One of the old Bourne names is Moisey which is frequently mentioned in the town’s recent history and now being perpetuated by town councillor, Mrs Petronella Moisey, who has already been elected to serve two terms as mayor.

She is in fact a Yorkshire girl, born at Low Moor, Bradford, on 2nd October 1948, one of four children of Stanley Hainsworth and his Dutch wife, Petronella, who were married in Holland at the end of the Second World War in 1945, and so she was given her mother’s name. Returning to England after VE-Day, Stanley joined the police force in Bradford and moved to Lincolnshire four years later.

In 1960, the family came to Bourne when Mr Hainsworth was appointed Civil Defence Officer for the area and so the town became the family home. His daughter, always known as Pet, attended Bourne Secondary School and on leaving worked for a spell in the offices of the Bourne Laundry before joining the clerical department of South Kesteven District Council, then based at Wake House in North Street. It was during this time that she met David Moisey, whose family were Moisey and Sons, grocers, of Meadowgate, and they were married in 1968.

Like his father-in-law, David became a policeman, joining the Lincolnshire Constabulary in 1973 and was based at Stamford until returning to Bourne in 1988. They had three children during this period, Sarah, Peter and Robert, but once they grew up Pet returned to full time work in 1985, first at Greens of Whaplode, near Spalding and then with KGM Roofing of Bourne, until retiring in 2008.

By this time she had decided to help serve the community and became a member of Bourne Town Council in 1999, representing the Bourne East ward, and has been chairman of the finance committee since 2002. She became Mayor of Bourne in 2004-05 and again in 2010-11.

Council work has given Pet particular satisfaction. "I have always wanted to become involved in local community affairs", she said. "Now that I do sit in the council chamber, I do everything possible to protect and enhance the town and its amenities and at the same time to represent the views and concerns of the people and be an influence on decisions taken at district and county level that affect the culture of Bourne and the surrounding district."

Pet and David live in Recreation Road and pursue a busy lifestyle with their community work and looking after the family but she still maintains her hobby of snooker, playing regularly at the Pyramid Club in West Street and winning the Spalding and District ladies champion on two occasions while also keeping up with her other passion of watching football at all levels of the sport.

WRITTEN JULY 2010

See also First citizens since 1894