Obituary- Siggers

We were sorry to hear of the death on March 9th. of Dr. Siggers who had been a life member of the Fellowship since 1971. If you have the good fortune to live in a house once occupied by George Eliot, it is natural that an interest in the novelist will develop. This happened with Dr. Siggers, for his home in Devizes was the scene of Mary Ann Evans\u27 visit in 1843 to the home of Dr. Robert Brabant. Her holiday lasted a month; it might have been longer if her relationship with her host, nearly forty years her senior, had not given cause for alarm to the other two ladies in the house -the doctor\u27s blind wife and her resident sister. The story is well told in the Haight Biography. Dr. Siggers\u27 interest was apparent when a coach load of members was welcomed to his home some years ago as part of our annual literary outing. He proudly showed us his growing collection of George Eliot books as well as his lovely old house, and it was not difficult to imagine the impressionable Mary Ann in that setting. He and his wife made us most warmly welcome - and there were about fifty of us