non sibi sed toti	Parsons Family and Friends

Emily Index Chapter One: Her parents Chapter Two: Growing up in Wicklow Chapter Three: The Years of the Great War Chapter Four: Boarding School Chapter Five: The Idyll Ends Chapter Six: The Morris Minor - and Poland Chapter Seven:January 3rd or My Journey to Warsaw Chapter Eight: Sewerynov 3 Chapter Nine: Love in a cold climate Chapter Ten: Escape with a baby Chapter Eleven: Dubliners Chapter Twelve: Post-war London Chapter Thirteen: In Metroland Chapter Fourteen: Dreaming Spires Chapter Fifteen: Sheffield Chapter Sixteen: Gold and Diamond Chapter 3: The Years of the Great War On March 31st 1914, when Emily was 11, her father left the County Council having been their Secretary for 15 years, years of great strain and patience and hard work. Some time after he left the Council he wrote: "Those long years with the County Council have shut me up into myself in a way I cannot get over. I hope I did God's will there, but I often wish I had never gone through those years." An article written in a Protestant paper after Edward's retirement reported: "Although the Co. Councillors were often very disagreeable and fault finding towards their Secretary many of them really liked him. One after another came to him privately and said 'You know, Mr Wynne, I did not agree with what they said about and to you but I just had to go with the rest.' Many of them spoke so. Mr. Healy, who was at first a typist and then Mr. Wynne's most personal clerk became a real help and friend although he was an R. C. He was always a comfort to Mr. Wynne. "On one occasion the Council decreed that all their affairs should be conducted in Irish, although none of them spoke it themselves. It was said only to have an opportunity to annoy Mr. Wynne. At their next meeting he began to read the minutes in German and went on so for a few minutes. Great surprise on their faces. They were bewildered: 'He's reading it in Irish!' 'Never mind that now,' said the Chairman. 'You may read it to us in English.' There was no more talk of carrying on the work in Irish after that." In fact, the County Council valued his work so much that they added to his total of years served, and voted to him the maximum pension which it was possible for a retiring officer to hold. That summer of 1914 the family went on holiday to a cottage on Rosse's Point, Co. Sligo. There are pictures of Emily enjoying bathing, wearing what looks rather like a long tee shirt and knee length pants. These pictures may well have been taken in Co Wicklow; a favourite place for a family outing was the Silver Sands, a secluded beach with real fine sand, unlike the coarse sand at Greystones a bit further north, and cliffs and little caves. Although her brother Charles went away to school in Cheltenham in 1915, Emily remained at home with governesses until she was 17. Miss Humphreys is the only governess that Emily noted in her brief list of important dates in her life, and Miss Humphreys arrived in 1915 when she was eleven years old. No other governesses stands out so much in the family's memory, but they and her mother must have taught her well, because her vocabulary, spelling and general knowledge in later years were admirable. The summer of 1915 was spoiled for her by an injured ankle. In 1916, the year of the Easter Rising, the family took a holiday in Scotland, and Emily kept a journal. The following year, Emily notes in her diary agaist March 10th: "Russian revolution began." More pressing were the effects of the war with Germany. Charlie's return to Cheltenham was held up. On Tuesday 1st May he left by the evening mail train, to sleep on the mail boat before setting sail at 8.30 next morning. Emily notes: "Mail boat was not allowed to start on account of submarine. He climbed Dalkey Hill and showed Dublin to Martin. Sailed by evening boat." Meanwhile, she was working at her lessons with another governess, Miss Sinton, who arrived by the 7.10 train on Tuesday 13th February and began teaching next day from 10.30 to 1 o'clock. Emily recorded that Wednesday evening in her diary: "Fine sunny day. Went for a short walk apres le diner." Many later dates have the entry: "Did lessons." Dan, her pony, also figures largely in the diary. In April we often find the entry: "Took Dan to field." A cart arrived for Dan to pull. On Saturday, 18th May, "Miss Sinton brought Dan in from the field and went for a short drive on the Morough." Next day: "I and Miss Sinton drove Daddie to Station." This was year when Emily was confirmed. On Sunday afternoons, starting on 6th May, Emily, her friend Honor Johnson the Rector's daughter, and seventeen others went to preparation classes with the Revd Philip B. Johnson. The day of the Confirmation, Saturday 30th June, was very fine and warm, and John Bernay, Archbishop of Dublin, came to confirm the nineteen candidates. He preached on the text: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised." (Hebrews 10.23) What her Confirmation meant to Emily we cannot tell, but she was a conscientious girl, and no doubt took it all very seriously. What she lacked at the time, as she told me in a letter just before my Confirmation, was the knowledge that her sins could be forgiven. Next day, July 1st, was again very fine and warm, and after Edward, Evelyn and Miss Sinton had gone with her to the morning service in the green-domed church only a stone's throw from Wentworth House, Emily stayed on with her parents to receive the Holy Communion for the first time. In the days before antibiotics and other modern drugs, sickness was much more serious, and seems to have been rather frequent. Both Emily and her mother stayed in bed quite often, and even Edward spent an occasional day in bed. Doctor Lyndon was usually called to attend. Emily put her own indispositions down to 'bilious attacks,' something she suffered from until late in her life. Charlie caught mumps at the beginning of July 1917 and German measles at the end of the month, which left the family very disappointed, as he had been expected back from school. He recovered quickly, as Emily's diary entry for 3rd August 1917 reads: "Bright and Happy Day. Charlie came home by 7.40 train. Dan and I met him." Emily often spoke about her pony, Dan. Favourite among her stories was that as she drove Dan while he pulled a dog-cart, he grew more and more weary, until out of pity she turned round for home. Immediately Dan perked up, and trotted with lively step until they reached the place he really wanted to be. On 7th December 1917 her father wrote to her: "You have heard what a round ball Dan has become! Mr Crofton told me the other day he had put a colt he has bought into the field with Dan, and Dan won't let it near the donkey, he keeps close to the latter and keeps always between it and the colt. Mr Crofton is looking forward to seeing you trying to squeeze Dan through the field gate!" But we have jumped ahead. It seems that a French teacher was hired for the summer holidays. She was not a success. Here are the two relevant diary entries: "Tuesday 7th August: Dull in afternoon. Charlie and I fetched Dan to meet Mlle. Denize Legros. She came by 4.5 train." "Thursday 6th September: Fine. Daddie went to Dublin. Madamoiselle Legros left. NO TEARS SHED." That December letter includes advice on tackling exams, which suggests that Emily had to travel to some centre to sit her University of Cambridge Local Examinations for Junior Students. Another governess, Mrs H., had arrived at the beginning of October, and more lessons had followed, only briefly held up by another bilious attack. Her father writes: "I must write you a line before your exam comes off to wish you every success and God's blessing. Don't worry about it or feel one bit 'flustered.' There are many dozens other girls in too, and if they do not all pass there is 'no milk spilt.' "You have a good margin of time given you, read your questions over carefully and satisfy yourself you understand what is required, then don't hurry, but work it out carefully. If you have been shown how to check the result, check it, and go on to the next. "Do not trouble about what the others are doing. Make your figures carefully. "I found when I was in for a Scripture examination, that I scored when I was able to say where in the Old Testament quotations were taken from, I enclose you a list from Acts." Emily herself wrote in her diary: "Monday 10th December: Exam began Gospel 2 - 3.30 Horrid Geography 3.30 - 5. (Tues) Henry V, Dictation and French. Dictation at Nelson School. (Wed) Arithmetic, Acts and Composition. (Thurs) History and Memory Drawing. (Fri) Model Drawing and Kidnapped. End of The Exam." The question papers survive, with jottings in pen and pencil. In the 'horrid Geography' exam, she chose question A1: (a) On the map provided the contour lines are drawn at every 100 feet above sea-level. Insert two rivers with their tributaries. (b) In the framework below the contoured map draw a section of the country along the line from A to B. and question 2: Indicate by sketch maps or otherwise, the extent of the largest stretch of forest-land in two of the following areas: (a) Europe and Asia; (b) Africa; (c) North America; (d) South America. State what kinds of trees are found in one of these forests, and what use is made of them. She also tried B1: On the map of Europe insert (where necessary) and name the Cevennes, Lake Wener, the island Corfu, the rivers Dnieper, Garonne, Rhine; and mark and name Bordeaux, Bukarest [sic], Patras, Odessa, and against the names of these towns indicate the chief crop or vegetable product of the surrounding district; draw the 60 and 80 isothermals for July. In the Arithmetic exam she found the prime factors of 66528 to be 2 to the 5th, 3 cubed, 7 and 11, which she later marked with an R as right, but the smallest number which has all of the numbers 24, 28, 32, 36 and 40 as factors was not, as she wrote, 30,240. Most of the other answers, which she wrote on the exam paper in ink, are given an R in pencil. For Memory Drawing she chose a spray of oak leaves and a frying pan. The political situation in Ireland could not be ignored. Edward wrote: "Mr Barton of Annamoe and his sister have been making great fools of themselves going in for Sinn Fein (Barton an officer returned from France). They made rebel speeches to them at a big Sinn Fein meeting at Roundwood and came in to Wicklow to another meeting on Sunday and both spoke still stranger. Now I hear they have both been arrested and taken to Cork to be court-marshalled!" Emily also notes against 1917 in her list of dates "I to Wigton." I do not know anything about this visit to the town near Carlisle The next year, 1918, Emily and her mother were in England. Evelyn had relatives there, and had spent much of her life there. Edward wrote to Emily from Wentworth House: "Thursday All Hallows Eve [31st October] My own Pet Emily We both - Charlie and I are looking forward so to having you back again, and hearing your cheery laugh brightening up the house. Have you had any fun at all? and what have you been doing with yourself?" He went on to tell her how he and Charlie had had a day out, visiting an engineering works where he himself had once been employed, and a cinema: "Charlie was delighted with the great workshops where all the lathes, drilling machines, screwing machines, planing machines and many others, shaped all the parts for the locomotives, then we went through smithy and saw the great steam hammers etc." Charlie indeed retained a delight in great engineering works to the end of his life. He wanted to take his nephew to an electricity generating station, so that he could share his awe at the vast power involved and the quietness of it all, but the visit never happened. "We afterward did shopping, had dinner and then went to a picture house till train time. The most interesting set of pictures was shown and a trip through Bourneville the Garden City - it really was beautiful and most interesting seeing the chocolates being made, the choc creams being coated and packed and everything, and then the train loads of huge milk tins arriving and being unloaded, hundreds of sacks of the rough chocolate being brought in, then the men playing cricket, the girls in lovely lawns playing foot ball, and the young women playing tennis. Then again was another great swimming baths for the girls with dozens of the latter diving and swimming, and others for the boys." There followed careful instructions for the return journey to Wicklow: "I wrote and wired to Mother to come by Saturday's mailboat. [This was a main connection between Wales and Ireland for passengers - between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire.] I made enquiries and find it has not once missed the train connection during all the late stormy weather. The train will take you from the boat to Kingstown [now Dun Laoghaire] Station where you must get out at once, a few minutes afterwards the train to Wicklow comes up from your right hand side as you look towards the rails. Get a place quickly. Have all your luggage labelled Wicklow by Holyhead from the start and it will be put in all right. I do look forward to your return." A few days later the Great War came to an end, and the great flu epidemic followed, which killed more than the war did. Emily must have caught it, because against 1918 she notes: "Flu in November." But she recovered in good time for the exciting adventure of boarding school.