My friend Zillah Smith, who has died aged 93, was a “Gypsy Queen”, a remarkably vigorous woman proud of her Romany way of living.
She spent most of her life travelling around the Midlands, first in tents and horse-drawn caravans, and later in a trailer. She and her husband, Ivor, earned their living by making and hawking wooden and paper flowers, baskets, pegs, carpets and crockery, and recycling metal and furniture. They brought up their 13 children to be independent citizens able to earn money in the Gypsy tradition. It was a hard life, but Zillah loved the open-air freedom of the road.
She was born in Stafford; her father, Albert Boswell, came from a well-known and respected north Staffordshire Romany family. Her mother, Violet (nee Bailey), was a “Gorgio”, or house-dweller, a nurse who was accepted into the family and happily adapted to the Gypsy life.
Zillah spent a few years in primary school, but due to prejudicial treatment by some teachers and pupils, she refused to continue in education. Aged 16 she eloped to marry a Welsh Gypsy, Ivor Smith. She gave birth at 17 to her first child, in a tent, and raised all her children travelling the lanes in all seasons and weathers.
The second world war was a difficult time for raising a young family and in the 1960s the closure of camping places and violent evacuations caused great stress for many Gypsies. In the 90s the deaths of Ivor, three of Zillah’s adult children and a granddaughter caused her much sadness.
However, Zillah always rose above the difficult times and looked on the bright side. In her 70s she travelled less frequently and settled in her caravan on a site in Stafford with some of her siblings and their families. Zillah had many house-dwelling friends and was well-known in Stafford and the Midlands.
In 1989 I began a friendship with Zillah and her family, and in 2016 I published The Many Lives of Zillah Smith: An English Romany, covering six generations of her family. Local and national newspapers, local radio and the BBC’s Woman’s Hour interviewed her. Zillah worried about the old traditions dying out as the travelling life became increasingly difficult, and was pleased to educate people about Gypsies.
She was a role model of resilient womanhood for her surviving children, 65 grandchildren, 194 great-grandchildren and 49 great-great-grandchildren.
