Past Stratford mayor’s granddaughter seeks memories of him from public
As a child, Jennifer Moss thought the queen was her grandmother. “There was this framed photograph of my grandfather walking with the queen, so obviously I thought she was my grandmother.”
As an adult, Jennifer knows the queen isn’t her grandmother, but she would like to know more about the man in that photo — her grandfather Norrie Moss.
“I would love to talk to people who knew him, people who can remember some of the things he might have done, or said, or can shed some light on what he was like as a person.”
Norrie was mayor of Stratford between 1947 and 1957, and the picture Jennifer remembers seeing as a child was taken during the 1954 royal visit to the town. It was in
January 1954 that the young monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh walked along Broadway, a royal walkabout said to have been the first of its kind in New Zealand.
Norrie died in 1974, meaning all Jennifer has of him, besides her own memories from when she was a small child, is a box of photographs and a collection of letters he wrote to his mother during WWI.
“It was when my father died in 2007 and I was clearing out his house that I found this old box in the garage packed full of these letters from World War 1 that my grandfather had written while he was serving overseas. Before that, I know very little about him, but reading those letters really made me curious, I wanted to know more about him, who he was and what he was like.”
The letters have been well preserved and give a fascinating insight into Norrie’s life and the times he lived in, says Jennifer.
“The vocabulary and terminology are very different from today’s world of course, and you get a real sense of his love but also respect for his mother in them.”
Norrie addresses his letters to “Dear Mother,” signing off as “your affectionate son” and he refers to events both at home and abroad, giving a sense of a one-sided conversation as Jennifer doesn’t have the letters he received, only the ones he wrote.
“It’s a very different Norrie, or Norman Harold Moss to give him his full name, than the grandfather I knew as a child, and reading those letters has made me more curious about him.”
She also feels a sense of responsibility, having found those letters, she says.
“I think it is quite rare, to have such a large collection of letters from that time, and they need a wider audience, so I am having them all transcribed as they are hard to read in some places, because of the age of the paper and ink, along with the very intricate handwriting, and plan to make them part of a book I am researching, about the life and work of Norrie.”
Jennifer has visited Stratford from her home in Tangimoana to find out more about her grandfather and says the experience was “quite overwhelming” at times.
“To see his name on the mayoral chains, the photos of him, all he achieved as mayor of the town, it’s all part of a bigger picture, not just the slightly scary, rather imposing grandfather I remember.”
She recalls him telling her off for not eating all her vegetables, and says he was someone she always felt slightly in awe of.
“Now, as an adult, I can see how he would have been this imposing figure to an 8- or 9-year-old. He was very serious, a real workaholic and, of course, had grown up in very different times from his children and grandchildren.”
Jennifer is hoping to hear from people who might be able to add to her trip down memory
lane, people who knew Norrie themselves or remember stories about him they would be willing to share.
“I really want to get a full picture of him, so any anecdotes or memories people can share will help me build that.”
Jennifer says she would love to hear from anyone who can help her with her research.
“Time is against me in some ways, as obviously people are getting older, and memories can fade, but if anyone has an anecdote or memory of my grandfather, photos, press clippings or other documents, I would love to hear from them.”