Biography
Peggy Janette Stuart was born on 10 August 1937 in the Lewisham Hospital, South London. She is the daughter of Henry William Stuart and his wife Peggy Shadbolt, she was also the twin sister to Sylvia Ann Stuart. Although the larger of the twins Sylvia only lived for 16 days.
She was interred with her grandmother Annie Bennett in the Nunhead Cemetary, South London. Unfortunately this grave was destroyed by enemy Action during WWII. Something that Peggy was well aware of and she regretted not being able to visit the site.
Christened Peggy Janette Stuart, as the smaller of the twins, she was not expected to survive and was named after her mother Peggy. With Peggy Janette being the fighter she was she defied all odds including early Radium treatment to a growth on her head which left her with a hole in her skull for the rest of her life.
Her mothers elder brother Mark and her sister Lily (and their children) insisted on calling Peggy Janette - “Janet” so as not be confused with her mother, which only tended to cease when her brother Allan married his wife Janet.
“Enemy Action” also meant many moves of home starting with the destruction of the family home in Kennington by incendiary bombs. This resulted in a move to Clapham South where the family home in Gascarth Road. was destroyed by a V1 Buzz Bomb while taking shelter in the Clapham South deep Shelter. Later while living in Fernlea Rd, Balham a V2 Rocket exploded nearby. Peggy must have thought that Herr Hitler was out to get her.
In 1946 her sister Patricia Ann was born and in 1949 her brother Allan.
In 1948 Peggy went to the Dunraven Secondary School, Streatham, London, England.
In 1951 she won a place at the Mary Boone School of Art, Hamersmith, London, England.
Peggy worked all of her life to beyond normal retirement age including in 1953 as a Commercial Artist at Cecil Studios, Oxford Street, London, England (The Photo on the front of the order of Service today). This was a position she enjoyed in the days before colour photography whereby she would use chemicals and dies in order to colour a black and white photograph. When she left this position she used to exchange Christmas cards with her fellow workers until they died.
In 1963 she took up a position as a Draughtswoman/Tracer in Baker Street, London, England.
In 1964 she moved on to become a Tracer/ Technical Illustrator for the magazine "Engineering" in Bedford Street, London, England.
In 1969 following a redundancy she obtained a position in the drawing office as a tracer for Foster Transformers Ltd, The Path, Wimbledon, S.W.19 A unique position at this time as her brother Allan was completing his Apprenticeship in the Drawing Office, her future sister-in-law Janet worked in the Design Office and her father “Harry” worked in the Stores a true old fashioned family company, Allans best man and life-long friend Tony also worked there and was also well known to Peggy.
In August 1978 the big loss in her life of her father Henry William Stuart, “ Harry to all who knew him, hit Peggy hard as she became the main breadwinner for her and her mother.
Finally in 1990 as an Architectural Tracer in Raynes Park, Surrey, England a position that she loyally gave her time and skills until the company collapsed suddenly and she and other workers were locked out of the premises with no pay.
She finally retired in 1999 year in which she not only lost her job but in December her mother Peggy died.
In 2000 she moved home from Carshalton, Surrey to Sittingbourne, Kent where she was not too far from her brother Allan and his children Denise, Helen and Iain.
Marriage
Peggy never married. Although she did have a few boyfriends none seemed to meet with the approval of her mother.
Children
With none of her own she treated her nieces and nephews as her children.
Social & Private Life
Peggy enjoyed a none to active social life however she loved to read books, a trait she claimed came from her grandfather Edward “Ted” Shadbolt. She would join the local public library wherever she lived. She was also an avid collector of books buying at least one or two a week without fail. She could read a book a day quite easily and did so up until she died.
She enjoyed live theatre and would go to see a “show” whenever she could sometimes accompanied by her cousin Lennie Rose (now also deceased)
Peggy will probably be most remembered for her artwork. She attended the Mary Boone School of Art (part of the Hammersnmith Technical College) and would make the daily trip from the family home in Streatham, South London to Shepherds Bush, in North London some 10 miles away
.
It was there that she developed her skills, she could produce fine pencil drawings and sketches which she would later turn into beautiful water colours. She also studied ceramics and produced small clay plates and statues.
She studied Fashion and would spend many a day in the Victoria & Albert Museum South Kensington. These same museums at South Kensington she would later enjoy taking her nieces and nephews to see.
Peggy would remain in touch with her school friends Shiela in Derby and Jean in Canada and her work friends Arthur at Cecil Studios and Linda from Fosters. She would exchange Christmas cards with them.
She would often produce her own sometimes humerous Christmas cards.
In 2007 Peggy unfortunately developed Cancer (of the Uterus) and following an emergency hysterectomy had to endure the rigours of radio therapy. This caused a loss (thinning) of her hair. Following further examination further growths were found on her pancreas but following regular visits to kings in London she was given the all clear. The doctors agreeing she would be a very unfortunate person to have cancer in two major sites.
Peggy had a very wicked and sometimes misunderstood sense of humour even during her early cancer examinations she joked to the Gynecologist that she thought his name must be Kirk (as in Captain Kirk of Startreck fame) when he asked why she would think that (remember Peggy was the epitomy of a Maiden Aunt) Peggy answered with the classic that he was about to “boldly go” where no man has been before.
Peggy is now about to join her “Starship Enterprise” and we wish her to “Go Boldly” with a safe and happy journey to wherever it may lead her.
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