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" The old orphanage was demolished in 1988, although the retirement home – The Grange – continues on part of the site.
Almost opposite The Grange was an annexe to the Orphanage – now the site of the houses called ‘Foxhanger’. The annexe was originally built as a maternity home for the Woking Health Society – the home opening in 1921 with just ten beds. It was enlarged in 1936 to 24 beds but soon after a scheme was launched to build a new hospital in Heathside Road. In 1939 the Oriental Road site (together with the Orphanage) became a military hospital. "
Maureen was one of three children, they lived in Jacobs Well near Guildford. Her Father worked for various engineering firms her Mother a hard working lady worked in the local hospital, St. Luke's. They owned their house but when Maureen's Father contracted TB he was treated in the TB hospital near Ventnor on the Isle of Wight and the house let. Maureen's mother took the family off to stay with Maureen's Grandfather in Bolton-by-Bowland Wikipedia
Stories of what Maureen her Aunt Patsy and Brother Michael got up to are legend. I think this was war time or just after. When her younger brother was born she took on a lot of his care. As a teenager Maureen had to look after Robert.
She attended Bellfields and Stoke schools after which she worked at Woolworth's and then Cow & Gate dairies in an office. She did not like this but was waiting to start her nurse training when she became 18.
She trained at St. Luke's, The County in Farnham road and Milford chest. She became a State Registered Nurse and worked on many wards including Cancer and Geriatric wards.
In 1961 she married John Winder and had three children Jonathon, and twins Jackie and Jenny. They lived in Franks Road in Guildford, and in Aldershot near a gas holder. Later they moved to Shepherds Lane in Guildford.
Life was hard John was a fireman Maureen a Staff nurse both on shift work, ships in the night. Both had to look after the children whilst the other worked. Maureen helped with the local Cub Scout Pack with her friend Violet and Friday Swimmers with another friend Ann.
The cubs went swimming every Saturday morning at the local high school pool. Ann was the Cub leader of the other pack in the scout group. And that is were Terry and Maureen met in 1974.
In October 1977 Terry started a temporary job teaching at Abingdon College of FE in Oxfordshire. He was home in Farncombe at weekends. In November1977 Maureen left John and lived in the nurses accommodation near St.Lukes. Terry and Maureen saw each other at weekends and in Feb 1978 Maureen moved in with Terry who had rented a house in Grove near Wantage. Maureen found a job working in the QA department of the local dairy. Later that year she became a staff nurse at Abingdon hospital. It was here that Maureen injured her neck when a patient she was lifting suddenly stopped supporting herself.
At the end of the summer term at college Terry's job was made permanent they bought a house in Abingdon in July 1978 and Married on 27 Jan 1979. In August 1979 Maureen's fourth child Rebecca was born.
Out of the frying pan into the fire. Terry started his Teacher Training at Oxford poly that September and life with a new baby was not easy for either of them. Maureen got on with it and found new friends in various baby groups.
In 1980 they looked into fostering a child and in June 1981 Darren joined the family. Darren was six and had a few problems. Both children enjoyed each others company but it was to last barely one year. Maureen was not coping and in September that year Terry started a new job in Bracknell.
A happy time was had in Bracknell Maureen helped at Treetops the local play group. We enjoyed holidays at our caravan in Mudeford, Dorset and then Brean in Somerset. Our holidays became better when we purchased our flat in Bridgwater, Somerset. Maureen would stay there on her own or with friends or family.
In 2003 the flat was sold and in September that year Terry retired from teaching. We moved to the Isle of Wight in April 2004. The house was big and needed a lot of work. Maureen enjoyed the first two years by which time the house had been more or less completely redecorated. Maureen had a garden to potter in and enjoy. We joined the local holiday camp as leisure members and used the swimming pool twice a week. Maureen liked the Archery, she had a good eye for things like that.
Island life was good for both of us and those first six years were so good. In 2008 Caleb, Maureen's tenth grandchild was born two years later along came number eleven, Dexter. Also in 2008 we all celebrated Maureen's 70th birthday. Happy days indeed.
Early in 2010 Maureen had her second cataract operation all went well but she will need new glasses. Then just before Easter with new eyes and old glasses she somehow misjudged stepping out of the front door, launched herself into the air and broke her ankle.
I do think now that this was a turning point in her life from which she would never recover. From then on she had no energy and became very tired. She still pottered in the garden but only for short stints at a time. She needed to rest on a stool in the kitchen and used her wheel chair when out, not because of the ankle but she had no energy.
In January 2012 she went to see her doctor about a lump that she had detected. Two weeks later a small cancerous lump was removed from her breast. There followed four weeks radiotherapy at Southampton hospital. That took a lot out of us both and I was just a passenger. We thought that was all over, UNTIL
When on holiday in Dorset late September 2013 she sneezed and said "Oh my back, that hurt". The NHS, Macmillan Nurses and I did our best but after a long and at the very painful illness, the Cancer had spread to her spine. She died on Christmas day 2014 three days after going into the hospice. She was 76.
Her funeral was on 15 January 2015
at Easthampstead Park Crematorium, Bracknell.
This page was updated on 25 Dec 2015
by Terry Rawkins