Edna May Bourne Langdale

My Aunt Edna died a few months ago. She was married to Uncle George, my mother's brother. Cousin Georgina gave me permission to post the wonderful tribute she wrote that appeared on the website of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity Aunt Edna supported.

Edna May Langdale

Enda May Langdale nee Bourne died on 11th April 2011. 

Mum was born and brought up in North West London and lived in Cainfield Avenue her whole life. As a girl she attended Wykeham School where she was a bright and exemplary pupil and a Prefect. Mum made long term friends, some still to this day.

During the war Mum was an evacuee and sent to the south coast to a nunnery arranged by Aunt Alice. When it became too dangerous she was sent to Western super mere [Weston-super-Mare in Somerset] , but was found starving with a jam sandwich, living in a coal hole and was promptly bought back to London, where she did experience the bombing.

Mum eventually met Dad - George. They married and together brought us up their two children Dale and Georgina. Among their many happy childhood memories are the big family Christmases that were celebrated at Aunt Peg’s or at home. The only thing we didn’t like was having to wait until the evening to open our presents.

After school Mum became a hairdresser. She worked for a number of years at Barry’s in Neasden employing all the techniques of the day such as tonging. When we came along she stayed at home to look after us, but continued to work from home cutting neighbour’s and friend’s hair. Mum was lucky to learn the style of cutting from Vidal Sassoon for Aunt Peggy. We will always remember the smell in the house on Thursday which was always perm day.

In the early 1970s Mum joined BT. She was involved in clerical work and rose to become a Higher Executive Officer. She was once invited to become part of the computer team due to her knowledge of Binary Code. Mum worked at BT until her retirement at sixty.

It was a proud day when Georgina married David in 1978. The family has now expanded to include grandchildren Mark and Alex.

There have been a number of things Mum has enjoyed over the years. She was a talented portrait painter and produced work that anyone would be proud to hang on the wall, Dad and ourselves were her models. She always loved music of all kinds and from all eras and she loved to dance. She continued to paint and dance into her latter years and she also took up knitting.

Another of Mum’s loves was shooting. She represented her club in Kiel in Germany and Fuengirola in Spain, where she came second in the ladies competition. In later years Mum’s arthritis prevented her from competing, but she still enjoyed watching Dale shoot and especially looked forward to trips to Bisley. At one time the family owned a caravan at Bisley which was painted in Mum’s colour choice – vivid blue. She enjoyed gardening, flower arranging and Bowls down at Roundwood Park playing in competitions.

There always have been dogs in the family. The last three were Skipper, a Black Labrador, Milly, the mad Patterdale terrier, and Benjamin, a Miniature Dachshund who was always at Mum’s side, following her everywhere.

Mum was a proud grandmother and she always took great pleasure from her trips to visit Mark and Alex. Mum loved her visits to Bedfordshire. The boy’s memories are of her coming to pick them up from school and their visits to London for lavish meals and play with her dogs.

There are two events in Mum’s life which both involve flying and were highlights for her. On her sixtieth birthday Dale arranged for her to go up in a hot air balloon helping her fulfil a lifelong ambition. The other flying experience took place in Canada where her nephew took her up in a plane allowing her to take the controls and once even wing tipping around the CN Tower.

Unfortunately Dementia started in her late 60s, but she was still able to enjoy holidays at the caravan, at Shirley’s in Southsea and Havant and with Gina and David and boys in Bedfordshire and Devon. In her final years she loved to sing and dance, and listened to 50’s to 70’s music till the end.

We would like to thank all for their kind words and hope that you will remember Mum in your own way.

Dale and Georgina

When I come to the end of the road

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me,

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little ~ but not too long

And not with your head bowed low.

Remember the love that we once shared.

Miss me ~ but let me go.

For this is a journey that we all must take

And each must go alone.

It’s all a part of the Master plan,

A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart,

Go to the friends we know

And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.

Miss me ~ but let me go.

Author Unknown

After Glow

I’d like the memory of me

to be a happy one.

I’d like to leave an after glow

of smiles when life is done.

I’d like to leave an echo

whispering softly down the ways,

Of happy times and laughing times

and bright and sunny days.

I’d like the tears of those who grieve,

to dry before the sun

of happy memories

that I leave when life is done.

Added by: Georgina Faithful on 15 May 2011.

This tribute can be found online at the RNLI website.

http://www.friendsandrelations.com/partners/rnli/html/detail.php?id=8906