Mrs Betty Hale
22-01-2012 22:30
We have been very saddened, as a community, by the death on New Year's Day, of our loved friend Betty Hale. The tribute that was given at her funeral on Tuesday 17th January by her son-in-law Neville Warnes is reproduced below:
Elizabeth Hale or Betty as she was known, was born in Balsham, ..in the Counties of Cambridge and Essex, ,..as it was then called.. and was the elder of 2 Daughters born to James and Gladys Pratt.
During 1934 to 1939, she passed various exam grades on the Piano, and continued to both teach and play for many following years.
Her working career was in Nursing, principally at Addenbrook’s following her Mother who had been one of the few who trained at the Florence Nightingale Training School, at St Thomas Hospital. This was continued through the war when she did war service as a Reserved Nurse under the Red Cross.
She married Peter Hale in 1944 but they divorced in the early 50’s leaving her to look after her 2 Daughters aged 7 and 4.
Life cannot have been easy in those days when divorce was not as accepted socially as it is today, and Betty worked as a Teacher at Lyndhurst School, where she had formerly been one of the original Pupils, when the School was run by the 2 Miss Brightons, at the Baptist Schoolroom. She subsequently acquired the School and moved it to Bridewell Street, until selling it in 1970, but continued to teach there. One significant story involved a young boy who had been rather naughty and she made him stand on the stage as a penitance. Unfortunately when School stopped for the day, he became forgotten, ..to the tune that Betty went shopping in Wymondham, before suddenly remembering him, and hurried back to School to find him still standing on the stage. In spite of this misgiving the School gave a good grounding to a number of young children, as many of them have graduated into excellent careers.
Betty’s interest in Teaching continued after Bridewell Street, when her qualifications enabled her to allow the registration of a new School at Wicklewood where she also moved to Teach the younger children, until she retired.
I know that many of you here will already know a great deal about her public life, so I want to tell you about the more private things she loved, or loved doing... and there are a lot of them.
Betty Hale was a Collector .. but not a serious one,... she just collected a whole variety of things, from a great width of interest. It ranged from a host of press cuttings on anything from the retirement or death of a Priest to the first night of an Opera together with her Ration Books, the entrance ticket to see Torvill and Dean, another of her great loves, and anything about former Pupils... but everything reflected something in which she had an interest.
She was also a Historian.. again not a serious reader of mountains of History Books and data, but just someone who loved the previous years of her life and those of her Parents and Grandparents and was extremely happy to talk about the past, especially her Family. She loved her years on the Farm, and equally so discussions about where people lived and who had married whom and so on. Strangely, this interest also seemed to transmit into a very high regard for our Armed Forces or Soldiering in general. She was a keen follower of Remembrance Day, and she said that one of the Hymns chosen for today’s Service,.. Fight the Good Fight’.. reminded her of her father. She was also immensely proud of the considerable achievements of her Grandson in the modern Army.
Betty had a significant love of photographs, and these too could be in all sorts of order... from a well kept range of albums to a whole hodge -podge of individual portraits, some in Sepia, through to prints from digital cameras. Many of these relate to the Guiding movement, another of her great loves.
She was undoubtedly a Royalist, again, not the serious type who rushed off to London to get a glimpse of a leading Royal, but one who certainly followed ‘The Queen’s Speech,’ and knew a huge amount of what the Royal Family was doing,.. in particular, Princess Di, who was a great favourite of hers. Her collecting also came into being in this respect because she had a number of Royal books, and the copies of Newspapers which were printed in Gold, at the time of the Coronation, as I am sure many of us can remember. This kind of global interest rather than specific study, gave her a wide knowledge about the structure of the Royal Family, and she could easily tell you a lot about the lesser known members of the Royal Family.
Now I have no idea of the name for someone who has lived most of their lives in Wymondham,.. a Wymondhamite perhaps... but whatever that name is, then it would apply to Betty Hale. She loved Wymondham, ..and her Historian mantle also came into play in that she had a vivid memory of a huge number of what many may consider comparatively minor or even unimportant details.. who had Fred Standley’s shop before he took it over,.. who ran the Army and Navy Store.. details about the Ironmongers, what sweets were in Shannahan’s store. She would enjoy talking with me about things which were in place when Bridget and I last lived in Wymondham, in the period between 40 and almost 60 years ago... details about the Teachers at Browick Road School,.. the bagwash, and the Tiffy being damned to enable the first By Pass to be built, Hall and Palmers Auction sale, The Blacksmith in Fairland Street, , ..Myhills shop, .. the Public Toilets under the Market Cross, ..The Kings Head being demolished, ..the swimming pool, .. and The surgery in Market Street, .. Mr Bunn the Baker, ...Mr Stanley who always wore his buskins, sitting outside what we all called his junk shop, in Market Street, ..Roy Howse and his Bike Shop,..and of visiting certain shops throughout her life which have seen little change over these years, Peter Parkes, Mr Proctor and so on. ..I could continue this list for a lot longer, but I hope I have also revived a few memories for many of you, which in future, may also remind you of her.
As you can see, Betty Hale was not a person to sit around reading. She wanted to be out doing things. In the earlier years it was often visiting Churches with her great friend Father Keith with whom she also maintained regular contact for around the past 50 years. There were regular holidays, with family, and trips back to Ely, another love of her life, and where she has maintained contact through Relatives who live there together with her Life Membership of Ely Cathedral. The nearest she got to sitting still, was to be glued to the radio when Norwich City were playing, which would be followed up immediately after the final whistle by a phone call with us to see how Ipswich had got on.
She also loved Ogden Close and enjoyed seeing her many friends there, and the outings...frequently our telephone calls would be suddenly terminated as we were told that it was time for her to be off to Bingo, or some other social event. We hear that the Residents already miss her frequent resounding chorus of Onward Christian Soldiers.
I want to conclude with a few words about the greatest affections and influences during her life, .. and forgive me because this part comes a lot harder...
Firstly of her Family.... she loved everyone but in different ways. Generally it is true to say that amongst her Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren, the younger they are the more they could get away with, .. no matter how bad the misdemeanour, she always put the good side of it, and if any of us Parents disagreed, she had her own way of either just ignoring our complaints, or if we complained louder, she would probably humn a Hymn. .. Of the older Members, she missed her Brother in Law, Peter Dunthorne who died in 1983 and has remained friends with that side of her Sister’s Family all her life.
She also frequently spoke of those of her own Aunts and Uncles who died many years ago, but had supported her in times of great need after her divorce. They also appear in her treasured ancient documents, amongst which is her Father’s Funeral Service which was held here in September 1952.
Which brings me rather neatly to the greatest influence during her life, which was, as I am sure known to everyone here today, ... her love and committment to Christianity, and in particular to Wymondham Abbey.
She was almost born into this style of life but took to it with amazing relish.
...Where on earth can I start... she absolutely loved this building.. but I don’t mean just the infrastructure, she loved everything about it...the bells, the Choir, taking Mass, and those under whose Ministry it has flourished, and whose careers she followed in the Church Times..but also those who worshipped here, together with the Stewards, and those who looked after the shop,and so on.. she loved its entire being.
She had numerous Church Activities, including delivering the Magazine, ordering the Bible Reading Notes, being on the Flower Rota and numerous others.
However, her most notable role was that of Sacristan, which position she held for around 34 years from 1971 serving 6 different encumbants until she retired in 2005. Few people realise the importance of this work, which essentially means preparing the Church for worship, and she also attended for all Funerals and special services, but Betty immersed herself in this role. This kept her in constant touch with the building and all those who administer it, and she had a wealth of knowledge about its functionality.
This work was not one sided, Betty gained numerous Friends from her time associated with this Church and those who are equally committed to it.
This subject alone could take ages to relate, but I realise that you all know about her selfless committment here, without me paraphrasing it, but its important to note that her personal catchphrase was that... you must go on... you cannot give up.
As I hope you can see, Betty lived a rich history of life,...amongst other things, liking .. good manners, personal restraint, good Friends, and fully realising a committment.
Amongst the numerous cards and letters we have received recently, one small phrase about her is repeated a few times, and to me accords a perfect summing up...
A well respected Lady.