Winifred Annie Mary Farmer, 1924-2023
Winifred Annie Mary Farmer, (also known as Win and Winnie), was a friend of my mother's.
Scanning my family photos, I've found lots of photographs of my parents' friends. Sadly they rarely gave full names in the captions. (There's a lesson here for family historians).
One friend, Winifred Farmer (also known as Win and Winnie), proved particularly difficult to identify until I assembled all the clues in my mother and father's letters in 1945. Finally there was a superb clincher. Win's birthday was the same as my grandmother's, and she was 21 in 1945. Mum also mentioned that Win's home was in Southsea, near Portsmouth.
Winifred Farmer was born on 18th October 1924. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in or before 1942, as we have photos of her in uniform that year. Mum gives Win's forces address in 1945 as: W/246271 Pte. W. Farmer, Spider 1/4, 'B' Coy, A.T.S. Camp, Didcot, Berkshire.
Winnie lost touch with my parents in about 1946. She married Kenneth Gauntlett and sadly died in 2023 before I could speak to her. However, I am delighted to be in touch with her daughter now, and I have passed on some photos and stories.
