Grace was Ian and Carey’s mother who passed away in October 2010. She left a legacy of moving poetry.

To read some of her poems click here

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This poem is based on “A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering flax he will not quench” Matthew 12:20

This poem is Grace’s most widely circulated piece. It has been reproduced on cards, sung in choir festivals and brought encouragement and strength to many people.

Written at a time when her husband, Will, faced heart surgery this touching poem shows where Grace’s confidence lay

Written when Grace’s husband, Will, entered hospital in January 1991 for heart surgery with a doubtful prognosis.

This is typical of Grace. She would write a poem for just one person at a difficult time in their lives. This poem was written for her sister-in-law, Ethel, who had been diagnosed with a cancer from which she would not recover. Written as if in Ethel’s own voice, it provided great comfort to her [...]

In her notes there are numerous copies of this poem with scribbled notes describing to whom she sent the poem, the adaptations she made for that particular person and the places where she read it out. It was always headed like this: “With Christ, which is far better” Philippians 1:23 (AV)

This is one of Grace’s hymns and was written to accompany a sermon preached by Will White at a special service in their church in Banstead. To the tune of Cwm Rhondda (aka “Guide me O Thou great Jehovah”) Grace set the headlines of the sermon to music and the resulting hymn became an anthem [...]

In this poem Grace contrasts her age with her son’s youth and reflects on the interface between them.

Grace had a very vivid concept of heaven and what it will be like to be there and this anticipation emerges in many of her poems. In this poem, written in 1987 when a close friend’s husband passed away, she takes the text “Casting all your care upon him for he cares for you” (1 [...]