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Taken from a letter by her daughter Muriel to Richard
Stenning
A little bit about mother: { Dorothy Heinrich
nee Fleuss daughter of Henry Otto Fleuss}
She was a wonderful mother with great gifts. As a
young woman I know she did a little nursing which showed her
compassionate side. She also appeared on the stage in England as a
dancer in Max Reinhardt’s famous “The Miracle”. She also worked
at Royal Doulton’s factory painting on china. Here’s where the
artist came out in her, however I never saw her draw, hold a paint
brush or dance. Her other talent was Millinery work. She excelled in
it, but only for her or the family’s pleasure. She was a remarkable
cook, but an amazing pastry and desert maker. If my father had
permitted her to work she could have made her fortune at this one
talent.
Much could be written about her. She was rather a
complex person not unlike Aunt Vera by what Yvonne and Maria say.
Quite dramatic and theatrical in a way. Fainting at will or going to
her supposed “sick bed” if things didn’t always go quite right.
I must say it stopped with her. Ursula and I did not inherit it. It
served her well in the early years and being obedient children we
always buckled under to “keep the peace” at all costs. As we grew
into adulthood we could see through a lot of it.
The treat of marriage by one of us was almost
impossible. I was the youngest but first married, leaving Ursula to
deal with the situation at home. Then Ursula married a few years
later. Mother was devastated as she no longer had a child to lean on.
My marriage lasted almost 50 years, Ursula’s only a few as her
husband passed away a few years after marriage with lung cancer.
Ursula returned home to mothers and Dad’s with the thought of one
day remarrying, as she was still in her twenties, but it never
happened.
She once again became the strength of the family,
which saw them through to their last days. Both of them lived to 90.
In all fairness to mother, I must say as I have grown older and looked
back on her life, I have come to realise the enormity of the trauma
she suffered. She grew up surrounded by a large family and I’m sure
lots of love, married a German, war broke out and they were forced to
leave the country. Dad was quite wealthy and they lived very well I
believe, servants etc. Then England told him
to leave, as he was a German, they also froze all his assets. I
believe Grandfather { Henry Otto}, had to pay their passage to
the States. He never recovered his money from England. He made a
modest living but never recovered his wealth.
Little did she know when she recovered she said
to her parents and brothers and sisters that she’d never see any of
them again and she’d never see England again.
The early years were a struggle and I
am sure she hated every day in the States. But the later years
were kinder to her. The copy
of the letter you sent to me written by {to} her mother {sister}
amused me,
quote “It is such a wonderful
Country” rather surprised me as she
always acted as though she didn’t like it and there was only “Dear
Old England”. We had such an in depth education about England while growing
up that I feel as though that was my country.
Taken from a letter from Dorothy to
her sister Audrey Mary Frankland on the death of her husband in
1928.
"Oh Audrey, if only you could come here, what a great blessing it
would be for you and your children's education would be quite
free....... It is such a
wonderful Country, I know you would like it very much.".
Most of the complete letter is
available.
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