Our Territories

Channel Islands
England
Ireland
Isle of Man
Scotland
Wales

Our Categories

Home
Locations
Surnames
Articles
Library
Lookups

Dorothy didn’t travel often on the tram. Occasionally she went with her father and he would say, “Twopence all the way!” They also went on the boat down the river Thames; we picked up the steamer to Southend. We would have a walk around there and when she returned was always taken down to see the engine, which was one of the wonders of the age. It was a paddle steamer in those days. These same boats were used for the evacuation of Dunkirk.

There was always watercress with bread and jam for tea! Her father liked to have tea on the boat. He never said much on these occasions, just, “Come and see the engine”. She didn’t know why he never said much because he always have plenty to say otherwise.

Her mother had to spend all her time working in the shop and as a consequence she had our laundry sent out. Occasionally her mother had a lady in to do the cleaning. Obviously on a single visit there was not enough time to get the home spotless and when the place started to get dirt everywhere and it was beginning to look really dirty, her mother would go mad and clean everything out. Dorothy had a parlour behind the shop. They didn’t have electricity or central heating so these rooms were lit with oil lamps. And the heat from the kitchen. They had two huge kitchens with ranges in them. One kitchen contained a sink.

They also had a cellar that went underneath the pavement and another room, which her grandfather used as an office. Below the office were the stables and the vinegar room, which I have already mentioned.

Her grandfather also owned land on the other side of the road. He had a lot of land for storage because there were barrels of creosote, barrels of tar, bars of salt and various other items all of which needed so much storage space. Her grandfather also owned a handcart with his name “James Pass” on the side, this was used for delivering goods. Her mother had to spend all her time in the shop but would skive if she could!

When one of her sister’s died, she returned home which caused quite a row. Her grandfather said she couldn’t go, as she was needed in the shop, but she overruled him and said if she couldn’t go to her sister’s funeral, then she wouldn’t stay at all. So off she went She loved to get home to be among Welsh people more than anything, to speak welsh again. She loved to be with her brothers and sisters and her loving parents. It must have been very hard for her, when she first came to London, realising she would not return home very often.

There were signs of home-sickness but she tried not show it She went home to have her first child so Ellen was born in Wales, but the next three, including Dorothy, were all born over the shop. When her father died her mother bought a cottage in Criccieth and she would spend the summer holidays there.

The winter was spent in Wembley where she had many friends. Mother had bought the Wembley house in 1927 and she divided it into two flats. She lived in the upstairs section during the winter months.

Dorothy’s father died when she was sixteen years old, just a year after her Grandfather had died. Her brother Jim had just been taken into apprenticeship in the business when my grandfather died so he never completed it. When their grandfather died they moved into a flat in Sudbury and her brother and his wife and child joined us there. Despite his sad life, her father had a rare sense of humour. He was witty and

Previous | Index | Next