I didn’t want to take anything away from the importance of VE Day, but thought some of my parents reminiscences might be of interest.
My mum…a cockney born in 1925. Went to work for Dolcis Shoes in their offices.
After a few years sleeping in the underground each night—a specific one because her dad worked for the railways—she found herself living in an old house in Orlingbury in Northamptonshire with her workmates.
Her mum was so worried about her youngest out in the wilds (her words) she took herself and her other two girls to live in Kettering.
Bad mistake.
Her husband installed his lady friend in their house in the east end of London, and my mum (why she chose the youngest I have no idea—nor did my mum) and my nan were called back to see as my nan called her, the harlot in her, nan’s bed with a baby.
Divorce followed.
(Nan subsequently married the man who they rented half a house from, but that’s another story.)
Mum enjoyed her time at the hall. She and her best friend Kay, saved up their wages to buy clogs to wear. The older ladies who worked with them saved up their wages to buy the two girls slippers as the noise of the clogs were driving them mad.
Mum and Kay got onto several scrapes, non less than getting stuck up the wall around the house, and also getting caught as they tried to sneak into the house after an illicit night out at a local hop! I’ve put that into Bomber’s Moon one of my Raven books.
There’s a lot more to this story…how mum met a yank and got engaged…how it panned out…meeting my dad later…me…
Me meeting a guy( in Scotland who was a ‘friend’ of my aunt when they lived in London…
But I’ll leave that for later…
Along with my mum and the yank, and my dads thoughts on the RAF,
Happy reminiscences,
LETS REMEMBER THEM
love R xxx