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News from Ann Murphy (Westcombe)
After I left school, I went to St Godric’s
Secretarial College in London for a year. I
then returned to Peterborough to work for
my father in his building company until 1963.
I married in 1960 and had two boys, David
now 51 and Peter now 49. I also have two
grandchildren, Jody 21 and Ashley 18. I
joined the British Red Cross Society in 1962
and became Detachment Commandant
and eventually Centre Organiser for
Peterborough with 100 members under my
direction. I stayed for 25 years carrying out
first aid and nursing duties, working in
several different hospitals and driving an
ambulance. My husband ran a garden
centre but became too ill to run it in 1981 so
I took over and ran it until 1989 when I
closed it and sold the land for building. I
then went to work at Peterborough District
Hospital in Accident and Emergency
until 1992 then moved to the Cardiac
Department until 1994.
I remarried in 1994 and moved to Reading
as my second husband had a job at the
University and we lived on campus with 350
students for 11 years which was a real eye-
opener and I worked at the Royal Berkshire
Hospital for that time. During those 11 years,
we travelled extensively to America and
Europe and made numerous visits to
London to see all the West End shows.
In 2005 we retired to Thorney as all our
family live in the Peterborough area. We
then took up gardening, working for my son,
and for six years we worked three days a
week on 11 gardens in Peterborough,
Stamford, Elton and the Deepings. We also
became active church members at Thorney
Abbey where I am on the rota for cleaning,
reading the lesson, the Saturday coffee bar,
writing and saying prayers and doing cream
teas for visiting groups. My husband was
Church Warden for three years. We both
belong to the British Legion, and I am
treasurer of the Women’s Section and a
helper at the Monday Friendship Club where
I work in the kitchen helping to cook lunch
for 50 ‘oldies’!
I love gardening (I have 120 pots in my
small garden) music, reading and being with
my family.
Headmistress – Mrs Belgion;
Final Form Tutor – Miss Lewis
Friends – Mary Seaton, Heather Clark,
Joan Darke ( Ruff) whom I still see and
Mary Preddy (Read) with whom I still have
lunch. Both Mary Seaton and Mary Preddy
were bridesmaids at my wedding in 1960.
Ann Murphy
Class of 1955
