Having borrowed so much of my work, I feel the need to give credit where it is due.

Epilogue

I do not intend to tell you the fortunes of the various characters who appear in the book, Day after Day. I have written another book, not a sequel as it won’t relate directly to Muriel and Harold Day, or to May and John Day, but they will be mentioned in it, and their futures will be revealed at that time.

However, I thought some might wonder what is this story is fact, and what is fiction.

When I started writing the story I had several things to help me. First of all, I had the birth, death and marriage dates (within 3 months) for all the leading characters. I also had census details which included where they lived, and what they did and who else was in their households, including servants. Some of the details included how many people worked for them. I used these details not only for them, but for their friends and neighbours. The census sometimes reveals things that are completely unexpected. For instance, I found out that Tom Stinton was at the Day’s house on the day of census (March 31, 1901) which was also most likely the day of his father’s funeral (his funeral was not written up in the papers). I also found out from census details that Warren Tree worked as a journalist for his grandfather during his breaks from his University course in London.

We have inherited a large number of photographs including some from Malaya, so from them one could deduce certain things. There are also a few letters including the ones relating to the Paulet family and the traced family tree. I have cut and paraphrased them slightly, but the content of the letters obviously made that bit of the story more interesting and realistic.

We also inherited many pictures and books which belonged to George Williams King and later his daughter Muriel and Harold. Many of the books are inscribed, which gave clues. We also had books which had belonged to J.C.R. Day, Eveline Stinton, and of course the 1851 Diary of Charles Walker. A book written by Jessie and Janet Tree and privately published, also furnished some of the details of the time.

The details of Queen Victoria’s memorial service and funeral are accurate, as they appeared in Worcester newspapers and other accounts. We don’t know whether Muriel recited or tried to get her great grandmother’s poetry published or not, but we know that it was in her house, so she might have taken an interest in it.

The account of the ball given by Henry Walker for his daughter is accurate, but we don’t know, and I rather doubt, if our characters actually attended it.

We don’t know when or where G.W. King bought his pictures, but we know he owned them and passed them down the generations.

We don’t know if Muriel ever played games with the huge dictionaries her father gave her, but we know from the inscription that they were given to her by him and the date.

The descriptions of dresses for the ball, theatre visit and weddings were from the internet, and were consistent in terms of the period of time, but we have little indication of what sort of dresses they wore, except from the pictures – many of which come from a later period which will be covered by my next book.

The locations mentioned in London, such as the hotel, restaurant and church they visited were accurate, and came from the internet.  However they may never have made the trip. The train times that I gave for various trips was reasonably accurate as per railway timetables of that era. Thanks to Craig Wright for researching them for me.

We got details of the houses on Lansdowne Crescent by visiting the area, and by getting details off the internet of houses on that street which were for sale.

Details of the courses taken by Harold Day come from the actual certificates from school and mining college which we possess. We also have many of his athletic medals and trophies.

We had information from Who’s Who and Schoolteachers Registers for John Day, and also found information from the many directories which are published on the internet relating to him and to various other relatives in the period of time between the 1901 census and the end of the book.

As always, the internet was an enormous source of information – from details about tin mining in Malaya, to details about the Shakespeare plays and other plays including their casts, costs and reviews.

We don’t know if Muriel was interested in the plight of the suffragettes. However, the newspapers made quite a lot of the extra turn out of female voters in the election that her father stood in. And just after he took over as Mayor, there was a commission set up to discuss the issue.

The historical information regarding the ancient Paulet family came from the internet, and was interesting, but not really relevant to the family, as we have no direct evidence that they were related – only a comment made in a letter.

I have made up the relationships between the various characters. We know that Charles Walker was a friend of the family, because his picture when he was about 70 is prominent in a family album of King relatives. We know that Charlotte Walker was friendly with Harold Day, as we have a picture of him addressed to her. One of Muriel’s children remembers meeting Miss Walker(s) at a family picnic. However, we don’t know Charles’ attitude towards his daughters that left home, and I may have made him  overly harsh. He did alter his will after they left, but he did leave them each £50. I presume the house was sold, and with the proceeds Charlotte and Mary bought another one, Redlands, 5 Henwick Road, Worcester.  In the Registers the house is occupied by The Misses Walker. In 1909, one of the other sisters, Lucy, died, and at the time she is listed as living in Worcester.

We don’t know how soon the Day boys met Muriel and May – and how their relationships went. There is no one alive now to tell us. We assume that Harold was in Malaya at the time of G.W. King’s mayoralty as his name never appears on any of the lists of those who attended various functions. We know that on his marriage announcement, his address is given as Lahat, Perak. We know that Muriel went back there with him.

We know that all four families that are mentioned at the picnic eventually lived on Lansdowne Crescent and their families intermarried. We know that May and Muriel were friends before this period, because we have a book which was given to Muriel by May in 1898. She was also given books by young Tom Stinton but for later dates. We know that May and the Tree girls attended the Alison Ottley school, from details given by their grandchildren, but we don’t know about Muriel. We know that one of the Tree girls worked in the City, and that Jessie worked in her father’s office, as we have a document relating to the Tree family written by her. More of that will be made in the next book.

The details relating to the Mayoralty and death of George Williams King were taken from various Worcester newspapers of the time. Also we gleaned information about schools results especially in sports from newspapers. Sometimes I used the odd article which didn’t really relate directly to the family, but was of interest because it could be quoted in a conversation. The information regarding the funeral and grave site is accurate. We have visited the grave.

So you see, with a few facts and a few logical assumptions, I have added a lot of imagination and possible scenarios. I based my idea of what Muriel was like on the personality of her only daughter, Marian, who I did know quite well, and who was very involved in local politics and good causes, and who had a very strong personality.

I’ve based my ideas about Harold Day on comments made by his sons, Jan and Mark. I also assumed that his personality might have been similar to theirs.

I discussed May Stinton and John Day with some of their grandchildren, who had not known them, but had heard stories, which they shared with me.

I had a wonderful time writing the story, and hope nobody has been offended in any way with the licence I took in putting my own interpretation on those eight years of my husband’s families’ lives.


References from the internet

Cornwall
Wheal grenville mine – cornwall-calling.co.uk
Richard Trevithick  trevithick-day.org.uk
South Crofty Mine – destination-cornwall.co.uk
Tin-education.jlab.ord
Pilkington-history-glasslinks.com
Tin-property and uses web 1.caryademy.ord

Malaya
Perspectives in Medicine, Marlaria by A.A. Sandosham
Bat Gajah trave Guide, virtualtourist.com
In Rubber Lands, an account of the work of the church in Malay, edited by CE Ferguson-Davie, London Soc for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,1921
Malay States British – 1911 encyclopedia
The History of Papan and The Tandailing People by Abdur Razzag Lubis  Mangaling.org
Malaysian food - mayalsianfood.net

The rich history of tin mining mca.org
Tin mining town strikes gold, by Foony Thim Leng, goecities.com
Ipoh, Hertford College, Oxford from Wikipedida.org

Suffragettes

Demanding the vote for women – museumoflondon.org.uk
Suffragettes – learningcurve.gov.uk
Women and Parliament 1884-1945 -parliament.uk
Women in Kent, hastingspress.co.uk

Plays
RSA past and present – rsc.org.uk

English History

House of Lords Journal –british history on line
Paulet – stirnet.com also tutorplace.com

Coventry, Warwick
Coventry, historiccoventry.co.uk
Roger Wilnut, Warwick School home.clara.net
Wroxall –conferences-uk.org.uk

Worcester

Moore’s Blue Coat School, worcesterpeople and places.com
Worcestershire Library and History Centre
Elgar timeline – Elgar.org
Worcester – the King’s school www.of chorister.net
The three Choirs Festival- Britainexpress.com

General

Edwardian era – channel4.com
Dressed for mouring msu.edu
Edward VII, spartacusschoolnet.co.uk
Quotations by author – quotationspage.com
Historical directories.org
Mina House Hotel, deals.hotel.com
1890 politics & culture –housemouse.net
Lady Godiva – bbc.co.uk and brothersjudd.com
Edwardian clothes – fashionsintime.com

Ancestry.co.uk
And hundreds more.

Books:

Orate Fratres, by Jesse and Janet Tree, privately published 1918.

Worcestershire by James Lees-Milne, London 1964.
Worcester Cathedral guide book.
Charles Walker’s Diary, 1851.