I suppose I had better write something of me so here goes
I was born very young; in fact it took me a year to get a number because until you have had twelve months you’re not even one. So I started with Nowt
Launch day was January 8 1936. at 12 noon exactly, I was launched by my aunty Jill who was married to a sheep farmer in the dales and used to come over whenever mother was “having her time”, Mother had “her time” over the next fifteen years, ten times, it was her ambition to have a large number of kids, under one flag so to speak.
Jill was used to this birthing stuff as she assisted uncle Sep on his farm a lot, she didn’t care which way one was presented Jill just pulled em out “Arse first if need be”
I was launched without ceremony, Jill did the pulling and the wiping down and then clamped me to one of mother huge breasts, and I got on with the spluttering, sicking and farting; come to think about it I still do that bit.
Father had no say in the matter of kids as long as he did the nessarsery once a year that allowed him to speak occasionally and live under mothers care and protection.
He finished fishing and joined the navy “ as a RNR officer under training, they were desperate for men capable of handling minesweepers which were converted trawlers. The crews were a anybody who could stand up.
He swept mines from the Humber to the Tyne river entrance for the rest of the war and was badly blown up a few times in that period, More of that later.
According to Aunty Jill I was a” little runt “ but as they had no way of pushing me back in to thicken up a bit they were stuck with me as I was.
So not a good start to my years I was number three of the litter and I suspect a disappointment to mother who liked her output to be big fat and heavy Oh! And suspect I was a bit ugly too cos when they put me outside in the big Silver Cross pram they used to cover it over with a heavy net curtain, Mother said it was to keep the cats off but I suspect it was to keep the old women of the street out really
I can just Imaging them in the Red Lion pub at their usual sessions .”She’s ad a ugly little bugger this time , eeh I just got a look at im today Ugly little runt not like Emma Elizabeth to have a ugly one , get the beers in Elsie love”.
so theres astart more to come later
pete
