East Merva

Fast Facts

Type of person	Individual
Date of birth	"{{{Date approximate}}}" is not recognized as a Boolean (true/false) value. 1917
Place of birth	Mallala
Date of arrival	"{{{Date approximate2}}}" is not recognized as a Boolean (true/false) value. "{{{Date approximate}}}" is not recognized as a Boolean (true/false) value. 1917
Principal occupation	Telephone exchange
Date of departure	"{{{Date approximate3}}}" is not recognized as a Boolean (true/false) value. "{{{Date approximate2}}}" is not recognized as a Boolean (true/false) value. "{{{Date approximate}}}" is not recognized as a Boolean (true/false) value. 1942

Merva Winifred Grove (nee East) is the second child of Roy and Win East. She was born on June 27th 1917, and is still alive, living in Adelaide with her husband, Bill. They have been married for 67 years. She attended the local Mallala school in the 1920's and was Dux of the school in 1930. Her brothers and sisters were Vern (deceased), Donald (deceased) Joan, Shirley (deceased), Joy (deceased) and Glen (deceased).

As a young girl she played tennis, was a member of the Girl Guides and played the piano for her mother (who had a fine singing voice) at local concerts, mostly in the Institute hall. She recalls these days well. She can remember the years before electricity arrived, the dedication of the War Memorial and other events of the 1920's and 1930's. Of course she remembers the East Bros works in their heyday. She attended Thebarton Technical High School in Adelaide before returning to work in the Post Office as a telephonist, in charge of all the phone connections from Adelaide to local areas..

Her parents moved to Adelaide early in World War Two and lived in Highgate. She met William Murray Grove there and they were married at Rosefield Methodist Church in January 1943. She had three sons - David Ian (born January 1944), John William (born 1947) and Richard Leighton (born 1951)  Her parents returned to Mallala after the war but she and Bill remained in Adelaide with their young family. Her father Roy died in 1953 and her mother Win died in 1977.

Merva and Bill lived at Highgate, Hazelwood Park, Clarence Gardens, Panorama and now live in Linden Park, close to their three sons and their families. She has 7 grandchilren and 6 great grandchildren.

The article was updated in 2010.

The accompanying photographs are of Mr and Mrs Roy East and all their family.

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