An extract from the above private publication, with the kind permission of June's son, Tony Cope who is my 4th cousin.
Harold lost the sight of one eye in a childhood
accident after an arrow aimed at him by his brother
Percy hit him. Probably because of this there is no
record of his army service. A school teacher, his
marriage to Ada Gerard, Bessie’ sister, was one of
the happiest of unions. Ada, large loving, her every
sentence containing an endearment, gave him great
contentment.
Harold became the headmaster of one
of the toughest schools in the area, The Elementary
School in St Helens. It was said of him that he could
keep control without ever using a cane.
Three children were born of the marriage: Gordon,
Selwyn (Selly) and Ena. Both boys graduated in
medicine at Liverpool University where I remember
them well for being daredevils as students,‘borrowing’
a policeman’s hat and cape and bringing the central
Liverpool traffic to a standstill to collect for Rag Week;
climbing the tower and leaving a potty on the top.
All trad stuff! But overall I remember their kindness.
The time when as a little girl I lay gazing at the flames
as they flickered in the sitting room fireplace. I just felt
very sad and not well. And then Selly walked into our
house and found me. I recall how tenderly he picked
me up and cuddled me while he found my mother
and said, “Pruney’s got measles; she must be in bed”. Such gentleness.
I think I am right in saying that Sellie became a
thoracic surgeon in Durham. Gordon practised as a
GP in The Ropewalk, Nottingham. He married Jill,
or Jillikins, as she became known in the family. There
were no children of the marriage, but they adopted a
little boy, Gerard.
Ena (Elizabeth) was a fine golfer and bridge player.
She briefly married an eminent rugby player but
returned home to her parents after three weeks of
marriage. She lived for her final years with her mother
in the family holiday cottage in Treaddur Bay, Wales
