Biography of Dora Emily Folker

Biography of

Dora Emily FOLKER

[Ref. R.25]

Doady and Archie were married on midsummers day in 1939. The best man and matron of honour were their friends David and Lois Summerville. After a stopover at Selsey, the honeymoon at the Lamorna Hotel, Lamorna Cove in Cornwall. According to a postcard that Doady sent to her parents, the weather could have been better.

Archie had bought a flat at "Florida Court", Staines which is where they both lived after they were married; David and Lois Summerville lived in the flat below. Archie had a wire haired terrier called Nappy which lived with them. Archie was called up for military service at the beginning of the war but was discharged soon after on medical grounds following a spell in hospital. Doady was called to service herself in 1940 but found herself pregnant which therefore excluded her. She had actually looked forward to service and, in that respect, was disappointed.

The couple moved to a bungalow called "Glencairn" in West End, Woking in the latter part of 1940 where their first son Malcolm was born on 14 November that year. Doady stayed at home during the war years whilst Archie worked for Arthur Aman, either in London or at his country home in Windlesham. Archie was attached to the local Home Guard and his colleagues would often call in at the house where he and Doady would entertain them and all had some jolly times by all accounts.

Some enemy action was experienced at West End including a bomber which crashed on the football pitch. On one occasion when an enemy fighter was brought down in the area, a machine gun bullet from the plane came through a roof slate of the bungalow and lodged in a rafter close to where Doady was sitting.

There was a good garden at "Glencairn" and it was put to production during the war. Doady was adept at bottling and preserving the fruit, vegetables and eggs. She had help with the housework from a lady called Mrs. Cox who also lived in West End and was engaged as a 'Daily'. She was a cheerful person who was known affectionately as Cocky, however, her husband was a bit of 'a barrack room lawyer'.

Son Stewart Thomas was born on 6 April 1943 at which time there was heavy snow on the ground. The nurse skidded her car into a ditch on her way to the bungalow for the birth so Archie went out to fetch her. Stewart was a big baby, about nine and a half pounds, and it was a difficult birth.

When Doady was pregnant again, she contracted Bells Palsy at which the muscles in her face relaxed causing her face to drop. She went to a hospital in Woking which was the Railwayman's children's orphanage but from which the children had been evacuated. The hospital was staffed by nuns. Doady had to receive ionisation treatment. During this time the children stayed with a lady in Warfield. Ann Gillian was born on 19 January 1945. Doadys problems continued as she suffered with shingles in the mouth, following which she had Genticulate Herpes then Irethema Nervosum at which she had large red patches at the top of her legs. Her mother-in-law came to stay during this period to assist with the children and running the house.

In 1946, the family sold "Glencairn" and moved to a large three story house called "Kashmir Cottage" in Claremont Anenue in Camberley. The house was wonderful for the children as they each had their own room and there was also a playroom. The house was along a gravel road and set in pine woods which contained a pond, a sand-pit and an old shed belonging to an Estate Agent and was full of bric a brac.

The children attended day school until about the age of 12 at which time they became borders until leaving. Cocky, the daily help continued to work for the family at Camberley, travelling from West End on the Aldershot & District bus.

Doady's mother died in 1949.

Early in 1953, Doady went into King Edward VII hospital at Windsor where she was in Stern Ward to have some varicose veins stripped out. During this time the boys stayed with the Hugh-Jones family with whose son they went to school. Gillian stayed with her aunt Marie and cousin Eileen in Muswell Hill.

Doady's father remained at their home in Marlow after her mother died but his health deteriorated and he engaged a housekeeper to live in. He passed away in 1955 and Doady inherited his car which was a light green Hillman Minx. Once Doady had a car she took on the additional task of chauffeur. In turn with other parents, she would drive the children to school and collect them. She would also take Archie to the station for his journey to London then collect him in the evening, often from different stations and at varying times. When the children reached their teens, they learned to drive Doady's car and would take it round the trees in the woods and managed this without damage to the car.

The children, like many others, kept pets including variously guinea pigs, fish and mice. Doady was not very keen on any these but usually finished up having to look after them when the children neglected them. About 1952, after Nappy the terrier died, Archie bought an Alsatian which was called Shadow. Shadow was a particularly nervous dog and was prone to running away from and he did this on one occasion just as the family were about to depart for their summer holidays. It was a whole day before the dog was recovered and the family to travel. Soon after Shadow had had been bought, the family acquired two cats, one called Peter and one called Paul. l had to be renamed Paula when it was discovered that 'he' was a 'she'. Paula survived to old age but Peter died quite young having caught cat flue. Shadow died of distemper at two years old. The family next had a smooth haired terrier which was called Peter who lived to a good age.

The family would take their summer holidays in a cottage by the seaside at Selsey. They would rent a place then the family, pets and all, would go down for a month. Archie's mother would also stay sometimes. Archie himself would stay for a week before returning to work but came back each week-end. Their friends the Samms family also stayed at Selsey in a cottage at West Beach which comprised two old railway carriages side by side with the area between covered over.

Doady sold her Hillman car and bought a light grey Morris Traveller registration number 876 GPL from The Green Service Station on The Causeway at Staines. By this time the children were starting to drive officially and they used Doady's car and continued to do so after they had passed their tests. Archie also borrowed her car rather than take his out of the garage therefore Doady's car seldom got cold and she often found herself waiting for it's return when she wanted to use it.

Early in 1961 the family moved to Birch Croft" in Camberley. This was a truly magnificent house which had been designed and built individually and had excellent accommodation including five bedrooms, two bathrooms and four WC's. There was an equally magnificent garden with hot and cold greenhouses, orchard and woods which backed onto Camberley golf course. Doady's mother-in-law came to live with the family at Birch Croft until her death in 1967.

In 1963, Doady and Gillian made a trip to Canada and the USA to visit friends and relations.

Doady sold her Morris Traveller to her daughter-in-law's brother Mike Parsons. It had done about 125,000 miles with hardly a problem and Mike managed about as much again with it. Doady then had a light blue mini which came to an end when her son Stewart turned it over in Westwood Road, Windlesham and damaged it beyond repair. The Insurance Company paid for the car so Doady next bought a white mini.

By 1967 the children had all left home and the house was too big without them so Doady and Archie decided to move again and found "Old Well Cottage" in Isle Brewers near Taunton in Somerset. Archie continued to work in London after they had moved to Somerset and because of the distance he would stay in London during the week and only return home at week-ends. The area was prone to flooding being near the Somerset Levels but was not normally too bad, however, the was one occasion when the water rose quickly to a depth of about one foot inside the house. It happened very quietly during the night and Doady came down to find Peter the dog floating around in his basket. They were both trapped inside the house for some days and the poor dog was unable to go out to 'lift his leg'.

Whilst there, Doady changed her car again and bought a dark grey second-hand Morris Minor. She had this for a while but changed it for a white Austin 1100 which she bought from the garage owner at Langport whose daughter had owned the car.

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