The Cordwainer's Daughter

Ethel Pocock, my maternal grandmother, was a diminutive powerhouse of a woman, born in England to a Kentish cordwainer (bespoke shoemaker) in the middle of Queen Victoria’s reign, when women were not permitted to amount to much, no matter how talented they were. Growing up in a close-knit family with seven other siblings, her dream was to build a career as a buyer in the clothing industry and to one day have her own family. Fate had other ideas, however, and placed many obstacles in her way.

 

Ethel's parents were accustomed to being around famous people of the day, with friends including writer Charles Dickens and politician Lloyd George, so Ethel came to understand the secret of success from an early age.

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Losing her closest sister who died from consumption at the age of fourteen had a deep impact on Ethel, strengthening her determination in reaching her goals in life, though it took almost four decades and WW1 for her to finally succeed. With the aid of tape recordings I made in 1965 of my grandmother reminiscing, as well as letters and photographs I have kept since I was a boy couple with extensive research carried out by myself and three willing researchers who live in the region where my grandmother grew up, I have been able to piece together Ethel’s story – much of it written in her own words.

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This, my seventh book, can be purchased from Amazon and other on-line book stores in most countries, either in paperback or hardback. Due to the fact that the book contains more than 100 photographs and images, it was not possible to create a Kindle eBook version. I tried but the output was clumsy and difficult to navigate.