Beryl Arrowsmith, who has died aged 95, was one of my special “aunts” – not a blood relative but a close friend of my parents and very much part of the fabric of my family’s life as I was growing up in Sutton Coldfield.
Beryl was born in Bromley, Kent, daughter of Alice and Frederick Phillips. The family moved to the West Midlands when Frederick set up Prodorite, a firm of building contractors, where Beryl worked for her father on leaving school. Ken Arrowsmith joined the company on his discharge from the army after the second world war and he and Beryl married in 1948.
Aunty Beryl and Uncle Ken lived next door but one to us in Antrobus Road, Sutton Coldfield, for more than 50 years. My mother and Beryl grew very close as they had children around the same time. Family folklore had it that Beryl put her three-day-old baby daughter, Chris, in my pram with me, thus creating a lifetime bond between us.
Having Beryl and Ken nearby was like having another set of parents. I spent a lot of time at their house and was treated as one of their children. Later on, Beryl worked part-time at a local shop. She and my mother were part of a group of neighbours from Antrobus Road who remained friends for decades.
After Ken and Beryl retired, they moved to a sheltered bungalow near Chris’s home in Quorn, Leicestershire. I would take my mother to see Beryl and Ken and we both used to love visiting them. They would always have some white wine on the go, and were delightful, welcoming and absolutely hilarious. Beryl was always funny and forthright, and sometimes a little indiscreet. She adored her family and took delight in her grandchildren.
Ken died in 2009, which deeply affected her. In her later years her mobility was restricted but she managed to live independently until her last few months.
Beryl is survived by her son, Stephen, and Chris, and by her grandchildren, Lucy, Alice, Rosie, Martha, Christopher and Caroline; and two great-grandchildren, Nathan and Ethan.
