Winifred Foley

Winifred Foley was born in 1914 in the small village of Brierley, near Cinderford. The daughter of a Miner, she is another life-long resident of the Forest to write an autobiographical account of her life.

A Child in the Forest, the first book of the now celebrated 'Forest Trilogy' was published in 1974, when Winifred Foley was 60 years old. Chronicling her upbringing during the early part of the twentieth century, it is a tale told with tenderness and humour despite the vivid depiction of social and economic hardships. The story was used for inspiration for the acclaimed television drama 'Abide with Me'.

The sequel to A Child in the Forest, entitled No Pipe Dreams for Father tells the story of Winifred's teenage years. The concluding volume - Back to the Forest, is the story of when she returns to live in her beloved Forest of Dean with a family of her own after the second world war.

The trilogy tells a remarkable story of changing times in a place where the values of family and community are always going to remain strong.