MK1 – Margaret & Nancy Kilburn.
| Title | Margaret Kilburn nee Hardy Storey |
| Date | 1927 |
| Location | Yeadon |
| Written By | Sam Kilburn |
| Comment | As told by her husband, Sam Kilburn this is Margaret Kilburn nee Hardy’s story: Margaret was born on 27th March 1927 at Brooklands Maternity Home at the top of Harper Lane now a Nursing Home, and started life at 14 Harper Lane, where she lived for the next 10 years with her parents and her younger sister Nancy. |
Margaret Kilburn, nee Hardy Story – 1927
She started school at Yeadon South View in 1932 and stayed there until she was 11 years old, she went to Aireborough Grammar School until she was 16 when she left and started at Bingley Teacher Training College, once qualified she next got a job at Bradford Drummond Road School where she stayed for about a year.
She then moved on to be sports mistress back at her old school in Yeadon, South View.
Whilst she was teaching at this school and because rationing was still in force she used to go for her dinner at the British Centre at Yeadon Town Hall where you could get a dinner for a shilling and where in 1948 she met her future husband Sam Kilburn who was also taking advantage of the shilling dinner.
They became very fond of each other and spent a lot of time together playing tennis at Kirk Lane Park in the evenings and weekend and since they were both fond of dancing they would go dancing at the Town Hall, to the Astorians Dance Band and the Blue Kitten at Guiseley run by Ronnie Lomas at the time and various other venues as far afield as the Capitol at Meanwood and the Astoria at Roundhay and the Mecca in Leeds.
In 1949 along with several of the other teachers she went to Majorca on holiday, but Sam could not go as he only had a weeks holiday and they were going for longer.
They must have been some of the first people to visit Franco’s Spain after the war where the beaches were still patrolled by soldiers with guns and where they were not allowed to wear the new fangled bikini’s, still, they had a great time and saw Ava Gardner filming Pandora’s Box.
MK2 – Margaret Kilburn.
Margaret Kilburn, nee Hardy Story – 1927
After an extended courtship they were engaged to be married and in 1952 they were finally joined in holy matrimony at St. Andrew’s Church Yeadon.
After a reception at the Liberal Club in the High Street they were off to Leeds to board a train for Scotland where they were to spend their honeymoon at the Grosvenor Hotel in Glasgow’s Kelvinside (since burned down) and in the Trossachs.
On return from their honeymoon they went to live at “Chy-Ryth”, Layton Lane, Rawdon, lodging with Barbara Nussey (whose parents had died) and Margaret returned to her position at South View School where she stayed until she moved to her own house at 21 Swincar Avenue in 1954 and became pregnant with her Daughter Sheila, born 29th June 1955 and later her son John Born 13th September 1957. When John was 4 years old and Sheila was already at school she was asked to go back to South View to teach infants, which she did for a year or two before moving to Guiseley to teach, and later to Pudsey Crawshaw where she remained until she retired in 1981.
Spending the next 10 years looking after her mother who died in 1991 and by now 4 Grandchildren and having dancing holidays and enjoying retirement walking with her friends.
Margaret volunteered her help teaching literacy and numeracy to children with learning difficulties and also helped with the local Guides and later joining The Trefoil Guild.
MK3 – Margaret, Audrey Speight, June Beecroft, Marion Townend.
Margaret Kilburn, nee Hardy Story – 1927
Meantime her daughter Sheila and family emigrated to New Zealand in 1995 so in 1997 and every alternative year until 2005 she visited her daughter and grandchildren and her sister Nancy who also lived in New Zealand, until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease in 2004/5.
She was still able to enjoy life being looked after at home by her husband Sam until around 2009 when Sam had to get help from Social Services to help with washing and dressing, but continued to look after her until 2012 when he sadly had to put her into a Nursing Home at Ghyll Royd, Guiseley, where he visits her every day and is able to take her out locally in a wheel chair.
She is now 86 years old and still appears to enjoy life in her own way but it is sad to see her deteriorating after such a full and active life, and its also sad that she now has 2 great grandchildren whom she will never know.
Sam Kilburn 2012
Consolidated by Jack Brayshaw. 18 August 2022.
Last updated: 18 August 2022.
