My Life from the Beginning

I was born on October 29, 1932, with a twin sister. We lived in a bungalow in West Molesey, Surrey. The bungalow went with the job and was rent-free. My parents were William Herbert Prater and May Victoria Prater. We had a brother who was called William Albert Prater. He was born on February 19, 1931. My mother was not at all pleased to have given birth to two babies and asked that one was taken away, which was, of course, ignored. We were named Dorothy May and Violet Rose. My sister was born thirty minutes before me and was literarily thrown down and left to die. When my father came in from milking the cows, he wanted to know what all the fuss was about and ordered those in attendance to ignore the babies, which could be replaced, and to concentrate on his wife, who could not be.