Category: Stringer – Marguerite 1914-2010

Granddad – William Stringer

William Stringer was a teacher from Lancashire. He moved to Guernsey where he met and married Eda Le Messurier. In Guernsey he was headmaster of a boys school, and Eda was headmistress of a nearby girls school. He came from Ashton under Lyne. They had two children, Margot and Desirée. Margot was born in 1914. In 1916 he enlisted  in the Lancashire fusilliers. He wasn’t supposed to enlist if his wife was pregnant, but she […]

Kauri kitchen table

  When we arrived in NZ in 1949 we stayed with Auntie Heath and the nurse who had looked after Lucy Spencer at home.  She had died not long before, and Auntie Heath had decided to continue with her company.  The family had been looking out for a house for us, and had found one in Epsom.  But it needed changes and renovation, and we stayed with Auntie Heath for about 6 months. During this […]

Letter 1940 June (2) Evacuation of Guernsey – Eda Le Messurier – Margot Stringer

Monday Dear Margot Here is a link to the wikipedia article about the Guernsey evacuation. The latest news is that 2000 Germans (two thousand) landed in Guernsey alone.  This comes from the Waymouths.  Father was away during the whole of Sunday – 9 am to 7 pm – dealing with the children.  Someone, he forgets who, had had news of the Waymouths.  They have a very big bakery at L’Islet, in the Vale Parish, & […]

Letter 1940 June Evacuation of Guernsey – Eda Le Messurier – Margot Stringer

Note at top of letter: You know the two big posts at the gate, with the ramblers.  Father pruned them severely this year, & they are perfectly gorgeous, huge clusters of blooms as big as your head – the clusters, not the blooms. Saturday. Dear Margot Here is a link to the wikipedia article about the Guernsey evacuation. Thank you for your letter.  Either I missed out a comma! (Father’s pet) or else you missed […]

Margot reminiscences by Donald Lang

Margot (Marguerite Stringer) was Donald Lang’s mother-in-law, and he wrote this about her. The first time my path came close to Margot – and vice versa – neither of us saw the other in the crowd. She was in Sargood Private Hospital with a new baby. O’Rorke Hall just happened to be next door. When exams finished for the year the University students resident there celebrated. We never discussed that. It was much later when […]

Memories of Margot from her granddaughter

Grandparents can have a special relationship with their grandchildren. They don’t have the responsibility of molding and correcting children that parents do, so they can get on with the unconditional love part of the relationship. Of my four grandparents, I knew my Granny, Margot, the best. We used to visit her every two years and stay for a few weeks when we were growing up, and then later she would come over for a month […]

Stringer – Marguerite 1914-2010

Margot (as she was always known) was born in St Peter Port, Guernsey. Her mother Eda Aline LeMessurier was a member of the family known as the Post Office LeMessuriers. The first postmaster – Nicolas – was her great great grandfather. His grandfather Nicolas seems to be the first to put two S’s in the name, and indeed many other LeMesurier descendants only have one. Her father William Stringer came from a Lancashire family. William’s […]

That act of kindness and generosity shaped my whole life…

This essay from Ulu Aiono talks of his memories of Margot and Arthur Spencer, and their impact on his life. It was originally published on March 17, 2019 on LinkedIn and is reproduced with permission. A personal essay against the hate which killed & injured my Muslim Kiwi brothers & sisters destroying New Zealand’s faith in isolation and innocence. ULUOMATOOTUA (Ulu) AIONO Chairman Alliance Health Plus A lot of people think I am a business-hardened […]