May Hewlett wrote: "Florence was my Aunt, baby sister to my Mother. Florence died of tuberculosis in 1924 aged 34. I was only 5 at the time but I can still hear her coughing and coughing. This picture was taken in 1912 when she was 22 years old."
My Mother saw 5 of her brothers die of consumption before they were 26. Her mother (Anne Rhys) died of the disease when Beatrice was 11 years old, and she was raised by her sister Catherine. The 3 months that were dreaded by the people were March, April and May. The saying goes;
March will search you (the winds)
April will try you (the rains)
May will say whether you live or die.
I remember Florence suffering terribly from TB. She said to my Mother “It’s the last day of May today so I think I am going to get better.” She died on the 6th June, 1924, just 34 years old.