Nat Gould

William Wooddisse Letter

Martha Gould 1847-1922

Letter of condolence sent by William Wooddisse 1866-1926 of Ashbourne in Derbyshire on the occasion of the death of his second cousin Martha Gould of the Crewe and Harpur Arms Hotel at Longnor in Staffordshire, addressed to her elder unmarried daughter Miss Gould.

"Hill Crest
Ashbourne. 15. X. 1922

Dear Miss Gould

I have your letter & thank you for letting me hear of your mothers death.

I am so sorry I have not seen her lately & have wished to get to Longnor particularly for that end but have been practically unable to get about since January through diabetic neuritis.

I hope to be with you tomorrow though awkwardly fixed as, in addition to my own lameness, my brother (1) is fast in bed with influenza & it is a big house sale here but I think I can manage & if possible shall certainly do so.

I have many pleasant memories of your mothers unvarying kindness & greatly deplore her death. The good old friends keep leaving us & they are never really replaced.

Please believe how sincerely I sympathize with you all in your great loss & with kind regards I am dear Miss Gould

Yours sincerely
William Wooddisse"

(1) William Wooddisse was in business partnership with his brother Thomas Wooddisse 1865-1933 as agricultural engineers and ironmongers with extensive premises in the Market Place at Ashbourne. He lived at Hill Crest, Belle Vue Road in Ashbourne.

The letter and photograph are here reproduced by kind permission of their owners, Eileen and Peter Bentley.