大象传媒

When Billy left Charlton School, he went to the Gordon School at Eltham and later to Forest Hill Comprehensive School. Billy had made up his mind he wanted to be an engineer like Uncle John (Dorothy's husband). At the comprehensive school he could do metal work, and he was very happy there and got on very well. He always had a cycle and never walked anywhere. He cycled to school, even to go down the road to the paper shop he would get on his bike. He did a paper round for pocket money and always wore his school cap. At 11 years he joined the scouts and enjoyed camping at Downe in Kent and at Henley-on- Thames. When he was 15陆 years old, Uncle John helped him to get into Siemens for an apprenticeship. Most of his friends had motorcycles and if he wasn't riding his cycle he had it in bits and putting it together again. He met a girl who lived in Lemington Spa named Mary Wells, so for quite a while he was tonning up the MI, blowing up his bike each time. He had two accidents, and after the second one had a sidecar put on his bike, later he learned to drive a car. He then met another girl called Jean and they married when he was 22 years old. He was working for the B.B.C. at this time on outside broadcasting as an engineer. Hoping to get to Bristol B.B.C. he bought a house at Patchway. Unfortunately a transfer was not forthcoming, so he found a job with Rolls Royce and worked on the "Concorde" engines. He had two sons named Paul and Mark, but the marriage to Jean ended in divorce. He then married Pauline who had been previously married and had three children by her first marriage. Billy and Pauline had a little girl called Keri-An. Billy was never really keen on sport other than motor cycling and drag car racing. He built a beautiful drag car and called it "The Atomic Revel"

At this period in his life he had changed from Rolls Royce to Harwell, The Atomic Research Centre, and had a lovely house in Wantage, Oxon.

Jack was very keen on sport and at school he was always in the school football and cricket teams. He also joined a Sunday club and played on Sundays. His Father usually went with him using the car to take the boys to the grounds. After leaving Charlton Manor School Jack went on to Charlton Secondary School where he did very well. He was very popular at school and a great organiser. He got them to make a sixth form common room for the boys. One day he almost got the boys to strike against the school food, which was very bad. He worked in a flower shop for Mrs. Wheatley; he did this for pocket money. He was a cub but did not to into the scouts, as he preferred his football club. He later worked for Coombes Betting Office as a board man. At that time I thought he might have gone into that line of work but later found out his interest was in banking as a career. He stayed on at school to take his '0' levels, and became head boy when he went into the 6th form, then after one year of, A' level study left to start work for Barclays Bank. His first post was in Oxford Street. During his first year at the bank he was asked if he wanted to go on an Outward Bound Leadership Course in Penrith. He did this and enjoyed it very much. There was a lot of snow and it was very cold up there, the sheep had to be dug out, but it was a great experience for him. Soon after starting in the Bank he met a girl named Jill, in fact they had both started work on the same day. Most of the time after this was taken up by Jill and they eventually got married when Jack was 22 years old. Unfortunately this marriage ended in divorce after seven years and he later married Joan who had four sons by her previous marriage.

I continued to work, nursing throughout my married life. I changed jobs to suite my home life. I did a few years in Industry nursing at United Glass, and at Chiltonion so that I could be at home weekends with my family, especially as they got older.

I had always tried to keep fit and attended classes for this. I belonged to the Women's League of Health and Beauty and did the German Medau Movement. At one of my classes I was asked if I would like to go on a course to learn to teach women. I said "yes I would" and in 1961 I attended the L.C.C. College at Paddington for this course which I surprised myself in passing. This enabled me to teach movement to music and national dancing. While working in the Surgery at United Glass I could see a need for the factory girls to have sessions of music and movement every week. There was a very nice local sports ground and a clubhouse where we could meet, so it was very easy to get classes started. We gave several displays on sports days in the open air. We were also asked to attend other factories sports ground to give displays and got paid for it. We were also invited to go to the B.C.C. television studios by Hughie Greene and gave a display, which was broadcast all over England. I didn't tell everyone about it, and cousins of mine living in Rugby, Warwickshire, had a great surprise when they saw me with my ladies giving a display of movement to music on their television screens.

After some years and when my sons were married I returned to The Brook Hospital where I had been trained. I worked first on the private wards and then on the children's wards. I met up again with Molly O'Shea now Mrs. Morley and a mother of two girls. They were the same ages as my sons. We worked on night duty together for eight years. Having known each other when we were young we share each other's troubles, etc. I was able to tell, her my worries, especially when my sons were getting divorced as they were very worrying times for us. I also kept friends with Ursula Cork, who had three children, two boys and one girl. She also continued nursing as well as bringing up her family. We are now retired and have plenty of happy memories to chat about. She still lives in Dover.

My mother kept fit arid well and active until she was 81 years old. Between the age of 81 and 82 she had several chest infections and she passed away just before her 82nd birthday. She had come to live in Indus Road twelve years before, so was near enough for me to look after her to the end of her life.

Her sister Alice passed away two years after mum, also at the age of 82. She never married. The other sister Doll passed away very recently, having lived in an old people's home until the age of 87. She was blind, deaf and crippled and she also never married. It seems to me to live a happy life you need to work hard, get married and have a family.

My mother's youngest brother Fred and sister Kath immigrated to Australia. Her sister Gert lives in Sheffield where she has son, grandchildren and great grandchildren near her.

In 1982 Mrs. Thatcher's Government allowed us to buy our council house. We had moved into No.38 many years before to enable us to have a garage for the car when I was a district nurse. So now we own it.

Sister Dorothy's daughter has three children. Brother Jim is now retired after a life that will make another volume of family history. His daughter Barbara is living and working in Paris at the British Embassy.

Brother Bill had a long service with the Government and was awarded the I.B.M from the Queen on his retirement. He has one son and two grandchildren. He lost his wife Rita in 1987.

Our dear mother in heaven looks down at her offspring with a smile.

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