Daily Life
Vi's memories of daily life
ADMITTED
My first memory was of standing next to my sister, who was seated;I believe we were in the Lodge; which must have been when we first arrived. I was three years old - that was in 1926.
WAKE UP
A bell rang in the tower to wake us. Up we got - washed and dressed. The only toilets we used were the ones outside the back door! We were not allowed to use the one on our landing.
I often got a smack to wake me. During fire drill I got a wallop rather than a smack. All because I was hard of hearing and this was not diagnosed until I was about 11 years old. I didn't know that everyone else could hear the bell and could hear the teachers in class. Another bell announced time for school and a third bell to make sure! MR MCLAREN was the bell ringer.
Beware the persistent bed-wetter. Mrs Nixon would put them over her knee and spank them. In church, on Sunday, the girl bed-wetters had to sit in the front pew on the boys' side and vice versa.
ATTENDING THE OUTSIDE SCHOOL
On the way to and from school I would leapfrog, jump or climb anything in my way or not even in my way! When the Hornchurch cinema was being built I climbed the scaffolding.
Just past Woolworth's was the blacksmith. I can see him now - shoeing a horse.
The children aged 5-7 went to school in the Home then to school outside. I went to NORTH STREET, HORNCHURCH. Pigs were kept at the back of the school. When I was 12 I went to the newly built DURY FALLS, UPMINSTER.
BREAKFAST
Bacon and fired bread, mmm. On Sunday we had a boiled egg. Once I didn't feel well enough to eat the egg and a friend said "Miss, she's not very well" and immediately I was whisked off to the Hospital. Because of the large number of children in the Home at the slightest signs of any child being ill they were isolated.
On Friday we had bread and milk. When I was older I asked if I could make the porridge. This was made on Sunday night ready for Monday morning. Take one big porringer and your ingredients - place on gas ring until boiling - then place in the oven of the Aga. My dinner would be waiting for me in that oven when I returned from visiting DR H G WELLS, Ear Specialist at County Hall, London.
One morning while we were waiting for breakfast Mrs Nixon lined us up. She said that someone had stolen half-a-crown - and that she knew where it had been because she had seen it on her door-mat! mmm...why didn't she pick it up? Could she have put it there on purpose, I wonder?
LUNCH
Boiled salt beef, dumplings and carrots was a favorite of mine. We walked home from school had dinner and pudding then walked back to school. Sometimes that walk became a bit of an agony.
TEA
My favorite tea was cheese and tomato sandwiches. The cheese and tomato were mixed together to form a paste, then spread on the bread - really tasty. I also liked golden syrup..mmm. We never had anything cooked for tea. When the London County Council took over we also started having supper.
MOTHER
A friend told me that there was a lady over by the fence and she was asking for me. It was my mum and all I remember her saying was that if anyone were to ask that I should say that she was my aunty. I never received much from her while I was in the home, except I would go to the corner shop to collect letters from her - why?
KNITTING
We knitted gloves and vests for the younger children. How uncomfortable the vests must have been. Though I suppose I must have worn them but don't remember. I was made to stand behind the kitchen door because I kept moving my thumb while I was knitting.
LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL
When our Home was taken over by the LCC they wanted to know why we were not talking during mealtimes - unheard of! The LCC said we should be talking as it was an aid to digestion - or in our case a clip round the head. I felt very posh when I had to write my new address "London County Council Residential School"
POCKET MONEY
We had 2d a month increased to 4d a month. I even saved some for the holidays.
CINEMA
On Thursday evening the bell would ring for us to go our cinema. The silent films we saw starred Charlie Chaplin and Roy Rogers. A pianist accompanied the film and we supplied the sound effects. The new cinema in Hornchurch had talkies. We were taken there, in our crocodile, to see Shirley Temple and others.
SUNDAYS
On Sundays we went, in our Sunday best, for a walk; in an orderly crocodile. If Old Nick was taking us we always had to get ready then wait for her. We would get very impatient and also have to keep the younger ones quiet. On Miss Allan's walks our crocodile would stop outside her mum's house while she went inside to visit. To visit her mum and a little girl called Lally.
JOBS
Sit on the kitchen floor to peel potatoes.
We scrubbed the dining tables, which was odd when I think about it as they were always covered with tablecloths and never saw the light of day.
Clean the coconut matting by picking off all the bits of fluff.
I begged to clean the brass: door handles and light switches.
Shake the hall mats.
Wash the wall tiles in the hall and up the stairs.
I also begged to turn out Old Nick's sitting room: A large chiffonier with a big mirror on top and a linen runner. It had two drawers in which were her knives and forks. Once the cupboard door accidentally opened and I saw a sponge cake - I had a slice of it! One armchair; in the bay window were chairs with beautiful cabriolet legs; coal scuttle and fire irons.
Make our beds.
The two eldest girls left school and honed their domestic skills as skivvies in the kitchen and Matron's house. Which earnt you 6d a week. Once, whilst scrubbing the parquet floor Matron told me to stop and called my friends to see how well I scrubbed: because I followed the grain when I was scrubbing - embarrassing. Luckily I was unable to hear my friends' comments.
Polishing all of the childrens' shoes in Rose Cottage was a chore, especially when it had been raining.
On Saturday we turned out the dining-room to clean it. Firstly all the chairs were moved under the clock, turn the carpet to the middle, even swept the ceiling. Sometimes we put all the chairs in a row and played trains. There was always a fire in there. I remember Old NIck standing in front of it and warming her backside!
Clean the windows.
One time I got yanked out of bed to tidy the playroom.
AFTER SCHOOL
When we came in from school, or anywhere, we entered by the back door. We would, of course, check first to see what mood she was in. "Was she rare?" was the question. Had to tread carefully else you'd get a clip round the ear. We always changed from our outdoor shoes into our plimsolls. One time she ripped all the coats off of the pegs and told me to hang them up properly. We had baths three times a week. The workers had to help the younger ones. I would get shouted at by Old NIck "Jones, you haven't cleaned the childrens' shoes".
CHRISTMAS
Mrs Nixon would say, while we were getting ready for bed "Don't think you lot are getting any presents this year". When we were in bed she would place a record player on the landing, and play carols really loudly! In the run-up to Christmas a group of us would secretly rehearse a play to perform, very thrilling keeping such a big secret. LILY RAIKES got a dolls pram one Christmas - I got a book, pencil, bag of sweets and a headband.
BOY'S BAND
Extract from:
One of the specialised occupations and courses of instructions was musical study. A boy's band with some forty youngsters regularly in training was under the direction of MR H. W. ALDEN in 1917. Musical entertainment was provided by the boys inside and outside the Homes. Many left to join military bands as an occupation. Bakery, gardening, shoemaking, decorating, tailoring and carpentry were also taught to the boys while the girls learned cookery, laundry work, needlework and general domestic economy.
ROMFORD MARKET
The sound of the newspaper sellers in Romford Market "ROMFORD RE-CORD-ER".