Biography of Kathy

Kathy was born in Cardiff.  Against her wishes, her father took her out of school aged 14. Her first job was in a homeopathic chemist, sorting out the medicines despite not even being 15.

Her second job was working as a clerk. She got friendly with a girl who had run away to marry a Welsh solider but it didn’t work out.  Her parents came to take her back home to Rye and the girl insisted that Kathy go with her. She moved into Kings Avenue, at the age of 18 and never went home!

Two days after arriving in Rye in 1969 she saw an advert for a receptionist in Southern Rentals (TV rentals) she went to the interview, made her boss a cup of tea and he offered her the job! She worked there for many years. 

Kathy had a number of funny experiences in the shop. It was the advent of colour TV and one family returned their TV as the girl with the clown on the screen was frightening the children.  They wanted their black and white TV back!

After getting married, her husband did not like her working on Saturdays so she gave up her job in the TV rental store and started strawberry and apple picking and did freelance typing.

Throughout most of the 1970s she worked as a girl Friday at Griffin Boon, the meat processing factory which used to be in the Strand. During this period her wages went for £9 to £30 (per week) when the law giving women equal pay was introduced. Kathy put the additional money away and saved for a large deposit on a house.  The house was £12,000.

In 1982 she had her first child.  “You didn’t work in those days if you had children, unless you were a doctor or solicitor; you stayed at home”.  Working around the children, Kathy became a childminder and worked at Iden Playgroup.

Kathy has always been heavily involved in voluntary work in Rye. She volunteered for 15 years as a receptionist at the Memorial Hospital.  She is very involved with fundraising with Chris Emson and the Church, the Mothers Union (MU) and for Family Support Workers (FSW).  She also fundraises for Sue Ryder.

For the last 7 or 8 years Kathy has volunteered at the Rye Food Bank. “The Food Bank is used much more these days, it used to be mostly single men who had lost their jobs, now there’s many more big families who need help”. 

Today as well as still fundraising  and working in the Food Bank, she looks after her husband, who was a Rye fisherman and is now disabled.

Audio of interview with Kathy