On 4th December 1915 I was born at The Cottage, Windsor Road, Bray, Berkshire (near Maidenhead); despite being christened John, my family always called me Jack. My father was then a poultry man (domestic). On 10th January 1918 our poor mother had twins – Leslie and Gilmore at another home, Holyport Village, halfway between Maidenhead and Windsor. My Auntie Beat, she was married to Robert Whittle (Uncle Bert) used to tell the story of our father sending a telegram to her “Rose is having twins – come immediately”. Auntie Beat found mother overwrought and she spent two weeks just facing the wall. Apparently Auntie Beat saw father skulking around and told him to “go out and shoot something for supper, preferably yourself!” Much later, she also told one of my daughters that, although she was married, she had no idea how babies were actually born up until then. Auntie Beat had to get me on the bottle and I was a “sod”; and yelled and yelled, according to her. She and Uncle Bert had just one child, a girl called Evelyn.
Our mother kept the twins in a tea chest and from time to time they would be given a crust with lard and sugar, they seemed to me like rabbits. The twins, I believe were born after seven months and were not identical twins, Leslie had dark hair and Gilmore fair; they talked to each other in their own language. Each evening mother would wash the tea chest and put it out in the garden to dry. One day Leslie found he could get his leg out of the chest and father had to put up a bar by the door so that mother could open the door on a hot day for some fresh air.
Before the end of the War, our parents and six children moved to Tangier Park Lodge, Wootton St. Lawrence, Basingstoke, Hampshire where he became a gardener for a Colonel and Mrs Blane. It was quite a nice estate with a small village life. During the winter of 1918-19 our father was very ill with Spanish influenza and the cook from the main house used to come down with some broth for him. Father had a stick and he constantly seemed to be banging with it to get mother’s attention.
The War ended on 11th November 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany on 29th June 1919. Soon after the War, we had white bread for the first time since 1914. Father said “mother it is lovely, it is like cake, it is cake!” I thought to myself, “you fool, bread is bread and cake is cake”. To celebrate the end of the war, there took place at Tangier Park in June 1919 a sort of fete with a big tent and the whole of the village seemed to be there and I vaguely remember a big tea with lots of current cake, jellies and orange juice for the children. We were told to be on our best behaviour which I found very difficult. Of course quite a few women were widows as a result of the War and many of them were still wearing black, but everyone was given a medal and seemed very happy. Since we lived in the Lodge, we saw everyone coming and going. I remember the ladies with hats with artificial fruit and they fixed their hats to their head with big pins. Many had long boots, not shoes, and their clothes were down to their feet. Looking back on life, I suppose they were over-clothed. I remember that when a lady wanted to go to the toilet, she used to say “I must take my hat off.”
Sometimes we would go and look around the ‘big garden’ at Tangier Park. Since the Colonel was becoming senile they had a nurse to look after him. Sometimes the Colonel would run our in his night shirt and father or other members of staff had to get him back. At lunchtime father would tell mother of the efforts to jolly the ‘old gent’ to come home. In the house at Tangier Park was Mr Hoar the butler, Mrs Hoar the cook and either two or three young maids who always seemed to be very clean and smart.
The outside staff consisted of father, Mr Dix who was the head gardener, Mr Ellis, Arthur, the garden boy, and Mr Blackburn the chauffeur. I believe Mr Blackburn also had to ‘make’ electricity from a generator. I think that Mrs Blackburn used to help him out in the house. Mr and Mrs Blackburn lived above the garage at the back of the house. Father would talk about Mr B or Mr D or Mrs B ‘up yonder’ – the big house, or ‘down yonder’ the village. Arthur the garden boy would come from time to time for an order of vegetables from the garden and he would come back with the order. Father would shoot rabbits and at tea time, about 5:30-6:00pm, we often had rabbit with vegetables and rice pudding or porridge pudding and a cup of weak tea.
Thu 10 May 2012, 01:23 by Caro