Beautifully sunny morning and a pleasant get together for January's meeting. Jenny got four votes just beating Pat's three votes.
'Still Continued' by Jenny Day
Alice and Ethel were sisters, two of 15
children. Alice, born in 1898, was older than Ethel, but they were always very
close.
Not easy being part of such a big family. Alice said, when she
was quite young she remembered always having to nurse a baby while her mother
read a book.
They lived in an area of Northam, not the most salubrious
part of Southampton. Life was very hard. When the girls left school at 14 they
went into service in a richer family.
Later Ethel was lucky; she was sent
to Canada to look after an aunt and begin a new life. As soon as Alice was old
enough, she left the service life, left home and went to sea, working as a cabin
stewardess. I'm sure her mother was pleased with any extra income that came her
way!
Ethel's life changed completely. She met her husband, Alf, a
Londoner. Why he was in Canada I don't know, but she married him and had a very
happy and comfortable life. They lived in London, Ontario and had four
children.
Alice's life changed also. While she was on HMS Aquitania, she
met Harry. He was a carpenter working on the ships. They married in 1927 when
she was 29 years old, but life was still not as easy as that of Ethel and Alf.
Harry was a wonderful carpenter. He made nearly all their furniture.
It was beautiful and practical, and furnished their little house in Old Shirley,
which they had worked so hard to buy.
Life was still hard. The country
was still recovering from a terrible, long war, but they were still happy and in
1933 they had a son.
They had survived the slump, but not before Alice
had to pawn her engagement and wedding rings, among other things, but they still
owned their own house. If I ever feel hard done by, I should think of the
terrible times they must have encountered.
Harry had survived a dreadful
time in the trenches in the 1914-18 War. He had experienced 'shell shock' and
when the 1939 World War broke out, he was unable to cope and had a major
breakdown. He spent some time in a London hospital, but once the war casualties
started to arrive, his bed was needed. Alice was not going to allow him to be
sent to a mental hospital. She signed papers to have him released into her
care.
Harry never worked again, so Alice had to be the breadwinner, first
in the munitions factory during the war, then in the margarine factory. She
left home at six in the morning, returning at six at night, only to face the
housework and care of her family.
Many years later, when I met her son,
Les, I found her sour and cold. My family were so different and I was nervous
of her!
After Les and I were married, I got to know her better and
realised, beneath the strict and miserable exterior was a softer side. She was
generous and kind.
I think Les was a disappointment to her and I was the
daughter she had always wanted. Oh, but it was hard to keep up the standard of
her white washing! It was so bright it could hurt your eyes.
Alice still
continued to keep in touch with Ethel. I can remember her receiving boxes of
bright red Canadian apples and other gifts. I guess they were aware of how
tough our lives were compared to theirs.
Ethel and Alf came to visit
Alice a couple of times. They were lovely people. Alice was invited to the
wedding of one of their granddaughters and she took Julie, her granddaughter,
with her.
Harry did spend several years in Knowle Hospital, near
Fareham, when he could no longer care for himself, and Alice would take the
special bus every Sunday to visit him, taking one of the grandchildren with
her.
After Harry died Alice discovered money he had squirrelled away over
the years. One can only guess all the hardship had affected his mind.
With this money Alice paid for the seven of us to visit Ethel and Alf in
Canada. What a visit! We were shared amongst the family. Alice, Les and
myself stayed with Ethel and Alf, my sons Jeff and Simon stayed with daughter
Dorothy and Julie and Kevin stayed wth one of their sons, Bill. We were given
such a welcome and our holiday was packed with wonderful
memories.
Alice's later life was much easier, although she still worked
until she was 80 years old. She was employed by Unigate Dairies to make teas
for the staff in their Head Office. She was treasured by them and, as she got a
little more frail, they would carry the tea trays to the offices for her, so she
just had to make the tea and wash up after someone returned the trays of dirty
cups. She loved her little job and wasn't doing it out of necessity any more,
but it gave her a purpose.
Alice was an amazing lady, a good
mother-in-law and a generous Granny.
