About Our Words: Arthur Mee
An article by Val Yule about Arthur Mee and his Children's Encyclopedia brought back joyous memories for Pam Royle of London.
I had forgotten about these wonderful books. My uncle on the dole in Liverpool in 1930s purchased a second hand set with one or two volumes missing when I was a child. I was ill with bronchitis every winter and missed school from November until the Spring. I read these books from cover to cover even then they seemed a little outdated probably it was one of the original sets. There was such a variety of subjects which gave me a great thirst for knowledge reading and general knowledge.
In spite of the loss of so much schooling I passed the Junior City Scholarship in 1943. I trained as one of the first dental hygienists in 1952 and gained first prize and in 2003 studied fulltime for my degree BA Hons in Creative writing at Roehampton and in 2006 at 74 received my 2/1 degree. Arthur Mee's encyclopaedia I am sure plus my wonderful uncle instilled in me the joy of learning and knowledge. What joyous memories reading your article brought back.
