---
changed: "2014-05-20T15:35:52.000Z"
child_of: 
comment_count: "0"
created: "2013-09-25T11:22:00.000Z"
date_of_birth: "1894-01-09T00:00:00.000Z"
date_of_death: "1981-07-15T00:00:00.000Z"
featured_image: "Bet in 1914.jpg"
forename_at_birth: "Elizabeth"
ix: 4
nid: 11
other_forenames: 
other_surnames: "Stokoe"
parent_of: 
partner_of: 
path: "content/elizabeth-miller"
surname_at_birth: "Miller"
title: "Mrs"
type: "person"
uuid: "2f70e98c-8f11-45c9-8ac6-816a763b686c"
---
Elizabeth Miller was born on 9 January 1894 at 4 Thinford Street, Metal Bridge near Ferryhill, County Durham. She was the second child of John Miller, a newsagent, and Ellen Wallace. Both families had lived in Durham for several generations. John and Ellen had 6 children in total - Florence b 1893, Elizabeth, George b 1896, Ellen b 1898, Elsie b1904, John b 1906\. John Miller died in 1932 aged 66 while Ellen lived till she was 88 (I remember meeting Great Granny Miller)

In 1916, aged 22, Elizabeth - known as Bet by her family - married Michael Price Stokoe, a coal miner working in Tursdale Colliery. After the war the family moved to Tursdale. Elizabeth and Michael had 5 children: - Charles Robert b1920, John Wallace b1921, Stanley Reynolds b1924, Ellen Miller b1926 and William Donald b1932.

Michael and Elizabeth lived in Tursdale all their married life. Sometime after her husband died Bet moved to Witton Gilbert and then to Wylam with her youngest son, Donald. It was at Wylam in 1981 that Bet died of cancer (bowel cancer ?), aged 87\. Donald did not get married until after his mother had died.

Bet worked hard all her life looking after her family. They lived in a small, 'two up two down' terraced house in Tursdale, a tiny village with just 2 streets, a small primary school, a colliery and pit heap. Mobile shops visited regularly as the closest shops were a bus ride away. The house had no bathroom and the toilet was outside in the yard next to the coal bunker. There was a large tin bath hanging in the scullery which had to be filled with hot water carried through from the kitchen range. The kitchen was the centre of the household and was always warm. The living room was kept 'just for best' although Don had to sleep in there when his brother Stanley brough his family over to stay from Kenya. Coal mining was not well paid so they didn't have had much money but Bet always sent a Christmas parcel to her grandchildren in Kenya.

  
I remember 'Granny Stokoe' very well as we stayed with her each time we came home from Kenya between 1950 and 1969\. She was very strict with us and didn't like us hanging around in the house when she was busy cleaning and cooking. "Hadaway out and play!" she'd say - especially to my little sister who didn't have anyone to play with and liked to stay indoors with Mum, but she had to gou out and play in the yard, sitting on the kitchen step with her toy oven. I was friendly with Shirley, the girl next door, and would go out with her. On Sundays Granny made the most amazing yorkshire puddings which were served with gravy, before the roast beef. My brother Mike loved those yorkshires more than the rest of us.

Granny also made wonderful high teas, mainly for visitors - again she was strict with us and we had to eat some bread and butter before we could tuck into cakes and scones and her 'piece de resistance', her phenomenal apple and blackberry pie.

I did visit Granny in Witton Gilbert and Wylam but it was the time I spent with her at Tursdale that I remember the best.