​​​Eunice Fletcher from her brothers, Don and Frank Born Eunice Rose Carruthers on the 18th April, 1938 at home in Anfield. She grew up during WWII with her mum and dad, followed by her brother, Don, born in 1942. In 1948, younger brother, Frank was born. Eunice was always there for the boys. She was overjoyed to have her first baby brother and after her visit to Walton Hospital to see the baby, Eunice was so excited that on her return bus trip with dad, she told everyone on the bus she had a baby brother, Donald. As a child, Eunice used to love to dance and play out in the street. She loved playing Two Balls and tossing her legs up against a wall. She had lots of friends and her mum relied on her to be the responsible one and push Don and Frank in the pram up Blessington Road to get the groceries at the Co-op. She indeed looked after her brothers. When her mum was upstairs in 1, Gurnall Street, ready to deliver baby Frank, Eunice and Don were looked after by a lady who came in each morning. It was Eunice, though, who made sure they had a few extra treats so brother Don didn’t get too fretful! Not that everything was a bed of roses. Far from it, times were tough, and Eunice caught diphtheria while still young. She was seriously ill. She was sent away to an isolation hospital and didn’t have any visitors for months. Even her mum and dad could only wave to her through the hospital railings. What a terrible lockdown that must have been for a young child. Growing up with a big sister was always fun for both boys. Don remembers many days spent sitting alongside Eunice’s favourite dolls around a small table for a ‘tea party’: pouring water from a tiny tea-pot into cups. Why does he remember this so well? Years later he would recall it while carefully pouring dilute solutions into testing cups for analysis in the chemistry lab. When time came to go to school, it was Eunice who took Donald off each morning, later including Ted McDonald, a family friend’s child, and made sure he too was safely delivered to school. Whenever there was an emergency at school, Eunice was called for from the Junior class to take Don home, with cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises! Eunice was undeniably Frank’s second mum! She was coming up to ten years old when he was born and she was so proud of him she took him out in the pram everywhere, calling in on her friends to show him off. It’s also undeniable that he did nothing but cry and wail for the first three years. So coming in from school each day, Eunice would take charge and happily distract him from whining and sobbing while mum got on with making the tea. He’s sure he didn’t deserve it! When they were old enough, big sister Eunice was required to take the boys to Sunday School each Sunday, to the local St. Cuthbert’s Church of England, a dark, smelly, foreboding place, which Don hated. He was overjoyed when Eunice was allowed to go with her friend Lorna Fletcher to the much more child-friendly Methodist Church that Lorna attended each Sunday and take Don with her. Rescued again! Eunice spent her teenage years attending the Sunday School, becoming one of the teachers of a group of young children. And as we all know, the Fletcher family became more and more important to her, as time went on! Eunice passed the 11+ exam and attended a Commercial High School, Ellegreen, in Liverpool. She did very well and passed her school certificate….so well in fact that her teachers were keen she should stay on into the 6th form. However, in the mid-fifties, it was the done thing for girls to go out to work, help support the family and not go on into higher education. That was a great shame and she certainly missed out on a great opportunity. Instead, she became a shorthand typist and secretary for various firms on Merseyside including the British American Tobacco Company. Her wages she passed over to her mum and dad each week, barely keeping anything back for herself and even giving her two brothers pocket money. Both brothers always felt indebted to her for her love and support, which continued throughout her life. They have always been very close to her, always in touch and visiting regularly. They have shared many happy times with her and her family over the years. And they have spent many happy holidays together, in England, in Europe and in the USA. Big sister Eunice is gone from us. But the memories are still there and are still great.