. Mary M Allen .

Mary Allen was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, daughter to Elsie and John, sister to Margaret, Michael, and, later, James. She moved to Croydon aged 16, to attend the Dolphin Nursery Training College, and remained in London for almost all her adult life; but her childhood in Suffolk always remained close to her heart. The outward expression of this was her love for gardening, and she was particularly proud of her roses and their association with happy memories of her father, who was a keen rose-grower.

Mary had an independent spirit and loved London for the opportunities it offered to a curious person, eager to engage with the world. Having enjoyed working for the Wimborne family as a live-in nanny for eight years, that spirit asserted itself in 1965 when she joined the Post Office as an Overseas Telegraph Operator. At this time, London was essentially the hub for the whole world’s telecommunications; and while the work was important and diverting, Mary most remembered this time in her life for the vibrant, fun working environment - she later characterised it as “basically a social club, where we occasionally did some work”. It was through this job that she met the love of her life, Colin, the father of her only child, James Edward. Mary made many wonderful friends in this period in her life, including Joyce, Anita, and Bobbie, with whom she travelled on foreign holidays to the Algarve, Corfu, and Moscow in the early 1970s.

Having lived in Kensington and then Dulwich after leaving the Wimborne family, Mary bought a maisonette flat in New Eltham in 1975, where she was to remain for 48 years, becoming good friends with a succession of neighbours, including Marjorie, Shirley, and Beattie. Mary left her job at the Post Office when James was born, in 1977, and being a mother was a source of great joy and pride for the rest of her life. For about the next twenty years there are almost no photos of Mary without James, and love and happiness radiates from all these snapshots of a wonderful family life.

Mary returned to work in 1979 as a nursery nurse in a local nursery, where she was able to take James to work. She subsequently worked in the creche at Lewisham College from 1983 to her retirement in 2001 - this was another source of lasting friendships, particularly with Shelagh, who remained a great friend until Mary’s death.

Throughout her life, Mary remained close to her siblings, and her father and stepmother Pat, despite geographical distance: bargain-hunting with Margaret; attending the annual exhibitions of James’ paintings; and visiting Michael, first with his menagerie in Wentworth and latterly on his narrowboat, Shadow.

Mary enjoyed travel, both in the UK and abroad. A Black Sea cruise with her father in 1975 provided a lot of happy memories, and typifies her adventurous spirit, visiting Odessa, Yalta, and Istanbul. Baby James’ arrival narrowed the scope, but not the appetite, for travel, with summer holidays to every notable town on the south-east coast of England, from Margate to the Isle of Wight; and frequent trips to the museums and sights of London. James treasures the annual jaunts to see the Christmas lights and shop windows in Oxford Street and Regent Street, and concomitant visits to Hamley’s. After retirement, Mary gave rein to her intrepid spirit, enjoying holidays with Margaret and her family (Terry, Maxine, and Patrick) to Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar; and regular trips with Shelagh, to places as varied as Oban, Cornwall, Krakow, and Luxembourg.

In 2011 Mary became a grandmother, to Toby; with Robin and George following in 2014. As with her son, her love for her grandsons was unbounded; and she was also delighted that James had found someone as fabulous as Anna to be a daughter-in-law. Mary thought of Anna as a wonderful mother to her grandchildren (and knew that James was in a safe pair of hands).

As Mary grew older, she was less able to get out and about, but she retained her ability to enjoy the small pleasures of life. She found a marvellous gardener, Victoria, to maintain her garden; and became good friends with her neighbour, Marie-Jo, and her husband George. Mary and Marie-Jo went to plays and ballets, and also enjoyed trips to Lidl in Eltham High Street, buying unmissable bargains from the middle aisle that they did not need, but that “might come in useful one day”.

For the last two years, Mary lived in Saffron Walden, close to James, Anna, and her grandsons. She loved to just watch Toby, George, and Robin; shortly before the end, Mary went to James and Anna’s, and her smile while watching the boys make a fuss of their new cat, Poppy, is a cherished memory.

Two charities that were close to Mary’s heart were Sue Ryder and Cats Protection. When her much-loved brother, Michael, required palliative care, the kindness of the staff at the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall hospice left a lasting impression on Mary. And Mary was a life-long cat-lover, a trait shared with her siblings and passed on to James; looking through old Christmas photos, about half of them are pictures of Heidi, Fluff, and Ghengis “opening” their presents.

Mary had a long and largely happy life, due in no small part to the optimism and cheerfulness with which she approached everything, and to the strength of will to live her life as she wished. Mary will be remembered by everyone she knew as a kind and lovely woman, who brought nothing but joy into the world.