Mabel Leivers Breakwell

This post is about your paternal great-grandmother.  Granny loved her mother-in-law dearly and always felt like a true daughter to her.

Mabel was born January 11, 1905 to Florrie Leivers in Long Eaton, Derbyshire.  It is understood her father was a John Davies.  Little is known about him other than he emigrated to Canada and was killed in France during World War 1. 
She married Alfred Clarence Breakwell in October, 1926 and they lived with Florrie Leivers (Nanny) at 20 Clumber Street in Long Eaton, until 1932 when they moved to 87, New Tythe Street in Long Eaton.
Mam, as she was known by her four sons, was a most loving person and one could not wish for a better mother.  As well as being a devoted wife and mother,she contributed to the financial aspects of the family life by working at various jobs.  She worked until her oldest son, John Robert, (Granbob) was born.  She then worked off and on until well into the 1950's.
To the best of my knowledge, she worked at Sharp and Nichols, a biscuit (cookie) manufacturers.
During World War 2 Mam was a cook at Tamworth Road School, and then as a cook for the directors of a firm of food suppliers during the 1950's.
Being a hard worker, she also took in laundry for a lady school teacher, and was a housekeeper for a family called Grainger in Attenborough, just prior to WW2.
In no way did Mam neglect the care of her family and, with the aid of Clarrie, as she called her sweet husband, kept a good, honest and clean home.  In retrospect, the family didn't know how she coped with all this and never suffered any major illness until her later years.
Mam was a very talented lady and was able to knit, crochet, cook, bake and decorate cakes, and even did well at playing the piano until the family was forced to sell it, which put an end to her playing.
Mam loved taking walks down the River Trent and most Sundays, during Spring and Summer, found the family walking down over the fields to the river.  Mam loved flowers of any description in the house and enjoyed seeing the blossoms come into bloom as they walked.
Mam had a fall getting out of bed one night which resulted in a broken hip.  She went into hospital and died August 25, 1987 at aged 82.

Here are some memories I have of my granny.  When I was young, under the age of ten at least, because we were still living in Gwelo at the time, Granny and Grandpa came to visit us.  I remember sitting on the bed at my cousin's house watching my gran open up their suitcases to reveal all the 'exotic' treasures they had brought with them from England.  We considered them exotic because they were treats that we couldn't get in Rhodesia.  Cadbury chocolate, jelly tots, Quality Street, Smarties, Crunchies and best of all, Avon peach powder and Blue Grass for my mom.  My dad would get Nuttle's Mentoes, super spearmint flavored, chewy nuggets of deliciousness.  Granny and Grandpa would also bring us cute dresses, socks and petty coats too.  I have no idea if my brothers received anything, I was too busy enjoying the unexpected Christmas in the middle of the year!
The memories I have of my gran are that she was sweet and kind.  When I was seventeen and our family went to England to be sealed in the London Temple, we obviously stayed with granny and Uncle Dek.  It was my eighteenth birthday whilst we were there and my Uncle Pete and Auntie Chris were having a dinner for me at their house.  We were all getting ready to go over to their house from Granny's and she didn't appear to be getting ready.  When asked why she was not, she replied that she hadn't been invited.  What?  I was a bratty teenager and responded, to my mom and dad of course and not my gran, that did she think she needed a gilt-edged invitation or what?  I reiterate, bratty teenager.  No, Granny didn't need an invitation, she was just big on manners and protocol, and not in a bad way at all.  Granny did come to the dinner.
When I went to the USA in 1980, I stopped in England for two weeks and stayed with my gran and Dek for most of the time.  Granny took wonderful care of me and tried to feed me all the time!  She made the best food, especially pie and custard for dessert ... mmmmmm.  Something else she did, which at first embarrassed the heck out of me, was this.  Gran's house did not have an indoor loo and so we would have potties under our beds in case we needed to go in the middle of the night.  Sure enough, I would have to use the potty in the night and Gran would insist on emptying it in the morning.  I tried, several times, to take care of it, but no, Gran would not let me!
A story that my mom told me about Gran was when she had tried to find out about Gran and her family tree.  Gran had told my mom that she would give the information but never had.  Then when my mom and dad went to England, mom was helping Gran in the kitchen and she asked again about family history.  Mom said that Gran started crying and said she was so embarrassed because her mom was never married to her father.  She was illegitimate.  My mom reassured Gran that didn't make one bit of difference to how we all loved one another as family.  Gran was okay after that.