Margaret began her life’s journey in the seaside town of Brighton, England on May 13, 1935 and concluded peacefully in the seaside town of Victoria, BC on May 13, 2022 (well by the English clock anyway May 12th local time). She had many steps along the way including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Yemen and Malaysia before immigrating to Canada in May, 1966.
Maggie was born to Jim and Daisy Ancell; younger sister to Jim, Joan, Eve and later older sister to Dave and Phil. The world was struggling in 1935 with the Great Depression but Maggie’s family always managed during these hard times. This is not to say great things weren’t happening in the world during this time for this was the year Amelia Earhart flew solo across the Pacific, Nylon, Radar and canned beer were invented, and King George V had his Silver Jubilee.
However, the innocence of Marg’s childhood was marred at the tender age of 5 by the loss of her mother in WWII’s Brighton Blitz. With her father fighting with the British Army, Maggie and her siblings were initially cared for by other family members but as the war intensified she was sent to a farm in Yorkshire where she remained until the war ended. This time away from her family was not remembered as a challenging time but rather as a place where she felt safe, was cared for, had plenty of fresh food, and learned farm skills. (These skills served her well later in her life with summer jobs picking hops in Kent as a teen and helping run the hobby farm she and her husband John ran).
A ten year old Margaret Ancell returned to her family with the resilience that was a great strength in the challenging post war years in England. This resilience was also such a character asset in her adult life as the wife of a soldier, with extensive travel throughout the British Empire, and in immigrating to Northern Ontario’s challenging weather with four young children.
Upon leaving school Maggie followed her sister Eve, to her first job at the sweets counter in Woolworth’s. With her sweet tooth she was delighted to receive a discount there and be able to take treats home to her little brothers Dave and Phil. Maggie stayed with this job until she accepted a marriage proposal from her British soldier penpal, John Kitchenham. They had the chance to meet in person when John was on leave and Maggie decided Kitchenham might not be such a bad last name. Together they traveled the world from Africa, to Asia and the Middle East, and eventually to Canada while raising their four children Mike, Sandra, Linda and Andrew.These four children and their spouses went on to give Maggie and John 11 grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. Maggie was more than happy to be a stay at home mum and a central figure in not only her children’s lives but also in her grandchildren’s lives. The children themselves kept her busy but she also managed to sew, knit and bake on a regular basis.
Marg will not only be remembered for her very kind heart, but also for her mouth watering sausage rolls and sticky toffee pudding, not to mention the classes she gave to grandchildren and great grandchildren in knitting and baking. Marg was also a walking encyclopedia of superstitious best practice. Now her family members will have to suffer the consequences of a spilled salt shaker, dropped knife, or itchy hand on their own. Mum, Maggie, Marg, Princess Margaret,Grandma, GG you will be missed by all.