Skip to content
VitrineVitrine
Sign in

Mary O'Sullivan

20 May 1934 – 28 Aug 2005

5 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

  • Born20 May 1934not verified1 source
  • Died28 Aug 2005not verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 20 May 1934

    Born

  2. 20 Jan 1965

    A daughter is born

  3. 28 Aug 2005

    Dies, aged 71

Family

See the tree

Partner

Children · 1

During her lifetime

She lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1930s · Mary is born

In the news1919–1939

Council Housing Construction Began in 1919

Following the 1919 Housing Act, local authorities began building council houses to replace slums, with over 1 million built by 1939.

Getting around

Walking was the primary mode of commuting

In the 1930s, walking was the most common way for people to commute to work, remaining the primary method for one-third of the population.

What it cost

Starting wage for a fourteen-year-old worker

A common starting wage for a fourteen-year-old starting work was 10 shillings a week for a 45-hour work week.

The Great Depression. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 set off a world depression: banks failed, work vanished and coffee prices collapsed in Brazil.Around the world · 1929–1939

The Great Depression. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 set off a world depression: banks failed, work vanished and coffee prices collapsed in Brazil.

Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · public domain

What people wore

Wartime siren suits for air raids

The siren suit was an all-enveloping, zip-up boiler suit that people wore over pajamas for quick dashes to air raid shelters during the war.

Music

Civic celebrations and improvised instruments

To celebrate victories, civic bands often led parades through city centers, although this tradition was more common in northern industrial regions than in others. Fans traveling to major events also used improvised instruments like mouth organs, tin whistles, and rattles to provide music.

Daily life

Schooling and Classroom Life

Schools often lacked lunches, so children in winter brought a potato marked with their initials to be baked in the school coal-oven. Pupils were taught using rote learning, and in smaller schools, might start by writing in trays of sand before using chalkboards or expensive pencils.