3 October 1931 to
22 November 2012
FAR00920
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A headmistress in London
“If we could put Mrs Pomeyie in a
cast of iron and keep her forever, we would.”
Headlines of Rosamund Farndale’s life are in brown.
Dates are in red.
Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
References and citations are in turquoise.
Context and local history are in purple.
Geographical
context is in green.
Northallerton
1931
Rosamund Farndale, daughter of
Albert and Lavinia (nee Hastings) Farndale (FAR00667),
was born just a stone’s throw from the Yorkshire Moors
in the town of Northallerton on 3 October 1931. Her birth was registered in the
fourth quarter of 1931 (GRO Vol 9d page
654, 1939 Register).
1940
Growing up in
Yorkshire during the Second World War gave Rosamund an inner resilience and an
ability to keep calm and carry on. “She was able to listen to others when
times were hard, and say exactly the right thing to make them see there was
light at the end of the tunnel.”
1951
Rosamund Farndale was an only child who qualified as a librarian
in 1951 and soon after moved to London.
London
1954
Rosamund was an
inspiring children’s librarian who went onto enjoy a 20-year career as
headteacher of a Kentish Town primary school. Rosamund Pomeyie
worked at Heath Library, now called Keats Community Library in Belsize Park,
for six years in the 1950s – inspiring a multitude of children into the world
of books, including a young Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and many
other children’s books.
Hampstead News and Golders Green
Gazette, 18 November 1954: PUPPET MAKING IS FUN. Just over a
month ago the public libraries committee approved a suggestion put by the
Keats Grove, Hampstead, children's librarian, 23 year old miss Rosamund
Farndale, that a puppetry group should be formed. And now, nearly 50
children are busy at the library making puppets in time for Christmas. They are
being taught by Miss Farndale herself and Miss Joan Oxlade, of Willow
Road, Hampstead, who is a puppetry expert. They meet every Thursday at 5:30.
When the classes first began, the children were split into groups of 6 or
seven, and they were asked to choose a play or pantomime they liked. Then each
decided on a character from the play and, with the help of their two
instructors, they began to make the puppets. The classes were so popular, and
the group so big, that more help was needed. So two 19 year old girls from the
Beveridge House Domestic Training College, Fortune Green Road, volunteered to
come along. Another problem was that some children were quicker than others.
This difficulty was soon overcome. An extra class was started for the quick
ones. Now they have finally settled down, each child busy with paper, paste and
plasticine making Cinderellas, Maid Marions and Robin Hoods. When the puppets
are finished, Miss Farndale will help the children to write their own
versions of the plays and fairy tales, using books in the library to guide them.
By Christmas, she hopes to put on a puppet show, which will be produced and
written entirely by the children themselves. The group has been such a
success that Miss Farndale has already a long waiting list of children wishing
to join.
Displaying the
puppets they made at the classes are, left to right; Sally Wells, 10, Veronica
Nolan, 7, Frances Kray, 6, Jennifer Abbott, 8.
1959
Rosamund Farndale, married Bradford
Garry Martin (a US Citizen) at Hampstead District in 1959 and their
marriage was registered in Hampstead in the first quarter of 1959 (GRO Vol 5c page 1988).
Nigeria
In 1959, she
moved to Nigeria with Bradford Martin, who was a professor of Arabic
manuscripts. She lived there and worked teaching English for three years.
1962
London
On her return
from Africa, she re-trained as an infant school teacher.
1973
Rosamund M Martin, nee
Farndale, married Singleton Jones Kwalker Pomeyie (a Ghanaian citizen) in 1973 and the marriage was
registered in the third quarter of 1973 at Hampstead District (GRO Vol 5b page 1868).
Jonathan Kwasi P Pomeyie
was born in 1973 in Islington.
1975
Having re-trained
as an infant school teacher in the 1960s, Ms Pomeyie
became headteacher of Torriano Junior School, in Kentish Town, in 1975.
1980
After a burglary
at the family home in 1980 and a visit from Camden Victim Support, Ms Pomeyie started volunteering for the organisation – a role
which she continued for 30 years, dealing with victims of all manner of crimes,
from fraud to murder.
1976
Selom James K Pomeyie
was born in 1976 in Hampstead.
Rosamund was a head mistress in London
2004
Jones Pomeyie,
born on 6 June 1933, died, aged 71, in 2004 and his death was registered in
Hackney (Civil Registration Death Index).
2012
Rosamund Mary Pomeyie died on 22 November
2012 (Death Index).
The
Ham and High, 22 December 2012:
Tributes paid to
inspirational Kentish Town headteacher and librarian
An inspiring
children’s librarian who went onto enjoy a 20-year career as headteacher of a
Kentish Town primary school has died at the age of 81.
Rosamund Pomeyie worked at Heath Library, now called Keats Community
Library in Belsize Park, for six years in the 1950s – inspiring a multitude of
children into the world of books, including a young Julia Donaldson, author of
The Gruffalo and many other children’s books.
Having re-trained
as an infant school teacher in the 1960s, Ms Pomeyie
became headteacher of Torriano Junior School, in Kentish Town, in 1975.
She was also
celebrated for her 30 years of volunteer work at Camden Victim Support, dealing
with victims of all manner of crimes, from fraud to murder.
The
mother-of-two, known as Ros, passed away in hospital on November 22 after
suffering a stroke at her home in Belsize Park Gardens.
Ms Pomeyie’s younger son Selom, a teacher at William Ellis
School in Kentish Town, said: “My mother was a people person. Wherever she went
she seemed to engage in conversation with almost anyone.
“Growing up in
Yorkshire during the war had given my mother an inner resilience and an ability
to keep calm and carry on.
“She was able to
listen to others when times were hard, and say exactly the right thing to make
them see there was light at the end of the tunnel.”
Born just a
stone’s throw from the Yorkshire Moors in the town of Northallerton in 1931, Ms
Pomeyie was an only child who qualified as a
librarian in 1951 and soon after moved to London, where she took up the role of
children’s librarian at Heath Library in 1953.
In 1959, she
moved to Nigeria with her first husband Bradford Martin, a professor of Arabic
manuscripts, where she lived and worked teaching English for three years.
On her return
from Africa, she re-trained as an infant school teacher and later married
second husband Jones Pomeyie, after earlier splitting
with Mr Martin.
In 1975, she
became headteacher of Torriano Junior School, two years after the birth of her
first child Jonathan, which was followed by the arrival of Selom in 1976.
After a burglary
at the family home in 1980 and a visit from Camden Victim Support, Ms Pomeyie started volunteering for the organisation – a role
which she continued for 30 years.
Regarded as one
of Torriano’s most revered headteachers, a governor at the school was once
quoted in a newspaper article as saying: “If we could put Mrs Pomeyie in a cast of iron and keep her forever, we would.”
Ms Pomeyie is survived by her two sons and two grandchildren,
after becoming a grandmother for the first time in 2009.