water.
The baby boy slipped easily into the world with a minimum of fuss in the afternoon of 5 September and two days later, three hundred German bombers flew over London; the blitz
on London had begun in earnest.
‘They’ll be back here,’ Frank warned. ‘Once they’ve had a go at the capital they’ll start systematically on all the major cities and the ports’ll be a
major target. We’ve already had a taste and so has Hull.’ The city across the river had been bombed for the first time three days before Grimsby had been targeted in June. ‘Irene,
you’ve got to go and take our son with you. This time I won’t take no for an answer.’
‘But what about Mam? I can’t leave her here all on her own.’
‘She wants you to go as much as I do. You’ve got to think of the baby now, love.’
‘All right, you win,’ Irene said, with a wan smile.
‘I’m sending our Reggie with your Irene,’ Edie announced the day before another batch of evacuees were due to leave the town. Reginald Kelsey was now ten and
Edie didn’t like him running wild through the streets, especially now that there was the real fear of bombing. A new pastime had developed for boys of his age; scrambling over bomb sites,
searching for bits of shrapnel as souvenirs. And if their house took a direct hit, not even hiding in the cupboard under the stairs was going to save them. ‘Shirley won’t go now
she’s working full time.’
‘Do you think the authorities’ll make her do some sort of war work?’ Lil asked.
Edie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. She’s a bit young yet, but our lives do seem regimented by the war effort, I grant you. Mind you,’ she added, laughing wryly.
‘It’d do that little madam good if they did call her up. She’d have to do as she’s told for once in her life.’
When Beth had been at home for the wedding and for a little while afterwards, she had taken Shirley to the cinema or shopping, encouraged her to curl her hair and experiment with make-up. But
when she’d left home again, Shirley slipped back into her old ways, and now took little interest in her appearance – apart from keeping herself neat for work – or in making
friends. And her tongue had become sharp and, it had to be said, spiteful. Edie sighed over her younger daughter. It seemed she was only happy when Beth was at home. And now, with Irene going too,
Shirley would be even lonelier than she had been already.
‘She’ll be missing her sister,’ Lil said and, as she was perhaps the only person who could raise such a painful reminder, added, ‘and she’s lost Laurence too. She
idolized both of them. And now, because of his loss, she’ll be frightened the same thing might happen to Beth, especially now the bombing in London is so appalling.’
‘She’s not the only one who’s worried,’ Edie replied tartly and then her tone softened. ‘Sorry, Lil, it’s just that it’s always there, you know. I think
about Laurence all the time and now there’s Beth to worry about too, to say nothing of the fact that we’re getting bombed here, an’ all. That’s why I’ve decided to
send Reggie to the country. Archie said I ought to and I think he’s right. It’s not so bad now I know he’ll be going with Irene and little Tommy.’
Edie had been gratified to hear that her grandson was to be called Laurence Thomas but that he would be known as Tommy. A christening had been hastily arranged for the previous Sunday and, with
Frank reporting for duty the day after, there was nothing keeping Irene, Tommy and now Reggie, too, from joining one of the evacuation parties.
‘They’re not going far away,’ Lil reported to Edie. ‘Only to a farm in a little village near Louth. Won’t that be grand, Edie? They’ll have good food and
fresh air.’
‘They might as well be on the moon for all that we’ll be able to visit.’ Edie was not to be comforted.
‘We might be able to go now and again,’ Lil said, trying to be
The baby boy slipped easily into the world with a minimum of fuss in the afternoon of 5 September and two days later, three hundred German bombers flew over London; the blitz
on London had begun in earnest.
‘They’ll be back here,’ Frank warned. ‘Once they’ve had a go at the capital they’ll start systematically on all the major cities and the ports’ll be a
major target. We’ve already had a taste and so has Hull.’ The city across the river had been bombed for the first time three days before Grimsby had been targeted in June. ‘Irene,
you’ve got to go and take our son with you. This time I won’t take no for an answer.’
‘But what about Mam? I can’t leave her here all on her own.’
‘She wants you to go as much as I do. You’ve got to think of the baby now, love.’
‘All right, you win,’ Irene said, with a wan smile.
‘I’m sending our Reggie with your Irene,’ Edie announced the day before another batch of evacuees were due to leave the town. Reginald Kelsey was now ten and
Edie didn’t like him running wild through the streets, especially now that there was the real fear of bombing. A new pastime had developed for boys of his age; scrambling over bomb sites,
searching for bits of shrapnel as souvenirs. And if their house took a direct hit, not even hiding in the cupboard under the stairs was going to save them. ‘Shirley won’t go now
she’s working full time.’
‘Do you think the authorities’ll make her do some sort of war work?’ Lil asked.
Edie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. She’s a bit young yet, but our lives do seem regimented by the war effort, I grant you. Mind you,’ she added, laughing wryly.
‘It’d do that little madam good if they did call her up. She’d have to do as she’s told for once in her life.’
When Beth had been at home for the wedding and for a little while afterwards, she had taken Shirley to the cinema or shopping, encouraged her to curl her hair and experiment with make-up. But
when she’d left home again, Shirley slipped back into her old ways, and now took little interest in her appearance – apart from keeping herself neat for work – or in making
friends. And her tongue had become sharp and, it had to be said, spiteful. Edie sighed over her younger daughter. It seemed she was only happy when Beth was at home. And now, with Irene going too,
Shirley would be even lonelier than she had been already.
‘She’ll be missing her sister,’ Lil said and, as she was perhaps the only person who could raise such a painful reminder, added, ‘and she’s lost Laurence too. She
idolized both of them. And now, because of his loss, she’ll be frightened the same thing might happen to Beth, especially now the bombing in London is so appalling.’
‘She’s not the only one who’s worried,’ Edie replied tartly and then her tone softened. ‘Sorry, Lil, it’s just that it’s always there, you know. I think
about Laurence all the time and now there’s Beth to worry about too, to say nothing of the fact that we’re getting bombed here, an’ all. That’s why I’ve decided to
send Reggie to the country. Archie said I ought to and I think he’s right. It’s not so bad now I know he’ll be going with Irene and little Tommy.’
Edie had been gratified to hear that her grandson was to be called Laurence Thomas but that he would be known as Tommy. A christening had been hastily arranged for the previous Sunday and, with
Frank reporting for duty the day after, there was nothing keeping Irene, Tommy and now Reggie, too, from joining one of the evacuation parties.
‘They’re not going far away,’ Lil reported to Edie. ‘Only to a farm in a little village near Louth. Won’t that be grand, Edie? They’ll have good food and
fresh air.’
‘They might as well be on the moon for all that we’ll be able to visit.’ Edie was not to be comforted.
‘We might be able to go now and again,’ Lil said, trying to be
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