Rose Kathleen Cleverley was the youngest daughter in a family of six children. She was born in Rose Cottage, Bitterne on 25th January 1904. She spent her early life on her father’s farm in Thornhill. Latterly she was in service in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.
After marriage to Walter Puntis she lived the rest of her life in Marne Road.
She was a very accomplished crafts person skilled in a wide range of crafts such as leather work, weaving, tatting, smocking and pillow lace and could knit with several different wools while simultaneously watching TV. At 80 she taught herself to type and as witnessed by the tape, her memory was prodigious.
The tape, photograph above and information about Rose was supplied by her son, Christopher Puntis
More information about Rose Puntis can be found in a conversation she had with Rosaleen Wilkinson, reproduced as a tribute to her in Bygone Bitterne, January 2000, vol.68, BLHS and in Bitterne School — A Diary. This is now reprinted in Bygone Bitterne, March 2025, vol.168. It contains memories Rose had of her early life and schooldays.