Thoughtful of Others

Ever concerned about her mother she would hurry back home to help her, and when the father was laid up for three months in the hospital it was not the eldest daughter who was kept at home to lend a hand, but the ten-year-old Margaret. When the mother herself was ill it was Margaret, 'always so wise, unselfish and thoughtful of others.' who shouldered the task of looking after the family. Bella admitted later that when she had found Andrew - who adored Margaret - a nuisance, Margaret would say: 'Oh let him come with us, poor wee lad.'

It was Margaret too, who not only washed and dressed the delicate and somewhat cheeky little Lizzie but watched over her at school, in wintry weather holding her icy hands close to her heart.

'She was like a mother to me. I used to wonder at the heat that came from Margaret's pinny,' Lizzie was to say later.