Stan's Grandmother, Annie Lettice Spink

In Stan's letter to Grace written on 10 January, he says that in a recent letter his mother mentioned that "she and my Father had had to dash over to Hull to see my Grandmother on Christmas Day.  Apparently she is very weak ..."

Stan's maternal grandmother, Annie Lettice Spink, was born Annie Lettice Farr on 10 December, 1868, in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.  She was the third daughter of John Farr, an ironmonger, and his wife Kate (nee Turney).

By 1891, when she was 23 years old, Annie had moved with her older sister, Nellie, to become an asylum attendant at the Hull Borough Lunatic Asylum in Willerby, near Hull.  This may seem an unusual career choice for two young women until you know that, at that time, their father, John, had been for several years resident in the Three Counties Lunatic Asylum in Bedfordshire, suffering from insanity caused by syphilis.  He died in November, 1891, of paralysis, caused by the syphilis, and pneumonia.

It would seem that the two young women had been influenced in their career choice by their father's illness, but had decided to move far away from Bedfordshire, where they could make a new start somewhere where the stigma of their father's illness was not known.

On 15 October, 1896, Annie married Harry Edward Spink, also an asylum attendant, at Sculcoates Register Office.  The couple lived at West Green, Cottingham, from their marriage until 1939, when Harry died.  They had three children: Mabel, the eldest, who was Stan's mother; Fred and Margaret - usually referred to as 'Auntie Mag'.  

Stan had fond memories of his grandparents, and even though they lived quite a distance from Grimethorpe he visited them regularly, often staying for short holidays.

After Harry's death, Annie moved to live with Mag and her family in Exeter Street, Cottingham, and this is where Mabel would have gone to visit her at Christmas, 1943.