Bessie Wallis (b. 1904) Class matters
“Class was dreadfully important then. It often puzzled me.” Bessie Wallis’s family was working class. She makes no effort to hide this …
Bessie Wallis (b. 1904) War and Memory
Bessie does not dedicate a lot of time in her memoir to the first World War, however what she does include is …
Bessie Wallis (b. 1904): Home and Family
“The family had closed ranks. At last we were a tribe united against all else.” Bessie Wallis’s account of her younger years …
Bessie Wallis (B. 1904): An introduction
I will be researching and posting about the memoir of Bessie Wallis, one of the autobiographies in the Burnett Collection. To begin …
Bessie Wallis (b. 1904) Life and Labour part 1
“What do the working class want with education? They have only to work.” For many of those who lived in West Melton, …
Bessie Wallis (b. 1904)- Purpose and Audience
‘Most working-class autobiographies begin not with a family lineage or a birthdate but rather with an apology for their authors’ ordinariness’ (Gagnier, …
Bessie Wallis (b. 1904) Education & Schooling
‘In a few months I would be thirteen years and that would mean leaving school. I dreaded it’. Schooling is oftentaken for …
Bessie Wallis (b. 1904): An Introduction.
‘My YESTERDAYS were an equal mixture of good and bad… Life was what we made it when I was a child in …
Bessie Wallis (b. 1904) Habits, Culture & Beliefs
‘A gradual reduction in working hours and a higher level of disposable income for many people throughout the twentieth century created the …
Bessie Wallis (B.1904) Home & Family
‘I realise now we were one of the luckier families’ (1, J) When it comes to family relationships Bessie withholds little …