Meet the Family(Part 3)

Tweet

Having left my Mum being terrified by my Grandma in the last part of my family history, I now want to lighten the tale a little bit. When Mum was 7 she was moved to Coltishall School and began making friends. She was also told by Grandma that she had to start going to Brownies whether she liked it or not! Grandma took her to Hautbois Hall where she met the Patterson sisters, Beth and Philippa, who ran the local girl guides and brownies. Although Grandma was obviously hoping Mum wouldn't like going, it was Mum's life saver for the next 15 years. They were spinsters and Mum became their surrogate daughter. When she became a teenager she would spend more time with them than she did at home. Apart from the Pattersons, Mum made friends with Audrey and Edie although Grandma wasn't happy about it as they 'weren't of the right class'!! Thanks to the Pattersons, Mum began to have a normal childhood. If she wanted to play with Audrey and Edie, they'd go to Hautbois Hall and either play there in the grounds or in the woodland opposite or sometimes take a rowing boat out on the River Bure which flowed past the Hall. The only time she ever enjoyed time with Grandma is when they used to take the bus into Norwich city and go shopping. They'd stop at a restaurant for afternoon tea before returning home. Grandma normally bought herself some new clothes and Mum would sometimes get something new. After Mum met Dad she discovered that money was paid by her landowner grandfather on a regular basis to cover Mum's clothes and entertainment but it appears Grandma dipped into that to make her own life more comfortable. But, on the whole, Mum did have some good times - she went camping with the Brownies, went on various outings with them and enjoyed school. When Mum was 9 the Second World War started. Acres of farmland were taken to make an RAF base and, in 1940, Grandma and Granddad's orchard was taken over by some soldiers from Northumberland who were waiting to be sent down to the south of England and then over the English Channel to fight in Europe. Mum loved spending time with them and they taught her a song. If she sang it, they'd give her a handful of raisins! They'd stand her on a table and put a helmet on her. I can remember the song even though I haven't heard it for at least 30 years! "Heil Hitler ya, ya, ya, What a funny little man you are!" The solders stayed there for several weeks and even Grandma seemed happier. She'd often have the major in for tea while Granddad was working and Mum was playing with the other soldiers. Mum noticed that Grandma suddenly seemed to have plenty of money to spend on new clothes for hersel and it was some years later that Grandma's oldest sister told Mum that Grandma had in fact had an affair with the major. Apparently she thought that once the war was over he would take her away from her current life but that wasn't to happen. The soldiers packed up, all the tents and gear were packed into lorries and the soldiers got into a coach with their kit bags and set off on their way down to Kent but, a few days later, Granddad received a letter from the wife of one of the soldiers. The coach had come off the road before they got to Kent and had caught fire. None of the boys got out. For a while, apart from the soldiers in the orchard, it seemed that the war didn't exist but things changed that summer of 1940.