Stan Newens, Rose's second cousin and closest relative, wrote this contribution, intending to deliver it himself at her funeral.  In the event, he was not able to do so due to his increasingly declining health. He passed away peacefully in his sleep during the night of 2nd-3rd March 2021, aged 91.

Rosina Florence Howard was the daughter of Edward William Howard and Rosina Florence Sheen, who married in 1914 shortly before Edward Howard was called up for the Army.

Rosina Florence, their daughter, was born on 2nd August, 1917, while her
father was assigned to Allenby’s army to invade Palestine and Syria from Egypt. Sadly, Edward Howard was killed, probably by machine gun fire in what is now the Gaza strip, on 15th December 1917.

Rose, therefore, never knew her father. She grew up at 13 Quilter Street, Bethnal Green, and went to Columbia Road School and, later, Mansford Street Central School, but had to leave at the age of 14 for financial reasons. She began working by learning dressmaking at 5 shillings a week, but left and did other short-term jobs.

In 1935, Rose’s mother married William Henry Temple, a docker. He was a widower with one son, William Temple, who settled in with the new family at 13 Quilter Street and was a cycling enthusiast. William joined the Territorial Army and was called up in 1939 and sent to France, where he was killed in the retreat to Dunkirk, aged just 18.

Rose joined the Land Army after being turned down for the WAAFs, and worked for the Rosedale nursery in Herts, owned by Eric Stevens, continuing with them post war until the nursery closed in 1968. She had some short-term employment until she joined the printers, Robert Martins in Cheshunt in 1970, moving with them to Hoddesdon in 1984 and finally retiring in 1990. It’s lovely to see friends and colleagues from both enterprises here today.

Her parents moved out to Waltham Cross to be near her, and to avoid the wartime bombing, and remained there until they died.

Rose never married, but one of her boyfriends, an airman, died in the war. She has many friends and had several foreign holidays, including cruises. Until January of this year she lived at 364 Goffs Lane, a cottage owned by the Stevens family for whom she had worked.

She lived a long, purposeful and happy life, and died peacefully, much loved by relatives, friends and neighbours, a number of whom played a key role in her care during her later years.

Stan Newens - Rose's second cousin

February 2021