These may or may not be true but relate to popular myths and hearsay recounted by my mother or father at various times and, as such, they become as much a part of the story as facts.
Both parents were born in 1896 within 4 days of each other. Both had lost one of their parents at an early age. In my mother’s case, losing one parent had resulted in virtually losing both parents as my grandfather moved out of the house and my mother’s Aunt, step sister to her mother, came from London to look after them. They lived in Edward Road where my mother was born. Before that while her parents were alive, they lived in Newport Place which is off Northampton Street in Leicester; across the road from Dover Street where my great grandmother lived. My uncle Alf was born there. My aunt Em always talked about when they lived in Fleetwood Road but whether this was before or after they lived in Edward Road I am not sure. Some time in the 1900’s they moved into the Highfields area to 28 Avon Street, I remember this as a very small child visiting my great aunt Bessie (Elizabeth). You entered the house down the entry at the side and it shared a common back yard with the house next door. It was divided from the house next door by a storm gully that ran between the two and in the middle was the drain; it was paved with blue bricks which had a diamond pattern on them. At the top of the yard uncle Alf used to keep rabbits there for eating to supply the family although, by the time I knew, this was past as my uncle had married and moved out, as had all the sons and daughters with the exception of aunt Em who lived there until the death of my great aunt.
The younger children were kept in order by the two eldest, Alf and Em. It must have been quite a formidable task as my other uncle George was by present day standards a bit of a tearaway very much a chip off the old block. However, being as he was the closest one to my mother the two of them were very close. As children my mother was very fussy and pernickety and uncle George drove her mad as he wouldn’t play properly and insisted in putting the whole cup and saucer in his mouth at the dollies’ tea parties. Uncle George volunteered for the army at the outbreak of the first world war and served throughout in France in various cavalry regiments. He frightened all of the younger ones whilst on leave from France when he was drunk and he chased them all with his bayonet and they all hid in the cupboard until my aunt came home, by which time he had stabbed all the cushions in the house.
Aunt Em reported all misdemeanours to uncle Alf who disciplined the children by judicious slaps. He was always looked up to by all the family as being in charge and his opinion and advice was valued. He wore my grandmother’s wedding ring all his life and my mother remembers that this is what hurt when they were slapped. Other jewellery belonging to my grandmother went to my mother and she had a nice gold ring with an engraving of a tulip, set with rubies and seed pearls which my mother said was her engagement ring; although my sister thinks it was a 18th birthday present from her father. There was also two gold earrings in the shape of acorns one of which has a dent in it where my uncle Frank bit it when he was teething as a child.
Listening to my mother telling the stories I gather that she was a bit of a rebel and didn’t like doing as she was told. Such as the story of when she bought herself a pair of silk stockings and was going out, when my aunt caught her and wearing silk stockings was equivalent to consorting with the devil! My aunt ripped them off and burnt them and made her go out in good sensible woollen ones.
One of the favourite meeting places for my mother was the Jetty Wine Shop in the Market Place and it appears that her and uncle George were regulars there, although in later life my mother was frightened to death that one of the family would become addicted to drink. I think this was because my grandfather liked to drink and my great aunt thought this was very wicked.
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