But her trip was brought about by pure chance – the result of a north east ancestry search carried out by her son Ian, a Durham University graduate. During the trawl he stumbled across an article in the Northern Echo reporting a major change in membership rules which handed women the right to apply for entry.
Until the enactment by Parliament of the Equality Act, entry to the freemen’s ranks across the ages had been a male-only preserve. Up to that point only the sons of freemen, or craftsmen who had served a recognised apprenticeship within the city boundaries, were eligible for join the guilds, some dating back to the Middle Ages.
For Connie the new laws gave her the right of succession to join the path first walked in the 19thcentury by her paternal grandfather, Joseph Elliott, a master mason from Gilesgate. He was followed by her father Frederick, her brother Fred and his son Michael.
Connie first met her husband Ken during a holiday on the Isle of Man. When she returned to the north east Ken went on to university in Liverpool. During the Second World War she worked with the Red Cross in Newcastle.
After their marriage Ken worked first as a science teacher in Washington before ending his career as Head of Science at a high school in Doncaster. The couple had four children, Susan, another Durham graduate, and sons Stuart, Paul and Ian. In retirement they moved back to the Isle of Man.
Stuart said: “My mother always felt she would like to follow the footsteps of her grandfather, father and brother and was delighted to fulfil that ambition.”
