, walking her dog. She would call in on her friends, just for a few minutes on the way. She was a faithful member of All Saints’ congregation and the Mothers’ Union. After Frank’s death, I think she found life lonely and difficult, but Cerise Lawson-Tancred, wife of the then Rector, Christopher, gathered her in to the Church Community where she made enduring friendships. I came to the village in 1974 and was quickly roped in to put on plays in Church, such as ‘Everyman’,’ Before the Flood’ and ‘Tobias and the Angel’. Yvonne assisted with costumes and props. She also assisted much later with the Easter Mystery Play Cycle which we put on twice. |
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