BRIDGET AMIES nee LOWEThis page is dedicated to the memory of our mother:-BRIDGET MARY LOWE - AMIES - SCHMIDT22 10 1913 LIMERICK, IRELAND - 31 10 2000 KIDDERMINSTER, ENGLANDAnyone who knew her or of her is invited to send me Gerhard Amies any material relating to her so that I can update this page. If anyone would like to add their anecdotes, opinions, corrections or objections to this page Click Here Click on any image to see an enlargement (It will open in a new window, that way you don't have to wait for this page to reload when you return to it) I have reduced the quality of the images to speed up the download time. If anyone wants a copy of the original image Click Here I have put some of the music I know she liked, and one of her singing in the late 60's. (2 of these links don't work due to copyright fears)
Can't say that I know a lot about this period because one of the results of the union of the couple above is the subject of this page and she was too young to be able tell us anything about it. Her Birth Certificate is below, she was given the name Bridget but was also called Biddy, Breda, Bretheen and Bridey. Recently (August 2000) she said that her father may have originally come from Lancaster, England. The 1st world war started before she was one year old and her dad went off to it, her mother always said that it was his own stupid fault, because he'd gotten himself drunk and signed on for world war one. It was a gas and it got him home with his lungs destroyed and gradual death, to which he succumbed in 1928. Looking through her English exercise books 80 years later I notice that on one of the pages (click here to see) she has written the words 'phthisis' and 'phthsis'. I think that they must refer to the medical condition or possible cause of her father's death. Shelagh has sent the following documents relating to our Grandfather Patrick Lowe. They are their Marriage and his Death certificates plus various Army documents relating to his service in the first World War. I noticed on one of them that he served in the Balkans, it's actually written as 'Theatre' of war. Which beggars the question Did he serve or perform in the Balkan Theatre? There are also details of his various Medals, frankly I can't understand what they're for. They are here so any military buffs who understand what they mean may feel free to tell me, I think C.R. means Connaught Rangers. Also I ask myself, was gas used in the Balkans as well? I'll check that out. Thanks Shelagh, nice to know you're doing OK.
It would have all started here I guess. The City Home and Hospital, Limerick. They were living in Vizes Fieldsat the time. She was the youngest of the family having 2 brothers Gerald, Michael and a sister Mary Kate. Ireland was still under British rule. The first 10 years of her life were spent in fear of the 'Black n' Tans'. She told us many times about when Mary, her older sister put the name of their cat on the curfew list which had to be pinned to the front door every night. On it they were supposed to write the names of the occupants of the house enabling the soldiers (Black n' Tans) to check that everyone listed was home, 'Tiddles' wasn't answering the roll call, "Where is he"? The soldier wanted to know.... They apparently had a hard time explaining that it was their cat because she was really frightened enough that night to remember it for the rest of her life. She spoke of the frequent shootings down the docks where the British shot whoever they liked meaning disliked. Then there was the Banshee, or for her brother Michael should I say 'Bansheet or Banshit'. When they heard it on the night O'Docherty died, Michael who was downstairs cleared the flight of steps in one leap diving straight under the bed where he found Biddy. Here are some of her schoolbooks, where you can see that they were passed from brother to sister to sister.
Here are some of the memorable phrases that I've accredited to Biddy "Tomorrow never comes" "Ask no questions and you'll be told no lies" "A stranger to the truth" "Ask my brother am I a liar" "You should never blow your own trumpet" "There's no such word as can't, you mean you don't want to do it" "Your eyes are bigger than your belly" "You made your bed you lie on it" "Where there's muck there's money"
Comments from people who knew her. A great help to me in them shit days was your dear mom I would go and see Biddy with problems I wouldn't discuss with me own mom she was a very special lady but you don't need me to tell you that. Leonard Parker, who lived next door to and over the road from for 30+ years writes:- |
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