大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from Radio Northampton Action Desk on behalf of Rose Ayriss and has been added to the site with her permission. Rose Ayriss fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was born on April 1st 1923 in Camberwell, London SE5, about a 5 minutes walk from Old Kent Road. The area I lived in was known as 鈥榯he Island鈥�. It was a large grid system estate consisting of 3 storied self contained flats, working class dwellings which although being far from luxurious were kept in good repair and rents were affordable, ie 8/-(40p) for the top floor, 9/-(45p) for the middle floor and 10/-(50p) a week for the ground floor.

The street door and passages were communal, but each flat consisted of 2 bedrooms, 1 kitchen and 1 outside W.C., which was on a small balcony next to the kitchen. It was all very basic, no hot water, gas lighting, coal fires and bare stairs, which were scrubbed weekly. The houses were back to back and the people from the next street shared a washing line that was strung across the back yards on a pulley.

Monday was washing day, so the main meal that day was usually cold meat from the Sunday roast, or made into a shepherd鈥檚 pie. The galvanized bath was placed on 2 chairs, filled with hot water from the stone copper, which was heated by lighting a fire under it. All the washing was done by hand (as there no washing machines) and a washboard and copper stick and scrubbing brush were used. As you can imagine the kitchen was hot and steamy and the smell of Sunlight soap still reminds me of those days.

These dwellings had all the basic amenities, and by today鈥檚 standards, were very basic, but there was no alternative and everybody was in the same boat, so you just made life as good as possible and got on with it. The attitude was mostly if you haven鈥檛 got it, go without and don鈥檛 moan about it.

The living room had a stone sink with cold water only and no electric lighting, just gas (needed gas mantles, which were like 陆 of an egg shape and were made of a type of gauze fabric attached to a rim made of pipe clay and cost 2 or 3 pennies). Sometimes when you bought a new mantle you accidentally poked your finger through the gauze and had to buy another. Gas was supplied by putting 1 penny in the meter and very often you were left in the dark while you tried to find another penny.

Families in those days consisted mostly of dad, mum and possibly 4-6 children, sometimes many more. Until the children left school at 14 years old and started work, life was a struggle to feed and clothe children on a very small income. There was no housing benefit or Social Security then and what you wanted or needed had to be worked for. The Health Service did not exist until 1948, so before that prescriptions had to be paid for, sometimes 3s/6p (About 17 陆 p today) each visit.

Many men were out of work and it was almost unheard of that mums went to work (they never had the time). My mother had been in service and was a very good cook, so we always had a hot dinner everyday. She must have been a good housekeeper to do so well with not much money. It was a very hard life. As there was no electricity there were obviously no appliances such as hairdryers or T.V.s.

Girls washed their hair on Friday night. I had very thick hair which used to take 3 hours to dry so I had to say to my boyfriend 鈥淚 can鈥檛 come out tonight, its Amami night鈥� and that became part of the language.

The good old days? I don鈥檛 think so. Let鈥檚 go back to starting school. I don鈥檛 think it was compulsory but most children started school at 3 years of age. The school day lasted from 9am-4pm. There were lessons in the morning with a break at about 10.30. We were given 1/3 of a pint of milk and a good dinner at 12 o鈥檆lock and had a sleep in the afternoon. The dinners were cooked in the Domestic Science Centre, which was a 2 storey house built in the playground, and where the older children were taught cookery and housewifery (washing and ironing).

Miss Dobson was in charge and she was a very good cook. It was lovely to go across the playground and smell the lovely food. There were huge trays of meat pie, sausage toad in the hole, rice pudding, tapioca and other such delights. This was a very good idea as it helped at home to know that children were getting a good hot meal everyday.

In our family there was my mum, dad and 6 children. I was the third child with 1 older sister, 1 older brother and 1 brother and 2 sisters younger. The 2 young sisters died in infancy. One was 1 year old and the second was only a few weeks old.

Our school was at the end of our road and was a 鈥楽chool Board for London鈥� school. This was the school authority before London County Council. The school was 3 storeys high. The infants were on the ground floor, the 鈥榖ig鈥� girls on the first floor and the 鈥榖ig鈥� boys were on the top floor. The school keeper had a house in the playground and he would ring the first bell at 8.45am and the second bell at 9am, by which time you were expected to be at your desk in your class, of about 48 children. The school keeper would lock the gates, and open them at 12 o鈥檆lock for those who went home for dinner. He would then ring the bell at 1.45pm and again at 2pm and lock them until 4pm. Some evenings during school holidays there was a play centre from about 5-7pm. The teachers stayed after school to be in charge of these activities, which would include dancing, amateur talent and indoor games. We all enjoyed the play centre.

You stayed in the same classroom all day and the teachers for the subject would come to the class. Each child had a desk with a lid where your books and pencils were kept. There was an inkwell for pens with knibs.

At the end of each school year exams took place and if you hadn鈥檛 reached a certain standard you stayed in the same class until you did. So it was shameful to be left behind.

When you were 14 years old and left to go to work you were given a school leaving certificate and character reference. When you applied for a job, the employer always wanted to see them.

It was as the children left school and started work that life became a bit easier at home. The usual starting wage was 10/-(50p) a week for about 45 hours work, probably 8-6 (with 1 hour for lunch), and Saturday morning 8-1. Apprentices were only paid 5 or 7 shillings a week as they were learning a trade. As every penny counted, many children had to take the job that paid most.

I left school at 14 in 1937 and I and many others were deprived of further education because of the need to bring money into the house. I think of it now as putting a racehorse in a cart. But it had to be done and I vowed that when I had children, I would make sure that they were all educated if they were capable, and I did.

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