While the war was on we spent part of the time in Manchester with my paternal grandparents as the bombing at that time was not so bad up there. After the war we stayed with Grandad Briggs until I was six, when my mother objected to the fact that my grandfather had remarried (Grandmother died when I was 2) and his wife lived in Kent looking after her aged parents. Mum was left to look after her grandmother and she voiced her objections by running away to a cousins and left me and the old lady alone. So in 1949 they bought a house and did not see my grandfather again until the day before my mum died. Dad worked for London Transport before the war and he went back there after the war ended. Mum did not work after dad came back.
I had a lonely childhood as I was an only child and I was never allowed to have anyone in or go outside the garden to play. Mum used to "fly off the handle" quite regularly usually at me over what now seem very trivial things having brought up a family of my own. This was all explained really when she eventually gave in to the pain she was in in October 1954 when I was 11 and by January she was dead. They said she must have had the Cancer for about 8 years, personally I think it may have started the year I was born as they say shock can start things off. The reason I was born early was she had a very bad fall on a bus and also bearing in mind I was only roughly 2 weeks early I only weighed 1lb 12 ozs so maybe something was wrong already. In those days of course as well there were no incubators or Special Care Baby Units so they wrapped me in cotton wool and had me in a shoe box. Obviously "The ticket "didn't have my number on it.
After Mum died it was Dad and me. Very hard at first as I had never in all those years had to do anything for myself so was thrown in at the deep end so to speak. Luckily I did Domestic Science at school and Dad could cook and I soon learnt what was what. I remember during the holidays when Dad had gone to work I was off on my bike (all that freedom I had never had before) and came in 1/2 hr before he was due in to do all the things I was supposed to have done. As the years went on I must have led him a "dogs life" as all that freedom went to my head, although he was strict in some ways. He found a lipstick when I was about 15 and he hit the roof so you can imagine what happened when he found I was smoking. That was when a friend of his came who he had not seen for years and of course did not know how old I was offered me one and I went to take it. In actual fact once the initial shock wore off he said if I smoked that cigarette and was not sick he would get me ten a week and I could smoke them at home rather than sneakily outside. Brave me bearing in mind I was smoking Weights and this was a Senior Service. I felt sick but wasn't so he kept his word. Thanks dad you started me on the rocky road and I have not stopped yet!.
As I got older and went to work I did the usual things teenagers do, boyfriends, drinking and eventually other things as well which now if I could turn the clock back I would. I know how over the years we have worried about ours but at least there were two of us, poor dad had no one to turn to for help and he really did not have a lot of idea how to handle a rebellious teenager so I got away with a lot of things. Until, in 1961 I did the unforgivable and got pregnant. That was when I grew up finally. Things then were a lot different to now and I was sent away for the duration and after that I changed completely. I was always rather shy but craved affection which is how I landed up in that position . I became a lot shyer and that has plagued me most of my life. Brian has always been the opposite and in some ways that has not helped as until recently I have always hidden behind him and only "come out" when I have had a couple of drinks. When I passed my driving test 5 years ago at the first attempt at 52 years of age that was a great confidence booster, but when Brian and I are out together it is like having the instructor still with me so confidence does not last long.
I think I have done a pretty good job bringing up the family and all have turned out to be Adults to be proud of and given us a lot of lovely grandchildren.