Brixham writer publishing through tragic times

Flora and John Thompson moved to Brixham in 1940, the year their son Peter died after his ship was torpedoed. Flora took a long time to get over her loss but eventually did but - at a very high price - a weakened heart.
Flora Jane Timms was born on December 5, 1876, to a stonemason father, who in later life turned to drink and gambling. With a mother loving traditional songs, stories and having common sense, she had a dry humour, which Flora inherited.
At age 20, Flora moved to Surrey and worked at a local Post Office while residing in the postmaster’s house. Here, she regularly witnessed family quarrels and eventually had to move into rented lodgings. Much later, in a fit of violence, the postmaster would murder his wife and child with a carving knife, so Flora's was lucky indeed.
Having met sorting clerk John Thompson at the Post Office, they eventually married and would move to Bournemouth. John apparently always loathed his wife's love of reading and writing, seeing both as a waste of time.
Her only luxury had been when attending the local free library until her children reached an age where she could write and then enter a competition. It had been an essay about Jane Austen and Flora won top prize.
The essay was her first published work and when picked out by a women’s newspaper group, they asked her to send them a short story. That earned a few shillings and it was an important milestone, she later admitted: “I had earned the right to use my scanty leisure time as I wished” and now wrote “small sugared love stories” - artificial but always readable and sellable.
In 1916, John was promoted to sub-postmaster at Liphook Hampshire and now Flora established the Peverell Postal Association. Provided for literary aspirants, she devoted eighteen years to the club, during which time her brother Edwin was killed in action in World War I.
This briefly ended her writing but, with the war over and the children at day school, Flora completed Heatherley before undertaking more essays, this time on nature for the Catholic Fireside publication for another 20 years, during which time the National Daily News and other publications used her work.
"The Lady" magazine published ‘Old Queenie’ in 1937, and by 1939, ‘Lark Rise’ followed. Meanwhile, having fully retired, John had at last accepted the time spent by his wife on reading and writing was ‘time well spent’.
Yet, forever restless and having been posted to Dartmouth, retirement came in 1940, when the family moved to Lauriston House in New Road, Brixham. It was the year their son Peter, serving with the Merchant Navy, was killed after his ship was torpedoed.
Flora became quite fond of Brixham and "its little harbour", although made few friends. Her childhood feelings - the need to tell it as it was, were turned into sketches, the first remembrance being of the lady beekeeper and lacemaker at Juniper, published as Old Queenie.
Following Peter's death, Flora had completed ‘Candleford Green’ in 1943 and finally ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ in 1945 was also published before ‘Still Glides the Stream’ - not published until after her own death. Meanwhile, their son Basil and family and her brother Frank all moved to Australia and so it was to be her daughter Winifred that visited, although Flora’s sister Betty became her most frequent visitor.
The ladies spent hours touring book and curio shops in Brixham, especially as Betty had written her own children’s book. Flora's last work ‘Still Glides the Stream’ would take its toll on her ailing heart and that brought a sudden death in May 1947. Flora lies interred at Longcross Cemetery in Dartmouth with a headstone shaped as an open book and the stonemason’s words carved naming beloved Peter, all emblazoned across the books open right leaf.
IAN'S COMMENT: A beloved writer still widely read with her stories regularly featured on TV. Our Blue Plaque was unveiled at Lauriston House in 2008.
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