may 16th 1911 florence maud walsh to elizabeth sewell
birkenhead, cheshire to bolton, lancashire
28 miles
the message
“23 Onslow Road
New Ferry
Dear L
New Ferry somewhat resembles Southport & I should be having quite a decent holiday if there wasn’t any exam. I have done fairly well so far - F”
the sender
Florence Maud Walsh (1898-1922) was the daughter of Jonathan Walsh (1874-1944) and Charlotte Elizabeth Bland (1876-1940). In 1939 Jonathan was listed as a Herbal Brewer and Motor Driver. Previously he had been a Cab Driver. Charlotte had been in domestic service before marrying Jonathan in 1892.
Florence was only 24 when she died. At the time of sending this card she was 13 and staying with her uncle William Edward Bland (1878-1955) and grandmother Elizabeth Clark Naylor (1876-1940) in New Ferry while the rest of her family were living in Bolton. William was a commercial clerk for a manufacturers, probably at Lever Brothers in nearby Port Sunlight (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Sunlight). Why she was there is not clear. There is talk of an exam. What would that be in 1911?
the recipient
Elizabeth Sewell (1892-1972) was the daughter of John Sewell (1849-1930) and Alice Maria Banister (1857-1924). John was a Cotton Spinner.
In 1911, Elizabeth was working as a Hooker in a Bleaching Croft as part of the textile industry. In 1918 she married Leonard Beech (1890-1961). In 1911 Leonard was working in a cotton mill. In 1939 he was still working in the cotton industry, now as a Head Carder. Elizabeth was working in a laundry.
the trees
Sewell
Walsh
the places
Birkenhead, Cheshire to Bolton, Lancashire
Bolton, Lancashire
New Ferry, Cheshire (including Birkenhead and Liverpool)
what the card says to us
The picture shows a view of William Brown Street in Liverpool (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brown_Street) which is just across the River Mersey from Birkenhead where the card was posted. As always the question arises as to who all those people were and what happened to them.
In the message, Florence draws a comparison between New Ferry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Ferry) where she was staying and Southport, Lancashire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southport). Both these towns are in the modern county of Merseyside. The towns are quite different in terms of their geography in that Southport is on the Irish Sea coast and New Ferry is on the banks of the Mersey. Perhaps the similarity is in the architecture.
Florence is in New Ferry for the 1911 census on April 2nd. She is still there on May 16th when the card was sent, always assuming that she had not been back to Bolton in between. That is 6 weeks. Why is she there? What is the exam that is mentioned? She is only 13.
Also, Elizabeth is 6 years older than Florence, but they seem to be quite close. Their Bolton addresses are not that close. How did they know eachother.
Florence died aged 24. It is always sad when someone dies so young and it seems doubly sad as her message is witty and full of fun.