Open Writing

The top floor where the girls slept had been the servants quarters, but now most of those servants had been conscripted and were busy doing war work or were in the armed forces.

The stables had been converted into a dining room, and the walls were painted with frescoes. We sat at long trestle tables, all joined together, to have our meals and I think there were about thirty five children living there.

Just outside the stables there was a huge tree. It must have been an oak tree. Large thick branches extended from it. Some of the children would sit on the lowest branch and sing songs while we waited for the dining room to be opened.

Even though I missed my parents I recall some very happy times. I was one of the children who sat on that branch and sang of a morning. I would watch for my brothers coming from The Gate House with the other boys. I would check them over to see they had washed and were tidy. Nearly every time one of them would have a hole in a sock. It was a never-ending chore.

One day as I was picking primroses in the woods a group of children came running, shouting out to me ‘Come quickly. Your brothers Harry and Donald are drowning.’

I was frantic with worry and ran to the lake as fast as I could. There they were, my dear brothers, out in the middle of the lake in a boat that was leaking. I loved them both very much, and the idea of them drowning was too much for me. I thought of my poor parents, of how they would feel if they were told their two sons had drowned. In my imagination and they were already dead. It was all too much for me and I was in a dreadful state by the time I reached the lake.

Out of breath I stood and shouted at them as best I could. They were both laughing at me, provoking me by standing up in the boat and making it rock. It seemed ages before they managed to get the boat back to the edge of the lake.

Looking back I now realise that it was not as serious as I had thought, but I suppose it gave the other children a bit of excitement and something new to talk about.

I was a very conscientious sister and would sit up in bed till late at night darning my brothers' socks. Mr Wood came once to tell me that I must have the lights out, but he let me keep them on a little longer when he saw what I was doing.

Mum and Dad were upset when they heard about me darning socks, especially as I had not told them my brothers needed new ones. Times were hard and I did not want to worry my parents. I felt responsible for my brothers' welfare as Mum and Dad were not around to look after them. My duty as a sister was to see they were all right, and I took this very seriously.

My brother Harry was ten then. Donald was nearly nine and Derek was six. We were all Smiths and I was thriteen.

We had another scare and this one could have easily ended in a real tragedy. One day one of the little girls climbed outside the window of her bedroom on the top floor and walked out on to the parapet. She would have been about four years of age. A teacher, Mrs Alchurch, tried to coax her back. She also tried to keep the rest of us calm while she leaned out of the window tried to talk the child into coming back inside. She had warned us to be very quiet and not make a sound.

Mrs Alchurch managed to get the girl to turn round and walk back along the parapet. The teacher then grabbed her and pulled her into the room. The parapet was very narrow and that child was very not to have fallen.

The girls in the bedroom next to ours put notes on a ‘Dinky” clip. This was a metal clip that was used to curl hair. The girls next door tied it to a long piece of string then threw it out of the window, along the parapet.

We grabbed the clip as it landed near our window. We wrote a note, attached it to the clip, and sent it back next door. All very secretive and exiting, even though there was nothing special happening to us worth writing about.

Sometimes some of us went into Farringdon to see a film. A couple of the teachers would come with us. It was so good to walk along the beautiful and quiet country road, all in line. I called at the Post Office to collect a parcels from my parents. This contained Mum’s fairy cakes, sweets and pocket money. It was too big to carry all the way into Farringdon so I hid it in some bushes by the roadside, picking it up on my way back. My teacher congratulated me on my initiative. I remember this made me feel very proud.

The water lilies on the lake and the waterfall which ran down steps were a joy to see. It was a wonderful place for a child to be.

There was a big nursery where the gardener grew the seeds which he nursed into plants. These would then be he planted around the grounds in cultivated beds. I can remember asking if I could buy one of the beautiful pansies which were growing in the nursery, the biggest pansies I had ever seen. I wanted to surprise my mother by presenting it to her as a gift, but when I was told it would cost two shillings and sixpence I had to forget about it. Half a crown was a lot of money in those days.

Mr Buck was Lord Farringdon's secretary. We saw him strolling around the grounds. He seemed a nice man and always said ’Hello ‘ to us.

On a certain day we would had bread and jam for tea. This was a real treat. I made the little blob of jam on my tea plate last and last. When it was Jam Tea we could have as much bread and margarine as we could eat. I made the most of it, leaving the table with an unusual feeling of having had enough to eat.

There was rationing at that time. When I was feeling very hungry my Mum’s fairy cakes were very welcome. I divided them equally to share with my brothers, but once I ate some before my they knew the parcel had arrived. I never told them about this. I was too ashamed. What a horrible sister I was to do that? To think, I stole from my little brothers. Guilt enveloped me and I knew I would never do such a thing again. When the next parcel came I gave my share to my brothers, then felt better. I realise now that hunger was the prime mover in that episode.