I am writing this on 30th November 2024, which would have been Tina’s 74th birthday. As a
child, she was always proud to share that birthdate with Winston Churchill.
The third of 4 daughters, Christina (‘Tina’) Taylor was born in Highfield Drive, Blurton, Stoke-
on-Trent in what may have been a new-build (1950) council house but which, even so, had
damp problems which I believe had an underlying effect on Tina’s health in subsequent years.
The family later moved to Elm Street, Cobridge. Her dad, Samuel, worked in a local pottery
as a glost kiln placer, and mum Christina (‘Chris’) had part-time jobs in retail clothing as the
children grew up.
Tina’s secondary education was at Blessed William Southern Roman Catholic School in
Tunstall, whose most famous ex-pupil is Robbie Williams (The school is now known as St
Margaret Ward Catholic Academy). She left school at 16 and obtained a job as an accounting
machine operator at a local firm in Burslem.
In 1970, Tina spent about 7 months in Germany, working for a shipping company (Captain
Walter Muller), possibly in or near Hamburg. She had been persuaded to go by a friend
named Mary whose brother worked there, and Tina returned in the December for her sister
Geraldine’s wedding.
In 1972, and by then engaged, Tina obtained a job at Brittains Paper Mill in Cheddleton, Staffs,
which is where I met her. Her subsequent marriage in December 1972 was short-lived and we
became ‘an item’ in the spring of 1973. In early 1974, an opportunity came up for me to
move to a sister company to Brittains, in Peterborough. Tina joined me there around June
1974 and we both eventually returned to Stoke and were married on 28th August 1976.
Our children, Sarah and Robert, were born in January 1978 and October 1979 respectively.
Tina eventually returned to office work on a part-time basis once they had started school but
was always there for them in out-of-school hours, unless her mum was able to ‘child-mind’
during school holidays.
Tina’s Catholic upbringing was very important to her, and she was a member of the St. Maria
Goretti Church choir in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent. In fact, she had a very good and gentle
singing voice, as is evidenced in a tape recording of a family gathering where we all sang
Christmas carols on Christmas Eve 1982 at my parents’ house.
Tina had no interests that could be described as hobbies, though she did enjoy reading
romantic fiction, her favourite author being Danielle Steel. She excelled, really, at being a
mother to Sarah and Robert and this left her with very little spare time for anything else
though she enjoyed the ‘soaps and films on TV. In the last year of her life Tina particularly
enjoyed the celebrated television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (1995) to the extent that
she had me buy the official videotape upon release, which was a few days before the final
episode was shown on TV.
As a person, Tina was kind and a reliable friend who loved her family connections, both of us
coming from large families. She engaged in the Catholic church and school communities and
took part in two parish concerts in 1987 and 1988.
In 1994 she developed rheumatoid arthritis, seemingly overnight, and I believe suffered more
pain over the following two years than she ever disclosed. Early in 1996 she detected a lump
in her breast and, following a diagnosis of breast cancer, had a mastectomy operation in July.
Although discharged after a few days, she was rushed back into hospital two days later: an
infection had taken hold, making her extremely weak. Although stabilised initially, she never
really improved and, after 18 days in the Intensive Care Unit at North Staffs Hospital, for the
most part under sedation, she died on Saturday 3rd August 1996.
Tina changed the direction of my life entirely in March 1973 and is without question the best
thing that ever happened to me. The most important thing in my life is our children, whose
characters and values she did so much to mould during their formative years.
 

Stephen Morse

Tina, by husband Steve ( for brother Ken’s Family History website
https://www.kenmorse.co.uk/ )