This month, I am wondering why local historians are often overlooked when the history of an area comes to be written.
Ivy Potton was born in one of the houses that back on to the railway line in Portesbury Road. She was the youngest child and had brothers who went into local businesses and a sister she went into business with herself. Her father was a blacksmith at a forge which was, roughly, behind the TSB building in the High Street.
She always liked looking after children and telling them about how life had changed since her childhood, especially as the town had grown so much.
After retiring from running a children's nursery, in Grand Avenue, she wrote this short book, putting down, as she pointed out, not a precise version of what she remembered, but a personal and emotional one.
By the time that she described what it felt like to be living in a town where the houses and roads were being demolished to make way for a new town centre, I began to realise how brave she was. She never complained about the destruction or the changes, but just gently considered them.
If you think you might be interested to 'hear her voice' I am sure the library will have a copy of her book.
