I have pieced together the story of Dorothy Fisher with the help of photographs left to me by my grandmother and from memories of her told to me by my lovely cousin Brian, his wife Rosemary, and their son Peter. It has been wonderful to be able to do this because until late 2013 I didn’t know these three people existed.  I had heard about Dorothy, and in a later story, I’ll tell you how I found my new cousins. Today I’m going to talk about Dorothy Fisher and how she travelled from rural Berkshire to Wynberg in South Africa.

Dorothy Fisher was born on 9 December 1893 in the tiny village of Frilsham, Berkshire. Her parents were Susannah Pauling and George Fisher.

Dorothy was one of eight children, Lilian (Lily) the eldest, Francis (Frank), Florence (Flo), Maurice, Elsie, Dorothy (Dot), Harrison and Eileace.

By 1911 the older girls Lilian, Elsie and Florence were all in service in London. It must have been an exciting time for three young women leaving rural Berkshire behind for the ‘bright lights’ of London.  Women were finding more of a voice with the Suffragette Movement. Emmeline Pankhurst had called on women to boycott the 1911 census, followed by the Women’s Coronation Procession through London on 17^th June 1911, just before King George V’s coronation. I wonder if any of the Fisher sisters were there.

Dorothy remained in Frilsham where she worked as a domestic servant for a local family.  However, shortly after she attended my grandmother’s baptism in London in November 1913 she headed for South Africa.

But why did she go to South Africa?

She was being pursued by a young and very charming and handsome Scotsman called Menzies Gaven. Menzies was in love with Dorothy; he had proposed but she wasn’t sure she wanted to marry him. To give herself time and distance and to “sort out her mind”, Dorothy headed for South Africa where she’d been offered a position as a domestic servant.

Menzies was persistent and eventually persuaded Dorothy’s parents to tell him where she had gone.  Soon after learning her whereabouts he boarded a ship and followed her to South Africa.  Menzies arrived in Cape Town not knowing exactly where Dorothy was but determined to find her. The story was that one day, Dorothy was standing on a railway station in Cape Town. Coming towards her in the crowd, with a familiar gait, was Menzies Gaven. He had tracked her down.

Dorothy Fisher and Menzies Bayne Gaven married in Wynberg, South Africa on 12^th August 1915.  They had two sons in quick succession – Maurice in 1916 (named after Dorothy’s brother) and John in 1917.

Return to England

In the summer of 1923, Dorothy returned to England to visit her family. The family disembarked in London on board the Union Castle SS “Gascon” from Cape Town and headed for Frilsham.

Her parents were still grieving the loss of two of their three sons, Maurice and Harrison, both of whom had died during the First World War.  Then, in the Spring of 1924, Dorothy’s father George died. Dorothy remained in England to support her family through their loss.

Back to South Africa

Dorothy and her boys returned to South Africa in August 1925, then in 1926 Dorothy and Menzies had a third son, Charles Bayne Gaven, followed by a fourth son, Brian, who was born on 29^th March 1934.

Menzies and Dorothy had a happy life in South Africa. They settled into family life in Wynberg and Menzies had a good job. Then Menzies became ill. He started behaving strangely, he would be silent for long periods of time, before starting to speak again.  Eventually, he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, and in 1939 Menzies died aged just 54.

When Menzies died, Dorothy tried her hardest to survive but there was no money and she had two small children to provide for. By the time the Second World War started Dorothy was destitute. She had no home and no job and things looked very bleak for Dorothy, but after some difficult times, she managed to find work as a Housekeeper to the family of Sir Abe Bailey.

Memories of Dorothy include her ability to make a three-course meal out of almost nothing.  A particularly useful skill as son John, who was in the Navy, would bring English sailors home to meet “Ma” when his ship was docked at Simonstown.  She also made sure they got back to their ships in time, despite coming back from the pub worse for wear.

A strong, independent and determined lady who never suffered fools but who was much loved by all, Dorothy died suddenly in 1981 aged 88.  She had a massive stroke. It was thought it would have been the way would have wanted to go.