Ethel left school at 13 and wanted to go to grammar school, but her parents wouldn’t let her. Instead, she became and apprentice to a court dressmaker, who would make dresses for women presented at court to the King. Ethel was there for just 6 months, most of which was spent picking up pins!

After leaving this job, she then persuaded her father to pay for shorthand typing lessons, aged 14. At first, she was apparently rubbish, but after another round of lessons she improved.

Ethel was known as the “girl with the golden voice” because she had such a lovely speaking voice.

Aged 24, Ethel travelled to South Africa to work for her uncles newspaper, and got engaged to a wealthy man. However she came home for a visit, where she met her future husband Joshua.

Joshua had come to the UK from Russia and wanted to study to become a doctor, but couldn't because he needed to work to send home money to his mother, and he instead he became the shochet, the ritual slaughterer of chickens. Ethel and Joshua’s daughter Frada did become a doctor, which she says was her father’s dream.

Joshua was originally planning on marrying Ethel’s sister Mabel, but she would not marry the shochet, so he married Ethel instead!