Which cousin shared a Putney home with Franklin during her BCURA research?

Irene Franklin shared a Putney home with Rosalind Franklin during Franklin’s BCURA research.

Franklin began working at the British Coal Utilisation Research Association in 1942, studying how coal’s structure affected its behaviour. She initially stayed at Adrienne Weill’s boarding house in Cambridge, but her cousin Irene proposed a different arrangement: sharing a vacant house in Putney owned by Irene’s uncle.

The move was practical as well as familial. During the Second World War, Rosalind and Irene volunteered as Air Raid Precautions wardens and patrolled during air raids. This wartime experience formed part of Franklin’s life before her better-known DNA and virus research.

The other options are easy to confuse with members of Franklin’s family. Muriel was her mother, Jenifer was her younger sister, and Helen Caroline Franklin was an aunt. None of those women was the cousin associated with the Putney living arrangement.