大象传媒

The memories recounted in this story are those of my mother, Joan, who was born in 1925 and died in 2002. When I was a child she told me many tales about her young working life in a local council nursery. When I became a teacher I asked her to write down some of these memories for me so that I could share them with the children in their history lessons.

My mother worked for East Ham Council at a time when many new day nurseries were being built. This was so that women who until then had remained at home, could support the war effort by taking up jobs in offices, factories and where ever else they could make an important contribution.

The nurseries were set up so that children aged between 3 weeks and 5 years could be cared for from Monday to Saturday each week between the hours of 7am and 7pm. This was a long day for parents , children and nursery staff ! My mother lived in Ilford and after a bus journey from East Ham would reach home each evening at about 8pm.

The nursery where my mother worked was in a very close-knit and supportive community. As part of their duties, the air raid wardens visited regularly to check on the blackout arrangments and firefighters came to show the nursery staff how to use the water pumps provided for emergencies. They also asked if they could make toys for the children. To everyone's delight this led to a constant supply of wooden toys including engines to pull along on a string, scooters and even a dolls house. The older girls at the nursery were so thrilled with their dolls house they were determined to learn to knit so that they could make rugs for the wooden floors. It took a great deal of effort but eventually they managed it! The air raid wardens and firefighters became regulars guests at Christmas parties in the nursery as a way of thanking them for their time and generosity.

The nursery had a large air raid shelter of course, which always seemed cold and damp! Sometimes the children found themselves starting the day with breakfast in the shelter. On other occasions when the sirens went off members of staff had to carry large quantities of hot lunch or tea into the shelter. There was a bench running right round the shelter where the children could sit and listen to stories. Sometimes they would sing and dance with the help of the nursery's old wind up gramophone. The emphasis at all times was on keeping the children calm and occupied so that they could lead as normal a life as possible.The staff set up clear routines which included how to transfer from the nursery building to the shelter and even the smallest toddlers soon seemed to accept the sound of gunfire, doodle-bugs and rockets as a part of their daily lives.

One of the small boys, a three year old , had a mother who was deaf. From a very early age he was trained at home to run to his mother and tug her skirt when he heard 'Moaning Minnie' (the air raid siren) begin to wail. This was the signal for them to go to their shelter and meant that when they were alone in their house there was no risk of them missing the warning.

This was a very effective safety measure ,but being a small boy this three year old instinctively needed somebody to alert when the siren went whilst he was in the nursery. Without this he would become very distressed and would not want to leave the building, which could upset the other children. My mother , known to many of the children as 'Mummy Lin' - from her surname Linsell - became his substitute mother when the sirens blared during the nursery day. It meant that as soon as she heard 'Moaning Minnie' herself her priority was to locate this particular little boy. Once he had tugged her skirt and she had speedily despatched him to the shelter she could carry out whatever duties remained to ensure that everyone was safe.

One of the problems nursery staff had to be alert to was the effect of loud noise from sudden explosions in the local area, on some of the smallest infants,dozing in their cots. It was not uncommon for them to'catch their breath' and so the first duty of staff in the infant ward at such times was to check the children's colour and give first aid where necessary. This often amounted to a firm pat on the back to be rewarded by a hearty cry , a complaint at being woken so abruptly from a good nap!

As preparations were underway to evacuate to the shelter one day a father was visiting. After helping with the move he gallantly held the door open until the last staff and children were safely inside. Unfortunately for him, he was just seconds too late and sustained considerable damage to his hearing as a result of a bomb landing across the road. Sadly, I do not have any further details about what happened to him after this.

All I can say, in conclusion, is that the nursery in East Ham escaped a direct hit despite the frequent raids in this part of London. Not all went well for the nursery staff and their charges, but they coped with everything they had to face, with good humour and determination,like so many Londoners facing the blitz together.

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