Eileen Mabel Ward
| First name | Eileen Mabel |
|---|---|
| Last name | Ward |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 2/3/1932 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1967 |
| Submitted by | Robyn Ward |
Story
Eileen Mabel Wicks was born in Sompting, West Sussex, England on 3 February 1932, the youngest of four children, and only daughter of Arthur & Josephine Wicks. After leaving school, Eileen began working for the British Railways as a pay clerk. It was here, in 1949, that she met David Ward. David, the son of William & Doris Ward, was working as a messenger boy for the Railways.
On the 23 November 1950, David & Eileen were married in Brighton, Sussex. David joined the Military Police in 1952 for a short time before gaining work in the timber industry. David\’s work was very dependant on the season, during the winter months there was little work available. David & Eileen had four children between 1951 and 1963, Ann, Tony, Philip & Michael. As their family grew, it became more and more difficult to manage financially and their thoughts turned to finding a better life elsewhere.
In 1966, David saw an advertisement in the newspaper for sponsored work in Australia. He asked Eileen what she thought of moving to Australia and they decided to reply to the advertisement. Before too long, they had been accepted for sponsorship by Hickenbotham Homes and were told to make arrangements to leave England.
The family arrived in South Australia on 10 January 1967. Greeted by a scorching hot summer, they were housed temporarily in a migrant hostel which was built from besser blocks and had no air-conditioning. David was able to obtain work with Cowell Brothers (Timber Merchants) at Port Adelaide and he and Eileen were then able to purchase a house in Salisbury (a suburb north of Adelaide).
In 1970, to the family\’s surprise, twins, Colin and Christine arrived. Eileen tried to supplement the family income by working as an office cleaner whenever she could. But, in 1975, she had a fall at home and it was discovered that she had cancer. Eileen\’s strong will saw her survive for another eleven years. She was able to see her four older children leave home and get married and the arrival of eight grandchildren.
Eileen died on the 4 September 1986 at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. She was 54 years old. Another eight grandchildren have been born since Eileen passed away, as well as ten great-grandchildren.