Plea to find relatives as works discovered
Among a box of cassettes and books bought at a Newport auction for just £2, Jane Atherton and her partner Charlie Baxter discovered the life story of a devout woman who worked with disabled children, wrote fairy stories, and even apparently penned a song for the crooner Matt Monro. Among a box of cassettes and books bought at a Newport auction for just £2, Jane Atherton and her partner Charlie Baxter discovered the life story of a devout woman who worked with disabled children, wrote fairy stories, and even apparently penned a song for the crooner Matt Monro. Now the pair are hoping to trace relatives of the woman, Mollie Wager of Birmingham, so that they can offer the material back to them. "It's almost like we are holding her life in our hands," said Mrs Atherton, of Oakengates, Telford. They came across the material while delving through the box, discovering it included music Mrs Wager had written, manuscripts, an author's agreement with a publisher, photos, and a handwritten journal, covering the period from November 1982 to December 1983, when she was working at the Jerusalem Crippled Children's Centre, The Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. "It took us about three hours to sort all this out and make sense of it. We were going to chuck it on the tip. To me, it's a shame. It's like throwing away someone's life history," said Mrs Atherton. Read more in the Shropshire Star
Now the pair are hoping to trace relatives of the woman, Mollie Wager of Birmingham, so that they can offer the material back to them.
"It's almost like we are holding her life in our hands," said Mrs Atherton, of Oakengates, Telford.
They came across the material while delving through the box, discovering it included music Mrs Wager had written, manuscripts, an author's agreement with a publisher, photos, and a handwritten journal, covering the period from November 1982 to December 1983, when she was working at the Jerusalem Crippled Children's Centre, The Mount of Olives, Jerusalem.
"It took us about three hours to sort all this out and make sense of it. We were going to chuck it on the tip. To me, it's a shame. It's like throwing away someone's life history," said Mrs Atherton.
They think Mrs Wager was a nurse, as there is evidence that she trained in 1947, and the content of much of the material point to her being religious. There is a hymn called Faith and Hope labelled "words and music by Mollie Wager", from 1970.
The documents include an address for her at 20 Kelton Court, Carpenter Road, Edgbaston. They have not found a mention of a husband, although she does use "Mrs".
One discovery was a 1978 letter from Mickie Monro, wife of singer Matt Monro, explaining that her husband was away and saying that she was returning two manuscripts - possibly Mrs Wager had sent some songs in the hope Monro would use them.
"We would love it all to go back to the family, if they are still alive," added Mrs Atherton, who can be contacted on 07990 988569.
By Toby Neal
