Scope and Content
(00 mins)
Family came from Northampton. Mother - a secretary, played the piano and taught music lessons & mother’s parents died when she was young (teenager when father dies; 20 when her mother died). Father - a master butcher and farmer. He had slaughter houses, in Bletchley and then in Leighton Buzzard, and sold to butchers’ shops. When food wholesale businesses were nationalised during the Second World War, he left butchering and turned to farming in Aston Clinton, near Wing, Buckinghamshire. Family moved to Leighton Buzzard.
(05 mins)
Shirley - the middle of five children (older sister and brother, plus two younger sisters). Five years old when the war started (1939) and ten years old when it ended (1945). Helped on the farm as a teenager after the war ended. Attended a small private junior school - about 24 boys and girls - run by Miss Boards in private house, near the railway station in Linslade. All went on to either boarding school or a grammar school. Hit with ruler on palm of hands, if pupils misbehaved but the school “lovely”.
(10 mins)
Singing lessons in her front room – with piano. Exercise in garden. Adored her teacher. Gas mask drill during early war years. School in Chelsea Green area of Linslade – old mill and lovely fields then. Picnics.
Shirley and brother used to climb trees there in spare time – goats on farm. Always snowed in winter – children went tobogganing – great fun.
Eldest sister went to boarding school – two younger sisters to same private day school as Shirley – brother only one to attend state Boys School, Leopold Road, Linslade. Family home in Southcourt Avenue. Calves and arable land at farm in Buckinghamshire – eldest sister used to look after calves in holidays.
During war – “dug out” [Anderson air-raid shelter] erected at bottom of garden – kitted out with bunk beds and blankets. When night-time air-raid alarm was sounded – left house and slept in shelter until ‘all clear’ was sounded. When shelter became flooded – stayed in house during air raids – under kitchen table or in cupboard under stairs in hall.
(15 mins)
Remembers noise of enemy planes overhead when returning from bombing raids on Coventry. Rationed sweets from sweetshops in Linslade one a week – very little sugar. Churned milk at home to make butter – larger ‘pot with wooden paddle to take turns with others to turn – hated doing it. Creamy milk delivered each morning by Mr. Bull, the milkman, in churns from his farm in Southcott. Milk ladled into jugs from their house – lace doilies put on top of jugs.
Fresh bread made on site at baker’s shop in New Road, Linslade. Also in area – post office run by two spinster ladies – a Strict and Particular Baptist Church, plus, in Wing Road, a grocer’s shop, a sweet shop and a wool shop.
(20 mins)
All family shopping done locally in small specialist shops. Stone’s butchers shop in Linslade and a large shop called Faulkner’s. Shoppers queued up with their ration books ready, even after the war [last rationed item, meat, until 1954]. Even took ration book when away on holiday.
Shirley remembers seeing first orange [foreign fruit scare during war] – given to children after post-war Christmas film show at Oriel Cinema in Lake Street, Leighton Buzzard.
Passed 11+ examination to go to Cedars Grammar School, in High Street – just after it had changed from a fee-paying school to become a state school for just over 300 boys and girls. Loved it there – did lots of sports but not much ‘work’. Also had a family pony in a field in Mentmore Road [near present bowling green]. Rode it most days.
(25 mins)
Elder sister also rode a horse, including hunting [with hounds].
Left Cedars School aged 17 - did not enter Sixth Form. Took a local secretarial course – got job, typing and filing, in the office of Marley Tile Company. Large firm making both roof and floor tiles. Poorly paid – took home about £4.50 (£4 10 shillings, then} and gave £1 to mother. Left – aged 20½ - to get married in June 1955, after 2 years engaged.
(30 mins)
Saved up to get married. Remembers the ‘New Look’ fashions in women’s clothes – 1947 – bought a very long, black skirt. After war – women wanted change from wartime shorter skirts to the knee. Fashion became more fun. Growing up, girls wore just smaller sizes of what their mothers wore. Girls never wore trousers – except those, such as land girls, working on farms. Navy shorts were worn at school for physical education lessons and sports.
Had first “perm” – [permanent waves of tight curls formed by heated rollers in hair] at Eileen Pike’s hairdressing salon in the High Street, Leighton Buzzard.
Attended Young Conservatives and the Young Farmers Club – they called it the ‘marriage bureaux’. Met husband-to-be on first date at a Young Farmers outing – mutual attraction but she was 17, he was 22. Got engaged, aged 18½ but mother insisted they be ‘engaged’ for two years before marrying, in case she changed her mind. Stayed at home with parents until marriage (no living together before marriage, in those days). One holiday together before marriage. Had brand new, two-bedroomed bungalow as their first home and had first child there. Walked with pram a long way from 3 Poplar Close into Leighton Buzzard to do shopping, which was quite normal. Other young mothers there at same time so they helped each other – babysat and looked after each other’s children.
(40 mins)
They were fortunate because you could only get a mortgage on one person’s salary in those days. And it took some time to save up the deposit for a house purchase. Most people had to live with their parents to start their married life or have very small apartments. Shirley’s husband, John, worked for George Garside’s in Leighton Buzzard, helping run the firm as second-in-command under his father who was the Managing Director. He had gone to college [after attending boarding school in Berkhamsted and doing his two years National Service] and knew a lot about sand and was very interested in the work. Left for work at about 8.30am and arrived home at about 6pm but came home at lunchtime, also, for a hot meal. They ate ‘pretty well’ and had large appetites. It was the custom to also have another hot supper meal in the evening. Both walked a lot and were very slim. They stayed in the bungalow until their daughter was born, two years after their first son, Philip. Had a four-bedroomed house built in Heath Road and moved in five days before she was born.
Called the house “Sandbanks” – partly because of connection with sand and built on a bank but also because they had holidays in that area near Bournemouth. Nice big garden – happy home – did lots of entertaining. Had third child, Christopher, there.
Holidays in England at first. Rented a holiday house in Kent from the Sanderson family [owners of well-known fabric firm]. Large house – each room decorated with a different Sanderson wallpaper and soft furnishings in Sanderson fabrics – very floral. Large garden and conservatory. Took friends there, her mother, and children.
First holiday abroad – by plane to Majorca – when children were 4 and 6 – very hot – got brown for first time. Then went on a cruise on the Queen Mary liner – amazing ship with beautiful woodwork – dining rooms with chandeliers – personal stewards. People sat out on deck in all weathers on wooden ‘loungers’, covered with large blankets and given hot chocolate or coffee. A privileged life,
Shirley realised that that they were fortunate and never forgot their roots – always brought up to respect people, to think of others, and - thanks to the war – look after things, not throw them away, mend things and keep them a long time so long as they worked. They had some furniture from the White House [firm’s head office] which they were grateful for – children were all bathed in a blue papier-mâché bath on a stand, which had been used by all her husband’s family.
(50 mins)
Shirley’s husband died suddenly [14 years before interview]. He had been made managing director, aged about 26, when his father, John, had died. Fortunate in having good people in the office to help him. Huge responsibility.
Later, son William, joined his father in the business, after university. John became President of the local Round Table and also President of the Rotarians. He also became a magistrate and eventually the Chairman of the magistrates in Leighton Buzzard for some time. This involved visiting prisons and attending courses and was quite a commitment, but he enjoyed it.
Both he and Shirley had always been involved in organisations and done a lot – including the church in Heath and Reach (she was the ‘flower lady’).
When her husband died, she was left in a large Victorian house and decided to sell it. She now has a modern-four-bedroomed house which suits her better. She has seven grandchildren – ranging from 27 down to 8 (three girls and four boys).
(55 mins)
Shirley did a lot of singing as a child. Mother played the piano, father had a good voice, as did her brother – they all used to sing around the piano and lots of friends came back from school and mother used to play the piano for them.
Shirley still sings ‘quite loudly’ in church and around the house.
Ups and downs of life – during first five years of marriage, she had two children but lost her father in law, her sister and her father, aged 52. Her husband had to take on the full responsibility for the business during a difficult time – but there were lots of good times.
Her husband became Chairman of the Sand and Silica Association for a year, this involved some ‘quite nice perks’ – flying up to Glen Eagles hotel in Scotland for a banquet, dinner and stay at the Savoy Hotel and the Grosvenor Hotel in London. There were also two trips abroad as part of his role.
(60 mins)
A wartime recollection – when husband John was at his private boarding school in Berkhamsted during the war and petrol was rationed preventing most private car travel – the firm would arrange for a delivery of sand to coincide with his end of term ‘breaking up’ so that he rode back home in a sand lorry.
Reflections on changes to Leighton Buzzard over her lifetime – the town has grown too large – she objects to ‘sleeping policeman’ humps in the road, which hurt her bad back – too many houses are now built miles out of town forcing everyone to have cars to get in to town – there are few nice [independent] shops any more. The best thing about Leighton Buzzard is the people – the reason she does not move away from the area.
(1 hr 5 mins)
End of interview
Summarised by Stuart Antrobus (23 August 2009)