"...but my dear, we had money...

...what need had we for men?".

It's the end of an era. Great Auntie Vera is gone. But she won't be forgotten, she was a huge inspiration to me.

The last of three maiden aunts, born and living through two world wars in Finchley, North London. Vera was the youngest. She was a Radiographer by profession and served with the WRNS. She was in Singapore when it fell to the Japanese during WWII, but never spoke about it, saying the kind of work she had been involved in required her to keep silence. From that, the family assumed she had had access to some high level communications as she worked directly for the base commander. Her eldest sister, Dorothy, is reputed to have served as a teenager in the RAMC in WWI. Family legend has it that she drove a field ambulance around the battlefield at the Somme, pulling wounded soldiers into the back of it and taking them back to the field hospital.

The family were reasonably comfortable financially and as a result the sisters had a large degree of independence. I remember on one occasion asking Vera why it was that she and her sisters had never married. She said to me with a wicked twinkle in her eye;

"...but my dear we had money! What need had we for men?!"

The three sisters travelled extensively together, including five round the world tours and even made it to New Zealand in the very early days of air travel.

All my great aunts were keen photographers and took many slides and photos of their travels. I remember as a child, whenever we visited them they always got the slides out and showed us all the pictures of their travels to Egypt, Switzerland, New Zealand and all the other far flung places I could only dream about. As a happy outcome of their hobby I have some stunning photos, including one of them at the top of Mount Blanc in the thirties, wearing some interesting mountaineering gear and huge smiles.

It is more than a happy coincidence that now, as a native Londoner, I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I am reasonably well travelled and have visited and appreciated many different countries and cultures.

However, I think the biggest influence they had on me was personal determination. They lived the prime of their lives during a time when women had more restricted roles, but they pushed the boundaries of what was possible and acceptable. They were contemporaries of Noel Coward, and attended many theatrical performances in London's West End during the blitz, getting their show programs signed more often than not. I am now the proud and humbled owner of many London Theatrical Programs and evening bags from the 1930's and 40's. Beautiful things and, for me, a real reminder of the three fascinating ladies I was fortunate to have in my life.

If I can take one thing from this experience, it would be to try and grow and show some of the courage and strength of character I undoubtedly have in my genes.

Merci et Bon Voyage Vera!