God is the Soupgreen Spirit

A Catholic Childhood in Cheltenham in the 1940s and 50s
A memoir and social history about growing up a Catholic in Cheltenham in the 1940s and 1950s. Also describes the post-war Catholicism within its historical context.

Catholicism, for Helen Wallimann, was not characterised by penance, fasting and the fear of punishment. On the contrary, as a child, she enjoyed the rituals, the music, the incense, the processions; she was intrigued by saint stories, and read with delight newspaper reports of pilgrimages, of sensational miracles, of Father Peyton’s huge Rosary Crusade rallies. When she was still very young, she wanted to become a missionary; for a long time she hoped to have saintly visions. As she grew older, her perception of Catholicism changed… the present account is coloured with humour and a touch of irony.

With the help of information from various sources (family and friends, school magazines, diaries, memoirs, archives, parish notebooks, local and national newspapers) the author’s personal memories are supplemented with the description of Catholic activities in the more general spheres of family, parish and school.

An introductory chapter outlining the evolution of Catholicism in Cheltenham from the Reformation to the Second World War places the post-war Catholicism described in the book in its historical context.

"Very well written and highly readable, with much of absorbing interest – indeed fascinating detail of Catholic life at the time." Tom Longford, Managing Director, Gracewing Publishing.

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