Val was born in Croydon on July 03, 1925. She is much loved and will be forever remembered by all her friends and family. Val always valued her family very highly, particularly her two grandsons, Andrew and Paul. She was a very independent person who was determined to live in her own home as long as possible. This she did until a few days before passing away. She never entered a care or nursing home except to visit others - good for her. She regularly did her own shopping by taking a bus from the bottom of the steep hill on which she lived and when coming back she alighted from the same bus route at the top of the hill. In doing this was she was always able to walk downhill. She had it all worked out! Although Val was physically less able, her mind was sharp till the end. In the days before she passed away all of her immediate family were able to visit her in hospital and whilst she was only semi-conscious then, I am sure she knew everyone that came to see her. Val was very well cared for in the hospital, in fact from the moment the ambulance crew arrived at her house until her death the care provided by the NHS was first class. No one could wish for more kindly, professional and caring people as we encountered in that week. Val was comfortable in hospital surroundings as she worked at Southlands Hospital CSSD for 35 years. Most of Val's memories stem from the years of the Second World War. She was a centre-lathe operator in a munitions factory near Bournemouth in those difficult times. I was cutting her fingernails recently and came across a deformed nail. She expained that her fingertip had become caught in the lathe and damaged. Val referred to this as her "War Wound". I suggested she claim a war pension for it but I don't think she did! I came across an extract of her war memoirs which Val recorded for local radio a couple of years ago. These are her words : "I was 14 when the war started, away from home in domestic service, which I hated. By the time I was 16, women of 18 had to register for war work and I had always wanted to join the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service). I thought my chance would come when I became 18. However, my husband-to-be, a regular soldier, said a definite no, as he wanted to keep tabs on me. As we were planning to marry before then, I decided to apply for war work in munitions before I could be conscripted. I went to an Engineering College in Bournemouth to become a centre-lathe turner. On my first spell of night shift of 12 hours, I fell asleep. I soon learned to cope with this with the help of my first cigarette and a fear of my foreman. Most jobs were in terrible garages turned into factories and I was always covered in oil and grease. Bournemouth was quite lucky regarding bombing, compared with some towns. However, one summer evening, as we were coming out of the factory to get on our buses to take us home, we met Jerry on a daylight raid strafing the road with bullets. Terrified, we dived for cover under the buses as there was no time to get to a shelter. It was a bit scary and I still don't remember getting home! We grew up quickly in those days! " At this time Val was about 16 years old and I think it is typical of that generation that they should refer to such an incident as "a bit scary." When I was preparing the photographs for the slide show at Val's funeral I looked for ones which showed her on her own. There were several but she always appeared to look a bit lost and rather detached. The only photos. where she looked really vibrant were when she was with her family and especially her beloved husband Ron. They were married for 57 years until Ron passed away. When you look at the photograph on the front of the service sheet she appears to be on her own, but this is only through the magic of "Photoshop" because Ron is right beside her in the original photograph. Val spoke to Ron every day after he passed away and she firmly believed that he was watching over her. She has gone to be with him now and think that is where she will find peace and joy. (Jim)