Chapter after chapter has been captured in verse and as a result her collection of poems includes stories of bravery, childhood recollections and times of hardship and adversity.

And never one to shy away from tackling a contentious subject, Jean is often moved into writing few controversial stanzas too.

Now, Jean who is 66, hopes to publish her poems so that others can share in her memories.

"The problem is when I do pick up my pen, I really don't know when to stop. Lots of things inspire me to write – I suppose it's a way of saying what I want to because I've never been an outspoken kind of person," she says.

"I have always been someone to keep things to myself. Writing the poems is a way of being able to express my feelings."

Jean has recently returned to Halifax after living and working in the Midlands. But she is no stranger – she spent part of her childhood here.

She was just seven when she moved from Lancashire to Brighouse with her mum and younger brother and sisters. Those early years were a struggle for a family constantly on the move trying to keep a roof over their heads.

"My dad had been killed in the war and my mum had married on the rebound. It turned out to be a bad relationship and essentially we ran away from him.

"I know that on the day my mum decided we were leaving, we were all bundled out of the house and I didn't even have to time to grab my coat.

"We came to live with relatives but it was obvious we weren't wanted really and we lived in a succession of attic rooms with all of us crammed in as we moved from one place to another."

However Jean has happy memories too, especially when the family moved to Hebden Bridge and then Luddenden Foot.

"There were people who were very kind to us," she says.

"We had been evicted from one place – because we were living like squatters really – and my mum was going up and down the streets asking if someone had a spare bedroom for us, when a grocer came out of his shop and offered us somewhere."

Memories of spending time with her "special granny" in Garden Street, Hebden Bridge, where Jean feasted on crusty bread, spread with best butter and home-made damson jam while sitting in an old rocking chair, have inspired one poem. The tragic and early death of her dad inspired another.

"I was only 14 months old when he died so I barely remember him. He was just 19, and my mum, made a widow at 23, was pregnant with my brother John (named after my dad) so he never knew his father. I asked questions later in life but it was always too upsetting for my mum to talk about."

Jean's research uncovered a tale of bravery and heroism. The young John Holcroft was serving in the Border Regiment and was called upon to take part in the invasion of Sicily in 1943.