Jean Chapman

Born on the 17th October 1926, my mother was an intelligent, but fragile, woman. Though her parents were married at the time of her birth, she believed she had been conceived before the wedding and this always caused her some regret. Brought up in Sunderland, she did well in her primary school education and would have gone to grammar school but for her parents' financial circumstances.

Sometime around the outbreak of the war, when she would have been no more than about thirteen, it was agreed that she would go and live with her grandmother, Annie Brewis. Jean was very reluctant to do this as she had no great affinity with Annie. Indeed, according to Mavis, her younger sister, Jean was given no real choice in the matter and was coerced into staying with her.

For whatever reason, Jean stated that she was miserably treated by Annie and was made to work for her, effectively as a 'skivvy' and servant. In the event that Jean was tardy or argumentative she would be beaten, often with a broom. According to her sister, Mavis, Jean also unsuccessfully attempted suicide whilst staying with her grandmother.

For someone with a comparatively fragile personality this mistreatment left a mark, particularly when she felt that she did not get any protection or support from her mother.

By the time she was seventeen or eighteen, things had got so bad that according to Jean's sister, Mavis, Jean ran away from her grandmother and her family and joined the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service). The ATS was the forerunner of the Women's Royal Army Corps. She clearly had some reconciliation with her mother as their is a photo of them together with Jean in uniform.

Jean was subsequently posted to Singapore, where she eventually met her husband to be, Richard Chapman.

There were a couple of occasions when Jean tried to reconcile herself with her family in later life, including a move back to Sunderland with her family (including sons Richard and Laurence) in the mid-fifties. However, any reconciliation was only temporary and Jean remained at odds with her birth family for most of her life.

Jean loved to read books. In particular historical books, both factual and fiction, relating to the Tudor period and the Douglas family in Scotland.

Jean's physical and mental health was always fragile. She suffered a number of breakdowns and was confined to her bed for the last few years of her life.

Following her husband's death in 1997, Jean was admitted to a nursing home, where her health continued to deteriorate. Her daughter, Elizabeth Williams (Liz), had major concerns about the care being received by her mother and arranged for her to be moved to Liz's home in Ruabon, near Wrexham. There is little doubt that Liz's timely intervention added years to her mother's life and she did an absolutely wonderful job of looking after her until Jean died on the 26th July 2003.

Jean was buried in the same grave as her husband in the Holy Trinity Church. Rhostyllen on Friday, 1st August 2003.