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Female, banned drinkers of the 1900s

Eliza Fallon looks a little like Ann Widdicomb on a bad hair day. Apparently she was a woodchopper. I wonder if that was a euphemism
 
We could never even begin to imagine the sort of life these poor women had led. Some of us may think that we had a hard life, but matched up against some of these women we had a life of luxury. It's no small wonder they did their best to drink themselves into an early grave.
 
Bad hair day Mike, you sure?! These women really are a mess, all those scars etc. These records all refer to the Geech Arms on Summer Lane. Wonder if all the other local pubs got copies of these too? If not, what was to stop them going to other pubs? Viv
 
I notice in the comments under the photos someone posted

I suspect one of them IS indeed my Great Grandmother! The name and age fit, and she abandoned her family (who lived in South Staffordshire) after a family tragedy in the early 1890s and dropped out of sight. I'll have to research if it's the same person...
 
I think it would be terribly sad to discover one of the ladies was a relation. They all look like they'd had a very hard life and, as is often the case today, circumstances out of a person's control can turn their life upside down. Drink often can become the means of escape (to them). I expect that must have been the case for these women too; a very difficult life, with no real support, probably no family or a family that had by now disowned them. They wouldn't stand a chance of either coming off the drink or living a decent life. Very sad. Viv.
 
Phil said:
We could never even begin to imagine the sort of life these poor women had led. Some of us may think that we had a hard life, but matched up against some of these women we had a life of luxury. It's no small wonder they did their best to drink themselves into an early grave.
Click to expand...

hi viv thanks for bringing that link up again...ive seen it before...

agree with you phil as anyone who has read and studied social history will know that for woman such as this the only way out of the hardships they suffered was at the bottom of a glass....
 
I have just finished reading a book about the great drinkers of England and their times, very interesting read.

Titled 'Drinking for England', author Fergus Linnane, published by JR books.
 
Thanks for the recommendation Neville. Do you remember if the book gives any info on any of the ladies listed? Be interesting to know a bit more about their circumstances. Viv.
 
Hello Viv, No it doesn't mention them but it does try to explain the English fascination with drink through the centuries with some amusing stories

about famous artists, poets and even a couple of Kings. I think i paid a couple of pounds for it as a new hardback, cheap as chips...
 
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