| Description | Goss
DOB: 1896
DOD: N/A
Born at home in Wood Green, North London, in Pallet Grove.
Fourth child in six years.
Delivered at home with help from a neighbour (Mrs. Williams) in the hallway.
Family later moved to St. Paul's Road, New Southgate.
Vivid memories of early sensations, smell, textures, sounds and childhood games.
Felt secure, warm and loved.
Close bond with grandmother and family.
Strong recollections of the sensory world: bakehouse smells, school playground noise, garden privacy, etc.
Attended infant school next to his home.
Harsh early memories of school - slate pencils, hard benches, cold classrooms.
First school experiences were painful, contrasting with his earlier carefree home life.
Father: Charlie Goss, born 1866, piano-maker, socialist, vegetarian, and widely read. Father was a piano action maker, apprentice and later craftsman, well-read and politically active.
Mother: Nellie Bartlett.
They eloped due to family tensions, taking Nellie's family with them after marrying.
No direct mention of the Goss's own marriage or children.
As a child: exploring gardens, playing with insects, swinging on gates, riding penny-farthing bikes with family, visits to local shops.
As a family: strong appreciation for reading, walking, cycling, rowing.
Father loved reading everything - science, literature, politics.
Emphasis on literacy and sensory learning in early years.
Born during an unassisted home birth in a hallway.
Witnessed London's changing urban landscape and early 20th century society.
Grandmother moving in marked a shift in family dynamics.
Started school under pressure, found it difficult.
Family elopement of parents and their financial struggles highlighted.
Early exposure to social class divisions, smells and realities of urban life (e.g., slaughterhouse, bakeries, etc.).
Type-written
1896 birth, Wood Green, Pallet Grove, St. Paul's Road, childhood memories, grandmother, school trauma, slate pencils, piano-maker, socialist father, Charlie Goss, Nellie Bartlett, home birth, sensory details, New Southgate, North London, bakehouse, smells, social class, working-class family, Victorian values, early education, autobiographical memory, elopement, family dynamics, strong mother figure. |