SIR – The recent Pink Floyd Night on BBC4 was a reminder of an anecdote I heard on Desert Island Discs, featuring founder member Roger Waters.

He spoke lovingly of his mother and recalled the time when she was doing teacher training. She became politically active having seen children going to and from school in heavy snow without shoes or socks. As he said, she thought “there was something wrong with this picture”. Roger Waters’s mother did her teacher training in Bradford.

Mary Duncan Waters died at the age of 96 and, assuming from age 18 to 25 was her college time in Bradford, the era to look towards would be the late 1930s, obviously pre-dating McMillan College.

I wonder if any of your readers can help with information of Mary’s time in our city? The music of Pink Floyd played a special part in the recent mourning of my brother-in-law. Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were were written by Roger as a lament to the departure of Syd Barrett from the band, but each song is totally relevant to anyone enduring a time of grieving.

It would be nice to grasp this historic link to what is arguably one of the five most important bands in musical history.

John Murphy, Cooper Lane, Bradford