Noel was fifteen years old when she filled two exercises books with her poetry. Her mother was a strong woman of the roaring '20s with a love of music and a good time. In those days, parties were still centred around the family piano. But there was little time for joy, the war was raging, brothers and sons were dead, and Noel's mother, Dorothy, had a business to run. Noel, who was a sensitive and thoughtful girl, was able to draw on her creativity through poetry, drawing and painting to decipher her world and speak her peace.
