Kathleen Pitt was born in February 1941 in the middle of the Second World War. She grew up in the city of Bedford together with her father, Oliver Harold, who was in the navy, her mother Kathleen, and her two siblings Harold and Patricia. Harold came along when Kathleen was 8 years old. Kathleen’s brother sadly died when she was young, which left her and her family heartbroken.
In 1945 Kathleen faced many difficult challenges regarding the Air Raids, with planes dropping bombs constantly around the area, which she and her family avoided by going to her uncle’s house and hiding under the table, which Kathleen found very amusing. During the time, Kathleen and her family had to share food in rations, like meat and sweets which were shared at 2 ounces a week, and half a pint of milk a day, meaning the family had little food to themselves.
Even with all this going on, Kathleen has had many happy and fun memories growing up. In 1953, her family got their first a black and white television to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, with six neighbours joining them to watch it. Kathleen especially loved when the community voted her “crowned coronation princess”, along with the “crowned coronation prince” who was called Michael.
Kathleen and her family moved home a lot when she was young. When she and her family moved to a farm for the first time, Kathleen was amused by the sight of farm animals, as it was her first time seeing them. In 1946, when she was five years old, Kathleen started attending a country school where she stayed for two years. It only had around 10-12 students, using slates and slate pencils for writing, rather than pens and books like students do nowadays. At her school, Kathleen found her passion for mental arithmetic, which she loved doing. Her favourite teacher was Miss Bailey, the Headmistress.
When Kathleen finished school at the age of 15, she got her first ever job working as a shop assistant at Littlewoods. She then moved from job to job, working in many places such as Tesco, and even driving buses. Kathleen then trained as a nurse in Northampton General Hospital, where she worked until 2021.
Kathleen had many great achievements during her career, like when she set up her own school teaching reflexology and massage. She also worked in St John’s Ambulance Service for 30 years, and earned herself a Serving Sister Award (the equivalent to an OBE within the St John’s Ambulance Service), which she received at The Priory Church of St John in London.
At the age of 14 and half, in 1955, Kathleen met her husband Norman Pitt during school.
Norman didn’t really like meeting his girlfriend outside school at first, so they mostly met during school in the beginning. Five years later, Kathleen got married to Norman on 4th June 1960, in St James Church Northampton.
In 1961, Kathleen and Norman had their first son, Gerald. He was shortly followed by their second son Alan in 1962. Unfortunately, Alan sadly passed away at only 2 years old, which affected the whole family. However two years later, they had their first daughter, Mandy.
Kathleen had may creative hobbies in her free time, such as knitting, sewing and reading, which many people found to make her very unique. During holidays, Kathleen and her family would frequently travel to Malta, the home of St Johns Cathedral, along with many other destinations.
Today, Kathleen still lives in Northampton, often with her grandchildren around the house. Looking back, she said one of her most challenging moments in life was learning how to drive a car. Kathleen paid for her daughter, granddaughter and grandson’s driving tests, and they all passed first try, whilst for Kathleen it took five tries to finally pass the test.
Kathleen said one moment she would never forget in life would be holding her first grandchild and great grandchild. She was also very proud of her children’s achievements, such as her daughter becoming a teacher which made her very happy.
Kathleen said that if she could say one more thing to anyone in her life, she would love to have a conversation with her beloved late husband Norman, to tell him that she loved him one more time. Kathleen also said that if she could give any one piece of advice to younger people, it would be to never give up on your dreams and goals.
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