GA, thank you for sharing this delightful memoir by Bill Reading of his great aunt Joyce Ellis. What colorful details of life back then, including the outdoor “facilities,” the washing vats, and the gas mantle lit only “when dusk descended but not before in an effort to keep costs to a minimum.”

I was interested in the fact that his aunt “was transferred to a block of flats known as Peabody Buildings in the Cambridge Heath Rd district of Bethnal Green.” George Peabody (1798-1869) was an American banker/philanthropist from Peabody, Massachusetts (the city near Salem was later named for him) who settled in London around 1837. United in business with J. P. Morgan, Peabody made a fortune, much of which was devoted to improving the housing of London’s poor.

Needless to say, Queen Victoria was delighted with his efforts, even offering a spot in Westminster Abbey for his final repose. Yet he chose to be buried on his native soil. His statue by William Wetmore Story can be found in front of the Royal Exchange in London.