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Chrissie's story

Chrissie Maher, founder of Plain English Campaign

Chapter by chapter

I have been asked a number of times over the years to write something about my life, especially the early years. Don’t ask me why, because I feel that a lot of children of my generation had a worse time of it than I did. I have now completed the first chapter, and you may wish to read it here. I would be interested in your comments good or bad, but constructive please.

This first chapter describes memories of childhood poverty, including scavenging for food and being given cinders for Christmas. There were awful experiences at school (when I found the courage to go) and an outburst in a church. Being the family’s spokesman in a pawnbroker’s shop was another familiar scene. Oh yes, and there were the living nightmares in the local air-raid shelter.

As the story unfolds in later chapters, I will describe how these childhood experiences led to fights about benefits claims – and, in time, the formation of Plain English Campaign.

Chrissie Maher

Chrissie Maher OBE

Read chapter one

Read chapter two

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