Jane was born March 1904 in Bethnal Green, London’s East End.
She lived here with her mother Mary, father Richard, and six brothers and sisters.
In 1909 her father contracted tuberculosis and died. My Nan was only 5 years old.
Penniless, and with the traditional head of the family and breadwinner gone, the entire family was forced into the Bethnal Green Workhouse as “inmates”; this hardship lasted quite a few years.
They eventually escaped the clutches of the workhouse with her mum remarrying in 1916.
My Nan then went on to met the man who was to become my Grandad, Sidney, whom she married in 1923 at the age of 19.
Remembering my nan clearly from my own childhood, it is difficult to imagine the life she had in our capital city, having to spend most of her childhood growing up in a workhouse with none of the protection or security that we have come to know, expect and take for granted.
She also had to experience both world wars and the economic hardships of the 30’s during what would have been the prime of her life.
Makes you think!
Jane went on to have six children too. Unfortunately, one, a daughter called Evelyn, died during infancy in the midst of the Second World War.
Above – trip to the seaside
Sidney worked on the docks – both man and boy, even continuing to do so during the war in both London and Bristol. Like miners and shipbuilders, doctors and farmers (along with a handful of other occupations), dockworkers were a ‘reserved’ occupation being forbidden/exempt from the armed forces. The London and Bristol docks were a clear target for the Luftwaffe, with workers and their families living nearby.
I might not have remembered this 100% correctly, but when I was young, I asked my grandad to tell me about his wartime memories from his time on the docks during the London and Bristol bombing attacks (as part of a school history project) and recall him telling me about him witnessing a ship full of Canadian military personnel receiving a direct hit during air raid only minutes after their arrival by ship to the UK.
It was horrific. They had only just docked, unable to prepare – there were many casualties. Needless to say, some 30 years later he was still a little emotional telling the story.
The next generation
Above – Five of Jane and Sid’s children in the 70’s.
The gansta’ of the day is missing as he never liked his picture being taken!