Lilian WEEDEN was born on 29th Sep 1896 to Joseph and Helena WEEDEN and sister to my grandad Richard. During WW1 she was in the Red Cross with her sister Ada. Lil married twice, her first husband being David Duncan GUNNING whom she married in 1922 in Nunhead.

Her second husband was John Thomas MATTHEWS, with whom she had lived, but not been free to marry until 1952. They married at Lewisham Register Office, when she was 55 years old.

After John died, Lil was a fairly frequent visitor to our home in Norfolk. I have many memories of her staying, especially in the Summer Holidays during the 1960s. I believe she had a form of Alzheimers and one could repeat the same joke over and over again, with her having no memory of it. I am ashamed to say that we teased her relentlessly... and I was very upset when news of her death came just after Xmas, brought by a policeman to our festive door. I felt especially guilty as, when she was too unwell to come for Xmas I'd swapped her intended present for a cheap piece of jewellery....which she never received anyway.