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Winnifred Violet (Kerr)
Willis |
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Vital Statistics |
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| Birth Date | Birthplace | Comments | |
| June 14, 1894 | Dirleton, Scotland | ||
| Date(s) of Marriage(s) | Spouse(s) | Place(s) of Marriage(s) | Comments |
| Month ??, 1918 | Leonard John Willis | ||
| Date of Death | Place of Death | Burial Site | Cause of Death/Comments |
| February 22, 1957 | Bromley, Kent, UK | ||
| Father | Spouse(s) | Children | Birth Date |
| (Rev.) John Kerr | Leonard John Willis | Violet Joyce (Willis) Pellman | July 31, 1919 |
| John Raymond Willis | November 30, 1920 | ||
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Mother |
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| Maria (Groves) Kerr | |||
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Biographical Information |
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| Little is now known of Winnifred's life prior to her marriage to Leonard Willis in 1918. After her marriage, she and Leonard settled at No. 6 Hardwick Ave., Chepstow, Monmouthshire, England. Shortly after the birth of their son, Ray, Leonard and Winnifred purchased six acres of land in Laindon, Essex, where they operated a poultry farm for about eight years. Although they got by, the farm was never a great financial success. The Great Depression finally forced them to cease operations and sell the property around 1928. The family then moved to Edgware, MIddlesex, to be nearer family and better schools for the children. Eventually, Leonard found employment as groundskeeper at the recreation facility for the Craven "A" Tobacco Company in Edgware and, for a few years, life settled into a comfortable homemaker's routine for Winnifred. When the Nazi occupation of Europe forced severe cut-backs and Leonard lost his job at Craven "A", the family moved to Sydenham, where other family members could provide financial support. Leonard was only able to find odd jobs around Sydenham during the early years of World War II until succumbing to prostate cancer in 1942. With both of her children serving in World War II, Winnifred lived with her niece, Heather Kerr (later Morrison), for much of the war. Afterward, she settled in Bromley, Kent, southeast of London, where she remained until her death in 1957. Her grandson, Leonard Pellman, fondly remembers visiting the spacious two-story home near the Old Kent Road. Winnifred kept a garden in the backyard of the home in which she grew fresh fruits and vegetables. He considered it a wonderful treat to carry his cereal bowl out into the garden and top his corn flakes with fresh-picked raspberries -- still the best he has ever tasted -- and return to the kitchen to eat. | |||
