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olive's story
Olive Miles, the subject of the film, is my Grandma. She was born in the Canadian prairies in 1933 and lived there until she was five. She came to England in 1938 to visit her Grandparents for a year, however, the Second World War started before she could return to Canada – she has lived in England ever since. Olive has had numerous jobs since leaving school at the age of 15 to care for her siblings. From the age of 16 she worked on telephones as a receptionist, reprographics operator and at one of the large BT exchanges in Guildford, until she married my Grandad (Bill or William) at the age of 19. She then moved into the sales and demonstration of Tupperware to earn her keep whilst becoming a mother, a job in which she gained many skills she took into later life. The most substantial part of her working life was spent in catering and maintenance for colleges and universities; from which she retired at the age of 64 to childmind for my sister and I. Olive has not stopped working for others despite her retirement. She has organised and catered for many weddings, made wedding and special occasion cakes for trades, sewn children’s dresses for a local children’s clothes shop and altered numerous items of clothing for her family. She has not slowed down and has no plans to do so.
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This document is a personal account transcribed by my Sister. If you would like to know more about Olive's amazing life story, please click here.