Philip Wadner

Olive Miriam Johnson 1893 - 1979 Philip Wadner

Inside a small age-battered suitcase which had rested in a dusty attic for longer than anyone can remember, were two old address books, a birthday book, and an autograph book dating back to the First World War. Also inside were receipts, faded photographs, wills, and certificates of births, marriages and deaths. At the bottom of the case was a poignant document that entitled the bearer a burial plot in Caister Cemetery alongside her first husband. Olive Miriam Johnson was born in Bedford's Black Tom. The family moved to a cramped terraced house in Bedford town centre when she was eight where she lived until leaving school. In 1907 Olive's father turned his hand to selling beer and spirits at a small alehouse in Russell Street and soon afterwards took the license to The Burnaby Arms in Stanley Street. Discovering a talent for singing, Olive gave performances in the pub and around local venues. After her father moved on to The Gordon Arms in Castle Road, it was not a talent scout who spotted Olive's qualities but Harry Jefferies, a young soldier who had recently returned from the Egyptian uprisings. This intense and vital account builds on the author's personal memories and the content of the suitcase. Through additional rigorous research, the text and accompanying images open up the delights and tragedies of Olive's life and those of her close family in equal measure.