Extraordinary LIVES
MY LOVELY mum grew up in a pub in Bisley, Gloucestershire, where her widowed mother was the landlady. Mum started helping out as soon as she was tall enough to reach the bar. In those days, people brought in flagons that could hold one-and-a-quarter pints of beer to take home. Mum would go down to the cellar to fill them up — dreading an encounter with the mice that lived there. I don’t know if it was because of her early years spent in a pub, but when she grew up, she rarely drank alcohol. She attended Bisley Primary School then Girls Central School in Stroud until the age of 15. Her first job was in the office at a grocery store. To save the bus fare, she’d cycle the three miles each day, often hanging on to the back of a lorry going up the hill. She’d have scolded her children if they had tried that stunt! She met my dad, Darrell Chapman, at a local dance. He was from the nearby village of Chalford. They married in 1950 and soon afterwards Dad opened Stroud’s first delicatessen with Mum happily working alongside him. They were both great with customers and it was a success. My sister June was born in 1951, followed by my brother David in
1952 and I came along in 1960. Just as Mum had helped at the pub, from the age of six I’d assist at the deli during the school holidays, standing on a box to reach the fridge to stack packs of butter.
Mum and Dad sold the shop in 1973 and in retirement enjoyed going on cruises, though Mum suffered from seasickness. After a bad bout in the Bay of Biscay, she swore she’d never get on a boat again. But, of course, she did. She loved playing Scrabble, card games and Swingball with her five grandchildren. Mum had a
big heart and thought of others rather than herself. She knitted colourful jumpers and hats for children in the Third World and volunteered at Stroud General Hospital, serving tea and coffee to the staff and visitors.
Dad loved horse racing and sometimes took Mum and me to Chepstow Races. He’d treat us to lunch and say: ‘I always seem to spend more money when you two come along.’ We’d only ever bet small amounts, usually on a horse with a silly name. Like Dad, we were careful — he taught us that the
bookmaker always wins. When he died in 2003 it left a huge gap in our lives. The five grandchildren produced nine greatgrandchildren and there were three step-greatgrandchildren as well. Mum adored spending time with them all. There was always chocolate in her house, so the children called her Nanny Choc. Her big family will never forget her enjoyment of life, welcoming smile, kindness and love.
n ELIZABETH ‘BETTY’ CHAPMAN, born November 28, 1927; died July 10, 2022, aged 94.