Ethel Ellen Verney (1904-1987)

Birth: 1904, Eastbourne, Sussex
Death: 1987, Cromarty, Scotland
Father: (Walter James) Ernest VERNEY (?-?)
Mother: Ellen BURTON
Spouse: Harold CLAY

Education:    1940 Certificate of Nursing Training
Occupation: Nurse

Aunt Esh, as she was known, had dreadful knock-knees, and was a muddle-headed sort of woman. Church of England, but attracted to the romance of less traditional Christian worship, occasionally flirting with Baptist-style services and other more modern church styles. I remember her being fascinated by the local Rev.'s apparently speaking in tongues.

She came up to Cromarty from Eastbourne in about 1980, having spent about 3 years trying to get rid of a couple of religious 'friends' that she'd invited to stay, and who had then become squatters. Eventually this was achieved, and she moved into a house on High Street in Cromarty.

At this stage, I was away at college, so I'm vague about what happened to her. It seems some relatives down south invited her to move and live with them. Helen suspects they believed she had money, and that they thought they might inherit if they were nice to her. Helen was working as a nurse down south at this time, and visited her once. She was sleeping on a sofa in the 'day room' - essentially her bedroom was their sitting-room. Anyway, the thing fell through, and she moved back up and Alison once more had the stress of making housing arrangements.

I don't know anything about the circumstances of Esh's death. It must have happened when I was at college, but I have no memory of it at all.

She was rather smug about her religion, and sure of her own place in heaven - and especially smug knowing that she and St. Peter would be the only ones there. However, she must have had a softer side too. I know that Alison had been grateful for her affection when she was little, and tried to repay this at the end of her life by making her comfortable and looking after her affairs as best she could.

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