My Great Aunt Constance by Jenny Mallin
Jenny spoke to us in 2020 about her Anglo-Indian family history and her grandmother's recipe book from Madras. Now she returns to recount the story of Great Aunt Constance and her retreat from Burma during WW2. A woman of high social status, the wife of a British official, born in 1898, this is Constance's account of her life in Burma and the story of a civilian trek in 1942 involving thousands of people who had to face an arduous hike across some of the world's most treacherous terrain, dealing with monsoon-swollen rivers, jungles, steep mountain ranges and dangerous wildlife. We learn how Rangoon was at that time the world's busiest immigration port with millions arriving into this rich, stylish and exciting destination and how Burma was recognised as the most beautiful country in South East Asia. We discover how living in Rangoon throughout its heyday of the 1930s meant a charmed life, one that was filled with opulence, bon viveur and style, but also how life can change overnight and the horror of a situation where there was no possibility of turning back but only in moving forward.
Coffee & biscuits are available at the Cross Barn, Palace Gate Odium from 10am (but not before) and Jenny will start her talk at 10.30am.
PLEASE NOTE THERE WILL BE NO RECORDING MADE OF THIS TALK, sorry but attending in person is your only option this month.
