Margaret "Margo" Isabel Mabel Durrell was a remarkable individual, born on May 4, 1920, in British India. She was the younger sister of renowned novelist Lawrence Durrell and elder sister of the illustrious naturalist, author, and TV presenter Gerald Durrell. Margo's life was deeply intertwined with her family's experiences, particularly her brothers' adventures on the island of Corfu.
As a young woman, Margo accompanied her mother, Gerald, and her brother Leslie to Corfu in 1935, following her eldest brother Lawrence who had already moved to the island with his first wife Nancy Myers. While her family returned to England in 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II, Margo decided to stay on Corfu, sharing a peasant cottage with local friends.
It was during this time that she met Royal Air Force pilot Jack Breeze, who was stationed on the island. He convinced her of the dangers of staying on Corfu, and the couple traveled together to South Africa, marrying in 1940. They lived in South Africa for the remainder of the war, before moving to Bournemouth in the aftermath.
Margo's life took a new turn when she divorced her husband and purchased a large property across the street from her mother's house in Bournemouth. She turned the property into a boarding house, where she housed her brother Gerald's core collection for his zoo in the back garden and garage. Later, Margo had a short-lived marriage with musician Malcolm "Mac" Duncan.
Despite her busy life, Margo remained enamored with Greece and eventually applied for a job on a Greek cruise ship traveling to the Caribbean, which she saw advertised in a newspaper. Her book "Whatever Happened to Margo?" is a humorous account of her experiences as a Bournemouth landlady in the late 1940s, featuring stories about her family, including Leslie, Gerald, and Louisa Durrell, and their time on Corfu.
The manuscript was written in the 1960s but remained unpublished until it was discovered in the attic by a granddaughter nearly 40 years later and published in 1995. Margaret Durrell passed away on January 16, 2007, at the age of 86, leaving behind a rich legacy of family stories and experiences.
