Maureen Pears
Maureen was born at Scunthorpe Maternity Home on 14th of June
1937 to Sydney and Lizzie Cuthbert. They
lived at Upperthorpe, which is between Haxey and Westwoodside, in a cottage
that was knocked down years ago. She had
one sister, Sheila, who was 3 years older. In March 1938 they moved to
Langholme Farm at Westwoodside, Maureen’s dad having been retained as farm
manager. Maureen was 9 months old and
her sister was 4 years old.
Apparently, the farm and its house were very run down and there was a lot of work to do to get it in order and of course, as was common at the time, there was no electricity and no mains water, only a hand pump in a well.
The nearest place of worship, which Maureen had to walk to, was the Methodist Chapel in Westwoodside. Maureen and her sister Sheila went to Sunday School there every Sunday Morning. A big part of Maureen and her sister’s young social lives was the annual Chapel Anniversary Day in May. This was in part due to them both getting new dresses for it.
Maureen also started school at Westwoodside where she stayed until the age of 11 whereupon she went to the High School at Gainsborough where she studied until the age of 16, when she took her GCE’s. Her school report takes the form of a book that follows her whole time at Gainsborough. It is a fantastic record of her school career.
She seems to have been a reasonable student ….. except with French. The French teacher had some interesting things to say in these reports, such as for the Autumn term 1951 “Maureen is STILL not doing any voluntary work in class, and this no doubt accounts for her average work”. The STILL was in capitals! The French teacher’s assessments continue in the same vein until the last entry for Maureen’s final summer term in 1953 when the entry reads “I hope Maureen has made a big effort with her revision”! One presumes not, as French does not appear on her list of GCEs.
Later she attended the County Technical College next door to Gainsborough High School. She passed her shorthand exam at the rate of 60 words per minute in March 1955 and then passed at a rate of 80 words per minute in May the same year. …… She was obviously more motivated in this endeavour than she was by learning French.
She started employment with the National Westminster Bank in Gainsborough as a Bank Clerk and was so employed when she married Roy Pears in this very church on June 1st, 1960. She was 22. Roy was from Haxey. She later became Clerk to Haxey Parish Council.
As far as anyone is aware Maureen and Roy did not venture outside Great Britain but they certainly travelled extensively and frequently within the UK.
Roy was a keen ploughman, attending and participating in many ploughing competitions, where he won many prizes and cups. Maureen, with their various dogs, would go too, and support him. As a result of this alone they travelled over much of the UK and built up a widespread network of good and long-lasting friendships
Hopefully most of you will be able to go to the Wake at the Church Hall afterwards and there you will find some of Maureen’s photo albums. The wealth of ploughing match photos is testimony to their extensive travelling and enjoyment of the sport.
They also frequently went away, often repeatedly to well liked places they had been to before, such as ones near Kirby Longsdale and Richmond. In fact, they went to some of these places so frequently they became firm friends with the proprietors and stayed in touch for many years.
After Roy’s passing Maureen still got to some of these well-liked places, courtesy of her brother and sister-in-Law Terry and Mary. In this later period, after Roy’s death, Maureen and her very dear friend Jean Bannister were out and about locally and probably sampled as many venues for coffee, tea and/or pub lunches as anyone here. However, the Covid lockdown had a dramatic effect on this later period of her life. She became much more sedentary. She would phone her cousin Margaret in the morning and then phone Kim’s mum and tell her what Margaret had said. Then in the afternoon she would phone mum and then phone Margaret and tell her what mum had said. Doubtless she was doing similar things with other circles of friends and family.
However, then came along the losses. First Kim’s mum, then Margaret, then Jean and others as well. It was clear that her world was shrinking, part of the less enjoyable side of getting old.
Throughout all this she suffered from Leukaemia for several years. It was mainly that, finally, that caught up with her soul. Towards the end, it became clear that she had decided not to battle that particular cross anymore.
One of the strongest memories of Maureen was her generosity. No Christmas or Birthday would pass without Kim receiving a gift. When he had children, the same generosity was bestowed upon them, and then additionally to grandchildren. The latest of these, a one-year-old boy called Jude, has had a very expensive, bespoke ‘Jude’ Teddy Bear given to him already.
Kim’s part involvement in looking after her affairs these last weeks has shown that this generosity extended to very many more than her immediate family. However, her real passion in life was animals. In recent years, when she could no longer physically do things, she was a fervent supporter of a whole range of animal charities with extensive and frequent donations. She has made provisions in her Will to two such. Not least the RSPCA who you may see represented among our ranks here today.
Kim never ceases to be surprised by the reaction he gets when people learn that she once had a pet Fox – called Vicky. Doubtless the albums in the Church Hall will contain photos of the two of them together.
She had a whole series of pet dogs starting with a pedigree Welsh Corgi called Lindi which she had as a young woman whilst still living at Langholme farm with her parents. She then moved on to Springer Spaniels and had a whole series of them: Sadie, Holly and Judy to name but three. The ashes of some of these dearly loved pets are with her now. As are some family photos that she treasured and a particular photo of her beloved Roy. Also with her is a certificate for Meritorious Service over many years presented to her by the Chairman of the RSPCA Society.
It wasn’t until this last Wednesday, during a phone conversation with one Roy Briggs, that Kim discovered that Maureen had been a member of a group of activists who organised an uprising! Who would have thought it! Apparently, Maureen, Roy Briggs and a few others were very concerned at the cold kennels that were being used to house often small and house type dogs at the RSPCA’s Bawtry site. Their complaints and protestations left the then officials unmoved. So, a plan was hatched! In the late 1970’s Roy Briggs, Maureen and others (including Jean Bannister) formed the Isle of Axholme RSPCA Support Group. Then at an AGM of the Doncaster Branch they turned up En Masse and voted out the previous Committee and voted in a new one. They executed a Coup! Strangely, Roy Briggs became the new chairman and Maureen one of the committee members. Maureen was a Committee member for many years.
Heating provisions and other improvements were made to the Bawtry Kennels and they achieved their Goals. After the initial shock the RSPCA apparently thanked them. The praise from one Mr Maynard, the Liaison Officer for the Northern Area, was particularly remembered. Mr Briggs concluded the conversation by extolling Maureen’s fund-raising abilities and, in conclusion he said (and I Quote) “he couldn’t speak highly enough of her”.
When good people hold you in high regard then you are doing something right.