We’re pleased to announce the re-launch of Memories of the Marsh: A Traveller Life in Kent by Betsy Stanley née Cooper, a book that the RTFHS first published in 1998 and that has been out-of-print for many years.
This is the author’s autobiography, describing her life growing up in the close-knit Belvedere Marsh Gypsy community in North Kent from the late 1930s to the 1950s and remembering earlier generations of her own family as well as her neighbours.
The book includes a sketch map of the streets on the Marsh plus a list of the names of the families who lived there, van by van, plot by plot. This list was recalled by the author after the book originally appeared. It’s been added to this edition to create a more complete picture. You can find the surnames with the book’s entry on this page of our site plus details of how to order it.
The book’s cover photo shows Nancy Annie Miles, the author’s grandmother, hop-picking at Yalding, Kent, in about 1947.
