A Child of the 1950's

Chapter Sixteen – Florence May (A) - Paternal Grandmother

Always, on our parents mantlepiece in their bedroom was a large sepia photograph of an attractive woman with fair hair swept up onto her head, she had light coloured eyes and she was standing, poised, by a chair. She wore a long sleeved probably white, frilled blouse and a long dark skirt.

When my sister and I asked who was in this photograph, we were told it was 'Grandma.' It bore no resemblance at all to the woman we knew as 'Grandma,' but we passed no comment, until a few years later when my sister was about fifteen and I was ten, we remarked, 'but it doesn't look like Grandma.' Mum then told us that it was our dad's real mother. It came as quite a shock to us to know that our 'Grandma' was actually our dad's stepmother and not his real mother.

Grandad's first wife was called Florence May (A). She was four years older than Grandad and at one time she owned a fish and chip shop. She at one point was also the Forewoman at a factory, which in those days was quite remarkable. I think she was more than remarkable.

I'm not sure how Grandma (I will call her Florence May B) first met Florence May A, but she did work in a factory, possibly the one where Florence May A was the forewoman. As Grandma was slower than the other workers there, a group of women, they placed some of their work in her basket at the end of each day to make sure she made the quota. What a wonderful act of kindness that was, even for those days. The women must have liked her very much to do that and if Florence May A was the forewoman it was kind of her too to let it happen. Perhaps she even instigated it, we will never know. They could have met at church as they were both churchgoers.

Florence May B often had to prompt her to buy a new blouse as Florence May A was more interested in spiritual matters than in material ones. Florence May A was a committed Christian and walked around the streets preaching. I think she must have been very 'down to earth' and not at all self conscious. She married my Grandad and they had two sons, my dad Kenneth and my uncle Raymond. Unfortunately, she caught pneumonia when my dad was six years old and my uncle was four. She was dead within 24 hours. Isn't that the saddest thing? I feel that I have missed out not knowing her, which is how we can feel when things like this happen in families.

After a couple of years Grandad married the second Florence May and she became mother to Kenneth and Raymond and she relished the role and was the best step- mother anyone could wish for. She was a quiet, unassuming woman with a very sweet, happy nature and was very good with children. My dad loved her very much.

When Grandad's sister, Amy died at a young age, Grandma was asked to look after her son, Michael by Amy's husband. I think Michael must have been four or five years old at the time. My dad was very fond of his Aunt Amy and it must have been a shock to the family when she died. So Grandma and Grandad took care of Michael and they had him for at least three years, then his father came and took him away and they never saw him again. It was quite heart breaking for Grandma. I wonder how callous people have to be to do that? I have a photograph of a very handsome little boy aged about five or six with blonde, white hair. I wonder if he ever thought of the time he spent with Grandma and Grandad and his cousins?

Both Florence May's and my Grandad had signed 'The Pledge' meaning they would never drink alcohol. Drunkenness had become a big problem amongst the poor during the Victoria era and committed Christians brought into being a group called The Temperance League. They encouraged others not to drink alcohol and therefore buck the trend. A piece of paper had to be signed which was lodged somewhere in a register.

My mother said that although her father was a drunk, they never looked down on her because of that.

I loved my grandfather and grandmother very much and spent lots of time with them when I was small. They lived opposite the school I went to, Bannerman Road School in Easton.  In fact the whole family lived very close to one another, within walking distance.  Uncle Raymond and his family lived in the same street as us, Grandma and Grandad were a five or six minutes walk away and my other Nanny lived half way between on the way down to Grandma's house.

The large photograph of Florence May A, my dad's real mother was ripped into two by my dad accidentally when he was moving out of his house and into a retirement apartment.  It is now with my niece awaiting repair.

The two photographs I have of Florence May A will be cherished forever.