Joan North had a twin brother and an older sister. She was born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1926 to English parents. Her father started working as a Metallurgic Chemist in Winnipeg in 1911.

He joined the Canadian army so that he could fight for his country during WW1.

During the Depression he had no job and his wife’s teaching certificates were not valid in Canada so she couldn’t find work either.

With 3 children to support, Joan’s grandparents (Gardener and Cook at the Manor House) and aunt managed to scrape enough money together for her mother and the 3 children to return to England by boat in 1935. After returning to her family home in Collingham she secured a teaching post and continued to teach until retirement. Her husband remained in Canada although they were never divorced. She received his Canadian Army pension so ended life quite well off.

A neighbour on Goulding Street in Winnipeg, affectionately known as Auntie Sumner was originally from Liverpool. She had been widowed with 7 children during WW1 and had taken in English airmen while they were training in Canada.

After the war, in around 1948, she came to England with her daughter and granddaughter to visit those airmen and their families. However, the families didn’t know her and were reluctant or unable to accommodate them and their multiple suitcases and with rationing, couldn’t feed them, so they kept returning to Joan’s grandparents’ house in Collingham.

She brought gifts as a thank you, including the Christmas swags.

Joan followed in her mother’s footsteps and trained as a teacher, taking up her first post in Mansfield in 1948, earning £39pa.

In the early 1950s there were few baubles available in the shops but when she could afford to, she bought a few.

Joan’s sister met and married an American GI and lived in a park home in Florida. Joan made an annual trip to visit her sister until her late 80s.

Joan has kindly donated these delicate items to the IBCC.