Beryl was born in Halifax on the 6th March 1926. Her parents ran a sweetshop and she lived above the store with her brother Kenneth and her sister Elsie. She was educated at Akroyd Place School which was a grim Victorian place. She left aged fourteen without qualifications, but having won the Yorkshire poetry prize in her last year. Between the ages of fourteen and eighteen she performed on the stage at the Grand Theatre in Halifax. She was often in the chorus, but on one occasion she was part of a flying act that was commented on in the local papers. By 1943 she decided to help the war effort by training to be a nurse, firstly in Huddersfield and then at a TB isolation hospital in Grassington. It was there that Beryl first met her husband-to-be, Allen. He rescued her from the unwelcome attention of some local youths whilst she was waiting at the bus stop. They immediately formed a close relationship and Beryl moved in with her in-laws at Park House Farm, near Otterburn, whilst Allen completed his military service. This was an isolated place, made more so when Judy was born in 1946, and these first years were hard. Eventually Allen returned and they were able to move to Essbottom, the first family home, in Bell Busk, where they stayed for eighteen years. Tim was born in 1954, and he remembers the hard work that his father put in; the business was Poultry farming – chicken, eggs, and day-old chicks, which were express delivered as far south as Birmingham, as far north as Newcastle and even over to Blackpool and Morecombe. Tim remembers that at weekends and school holidays he often went with his father on these trips. Beryl at this time had started to help Allen’s aunt Ethel in her hair salon in Gargrave. Beryl was needed to attract a younger clientele. Beryl often saw to customers in the front room at Essbottom, or visited them in their homes. Meanwhile the family was growing; Sally was born in 1956 and Vikki was born in 1961. In 1966, after a few floods at Essbottom, the decision was made to move everyone to a large house in Ainderby Quernhow; this was quite a wrench, moving well away from family and friends. Allen started to work for Bass Charrington and Beryl became the Office Manageress of the Blue Star service station on the A1. She stayed there for 6 years before becoming the Assistant Manager of the Little Chef at Ainderby which was closer to the family home. During this time she also did a lot of work for the Red Cross. In 1976 the family suffered serious disruptions when Allen became bankrupt. This led to two years of flux before Beryl found work as housekeeper to the Honourable Robin Hill at Clifton Castle, outside of Masham. She and Allen moved into Home Farm, the Farm Manager’s house on the estate. Beryl worked for the family for twenty five years, starting when she was 53 years old. She became particularly close to Robin and Juliette Hill, nursing her through Leukemia. This strong friendship continued with the family’s children, Nicholas, Anthony and Georgina and on to their children in turn. Technically she retired in 1998, but she still continued to help with evening occasions and shooting parties. Members of the Hill family regularly visited her and she happily lived in a lovely bungalow on the estate. Also, between 1998 and 2004 she helped as an escort with the school runs to and from Welburn Hall, in Kirbymoorside. This is a disabled boarding school, so the runs were there on a Monday and back on the Friday. Beryl sat with the children at the back of the bus, engaging them in long conversations. She also helped Tim and Sarah with their fostering, sharing the respite care responsibilities, always there for cuddles. Then there were the holidays. Tim reckons she went to the United States about fifteen times; Las Vegas was her favourite destination; she spent the Christmas of 2008 there. Her last trip was in the summer of 2010 when she stayed at Tim and Sarah’s place in Florida. Her last family holiday was less than 6 weeks ago, near Oban. There were some truly sad moments in Beryl’s life which devastated her. Her daughter Sally died in 2002, the day after Boxing Day. In 2005 she developed bowel cancer and Allen died soon afterwards but she soldiered on always remaining positive. Then there was that fire at Halfpenny Cottage in 2008, caused by a faulty electric blanket, which destroyed nearly all her possessions. She battled the cancer tooth and nail which spread to her liver and then her lungs, but she didn’t want to bother other people with any of that, getting over the operations really quickly. Throughout all this she never gave up on life. Her final few months were really positive because her last operation, a hip replacement in July meant she could walk again. She had lots of hobbies. She had just handed in her first assignment on a Creative Writing Course. Quietly, she had always been writing since that poetry contest all those years ago. She remained modern and up-todate; she was on Face Book. She played adventure games on her Pc; her favourites were the Harry Potter games and puzzles. She had been researching the family tree on-line. She painted water colours. She loved music – Mika, Paloma Faith, Neil Diamond, Jake Thackray; this year’s Eurovision Song Contest ‘was the best ever’ she reckoned, and she was a regular theatre goer. This is one of her favourite poems, written by Henry Scott Holland. Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without effect. Without the trace of shadow on it. Life means all it ever was. There is unbroken continuity. Why should l be out of mind because l am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval. Somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. Beryl loved all her family; Judy and Ian, Tim and Sarah, Sally, and Vikki and Stephen; her grandchildren, Katy and Lucy, Emily, Lizzy and Lydia; and her three great grandchildren, Finley, Daisy and Lula. Lydia, being the youngest grandchild by a long way, was a very close friend and pal. They spent a lot of time together, enjoying holidays and shared many interests, including a love of music and games and, because of that, there was a deep bond between them. Here are some of the adjectives and phrases that have been used to describe Beryl; generous, kind, adventurous, loving, modern, loyal, a good friend. She will be sadly missed by everyone. Georgina said Beryl was not one in a million, but one in a trillion. She was always there, solid as a rock, our loss is huge, the end of an era. Lynda wrote “Death leaves a heartache no-one can heal, love leaves a memory no-one can steal” Sylvia wrote “There will never be anyone as special. Thank you for so many lovely memories Beryl” Helen Kitching wrote “She was such a lovely lady” Niece Michele, who has Downs syndrome wrote “Dear Auntie Beryl. I hope you enjoy being in heaven with all your friends and family, lots of love Michele” And from a young woman at St Michaels Hospice, gravely ill who had met Beryl during her 10 visits in summer 2010 “I will miss you dearly, spending time with you at St Michaels always re-charged my batteries, you have a very special gift Beryl – you make me smile and seeing the mischievousness in you come out is such fun! I feel honoured to have met you.” Written by Beryl in the early 1960’s the family thought this was apt HERS I could have been great, old mate, if I'd wanted to be. I could have been good, so good, if I'd wanted to be. I could have been grand, understand, if I'd wanted to be. But I chose not to be - just to be me, just to be me. I could have had Earls giving me pearls, if I'd wanted them to. I could have had Greeks, romantic Sheiks, if I'd wanted them too. I could have been best and stood the test if I'd wanted - too. But I chose you, yes I chose you. In the early morning hours I think what might have been and then those ivory towers turn envious green I could have been a star, shot very far, if I'd wanted to be I could have been dressed like a countess if I'd wanted to be I could have been anything at all that I wanted to be But I chose you, I'm not sorry, I chose you, I chose you.