大象传媒

Those who know of the invaluable work still undertaken by the Childrens鈥� Holiday Home at Dodford may be interest to know that one of its forerunners was the Home run by Margaret and Jeph Gillett at Upwood in Barnt Green.

The Friends of the War Victims Relief Service (FWVRS), a Quaker organisation, decided to open the Home in 1940 for children bombed out of their homes in Birmingham and Coventry. Thirty children aged between 2 and 5 came to live for an indefinite period in the house, Upwood, given by the Gibbins sisters, who were also Quakers. Margaret Gillett was on the committee of the FWVRS and she asked if she and her husband, Jeph, could become wardens of the house in 1941. The pair were made joint wardens. Jeph worked as an accountant during the day but, before he went to work, he organised all the washing. The Home was lucky to have one of the first automatic washing machines.

The staff at Upwood included, as well as the two wardens, 3 nursery teachers, 2 assistants, 2 cooks, 2 handymen and a gardener.

The staff at Upwood started their day with breakfast at 7 o鈥檆lock around a huge table in the big kitchen. The 2 volunteer cooks, Edith (an Austrian refugee who later married Tom, one of the handymen) and Vera (married to Paul) worked wonders with the limited rations, supplemented by homke-grown vegetables and fruit. They were especially concerned that everyone should have a balanced diet. Vera鈥檚 efforts are commemorated in a rhyme written in an album donated to Margaret and Jeph when they left Upwood:-

There was a young woman named Vera
Her friends did all like to be near her
She made cakes for all ages
Soups, sauces and sages
That clever young lady named Vera

The staff kept their own rations of butter separately but, otherwise, everything was shared.

The children slept in 2 dormitories, looked after during the night by 2 people. The night shift was shared between the staff who did a month at a time. The 3 nursery teachers took over after breakfast and the school day began in 2 rooms; one for the younger children and another for the older ones. At the end of the day the children were all piled into the bath and their clothes were sorted out into a range of pigeonholes at the bottom of the stairs. Margaret can remember sorting out clean from dirty clothes and putting the communal clothes into various holes for boys pants, girls dresses, shirts and blouses or boys trousers. Margaret would often sing nursery rhymes and 鈥楪olden Slumbers鈥� to the tired children, or they would be read to by the nursery assistants such as Laura, who came from the Isle of Man. Another Margaret was busy all day:-

Margaret works when we鈥檙e in bed
Potting children, cutting bread
Ironing nightgowns by the score
Wishing there were hundreds more!

The children might have been homesick at first but they very quickly settled into the routine that was so important to Upwood. Margaret remembers 2 sisters who were always upset after their parents had visited on a Saturday, but who were comforted by cuddles and love from the rest of the staff. Parents were unable to visit very often, this was the time of petrol rationing and blackouts at dusk. Even at Christmas the children stayed at Upwood. It was considered too unsettling to send the children home, but the staff at Upwood made up for this with their own games and parties; fancy dress was a particular favourite. The children could play in the grounds in the summer-time, rushing around naked and playing with the pet rabbits, the 2 dogs or the cat. Tom made toys out of old furniture 鈥� another verse tells of this.

At Upwood there was a young fellow
Who liked music especially mellow
He sang on the stairs
He made toys from old chairs
This musical, artistic young fellow

There were also teddies and dolls given by various people. A garden party was held one summer and the staff showed everyone how to do country dancing.

In the busy day staff were allowed a 2 hour break. Margaret had from 2.00 until 4.00 each afternoon when she would knit or sew and listen to 鈥楳usic While You Work鈥� on the radio. The local doctor might be called in to deal with the outbreaks of whooping cough and measles and Dr. Beaumont, who started the Dodford Holiday Home was a frequent visitor as she was the Schools Medical Officer for Birmingham. One young lady avoided one nasty disease:-

A dark haired young lady named Eva
Just managed to miss scarlet fever
She waits for the post
Having written the most
And yet scores of letters still leave yer

Margaret particularly remembers rows and rows of potties at Upwood and says that 3 of the volunteers who came to help had the very apt names of Mrs. Chambers, Miss Potty and Miss Bowles.

Towards the end of the war the Home was used for children who might have psychological problems; the regime and country life making a great deal of difference. Dr. Beaumont commented in one of her reports 鈥淚 have not forgotten the difference in the children after a short stay there鈥�. But the need for children who had been bombed out of their homes had gone by this time. Upwood was closed.

There were, however, still many children in Birmingham who never had a holiday or knew what it was like in the countryside and the Holiday Farm at Dodford was opened by Dr. Beaumont. Margaret and Jeph gave their help and advice and the Farm still fulfils an important need today.

Margaret and Jeph鈥檚 efforts were much appreciated when they left Upwood as this verse shows:-

There were two young wardens of Upwood
They improved things until it became good
When they had to leave
It made us all grieve
To lose these dear wardens of Upwood

- The End -

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