大象传媒

George and I met in 1938 when we were 20 and 19 respectively.

My mother was a single parent, having lost my father to the post WW1 flu, six months before I was born. She had been in service when she was younger and during my growing-up in Grays had taken service related jobs. By 1938 we had moved to the Barking/ East Ham borders and Mum was working for a local vicar and I was working in the local Eastlight factory. We learned about a young couple George and Flo, who had tragically lost their daughter after appendicitis turned to peritonitis and took rooms in their home so Mum could provide Flo with company and support.

One evening George and Laddie (his cousin and best friend) had been to visit George鈥檚 sister Lil who lived nearby and as they were in the area, called in to see their aunt and uncle (George and Flo).

They were chatting away when Uncle George said he better take the Daily Mirror up to Lally. Both boys asked who Lally was and when they learned I was the young lady upstairs, they grabbed the paper and bounded up to meet me. They were fairly regular visitors to the house after that and we all went out together on a few occasions. George then suggested that we just go out on our own which I was happy to agree to.

The war came and George was in the army when we decided to get engaged. He was coming home on leave and a party was planned at his mother鈥檚 house. As he was not able to get out to buy a ring, I had to go and buy one myself and managed to get one with 3 diamond chips for 拢5 in the local Co-op. His journey home on leave was very slow and he arrived home late. I handed him the ring and ever the romantic, he said 鈥渧ery nice鈥� and handed it back to me. I told him he was supposed to put it on my finger, which he did and we all celebrated in what time was left to have the party.

We decided to get married on January 18th 1941 at St Margaret鈥檚 in Barking and at the time George was manning the guns in Barking Park. As I hadn鈥檛 got a father, we asked Uncle George to give me away as he had been our Cupid. George wore his army uniform and I borrowed the dress his sister Elsie had for her wedding the previous year.

It had quite a bad winter and it snowed on our wedding day. The bride from the previous wedding had been delayed so to get out of the cold we were asked to wait in the pews while they got married having the benefit of their hymns and bells which we were unable to afford ourselves. George was under orders to not turn round and look at me. One of George鈥檚 brothers was unable to attend and his wife was always one who liked and had the best so George鈥檚 mum took great pleasure in boasting to her about 鈥渙ur鈥� service with the choir, bells and hymns!

We were to use the grounds for the photos if the weather was OK or the photographer鈥檚 studio if not. Unfortunately, George鈥檚 brother Bert, the best man, sent everybody to the reception venue and the photos were just of the bridal group

We were able to do a deal within the family to club together our rations to get ingredients for the cake, the only omission being icing. To fake this the cake was enclosed within a white cardboard box for show.

George鈥檚 dad had two allotments and grew lots of vegetables, some of which we had at the wedding breakfast. He also promised that he would get an aitchbone of beef for all the family weddings. He kept this promise but we never ever asked him how !

We spent the wedding night at Elsie鈥檚 home near Barking Park. Her and her husband Ernie gave up their bed for us and slept downstairs. Unfortunately the German鈥檚 had other ideas and when we heard the guns from the park we came downstairs and joined them on other mattresses on the floor.

After the wedding we moved into rooms in Upminster Bridge although George did not spend much time with us. We shared with a couple and their son and as before, my Mum acted as a help to the wife who was in ill health. Sadly she passed away and a while after George鈥檚 sister Lil, who had been widowed, came to visit us, fell for Nat and it was our turn to be cupid!

As he no longer needed help and with a child each Nat and Lil needed the space so we needed a new home. Nat had lots of contacts and knew of a number of houses in Elm Park, which had been vacated by their owners because of their proximity to the Hornchurch Air Force base. We were able to move into one of these, which we were lucky to buy post war. It became our home for most of our married life and where we raised the two daughters we had after the war.

The house backed onto the airfield and had a 240ft garden and provided us with the space to grow vegetables and also keep a bit of livestock like chickens etc. Some of the neighbours were a bit more adventurous keeping farm animals like pigs and sheep. Although we were some distance from the planes it was not unusual to see a Spitfire at the end of the garden and we would often watch the planes take off for a raid counting them as they went out and hoping we could count the same number coming back in.

As the war continued we were beginning to hear stories that the tide might be turning. Unlike today where TV is part of war, information just came via newspaper and radio and occasional news bulletins in the cinema. The news was unfolding about the D-Day landings and the liberation of Europe and less bombing, we started to feel safer and excited that the end could be in sight.

At long last in May 1945 came VE day and we were able to start to celebrate.

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