Lily Elmer was born in Hadleigh, Suffolk in 1890. Her father
and at least one brother were carpenters. Lily appears in the 1911 census
return working as a maid at the address on the postcard.
One of her brothers was killed during the First World War.
Like the very first postcard I ever researched (sent to Gilbert Freeman),
Robert Elmer is remembered in Thiepval, France.
Lily’s employer was the widowed Catherine Farnham. Catherine
Scott was born in Great Barr, Staffordshire in 1859. Her father was Sir Francis
Scott and the family home was Great Barr Hall.
The postcard was sent to Lily by her sister, Edith. Although
I haven’t researched Edith’s life, I believe she worked as a nurse in a
children’s home.
Despite only buying this card for a talk, there’s so much to
research that I might be tempted to offer it as a talk on its own!
