by Pam Howes
The Shop Girls of Lark Lane
A heartbreaking post-war family saga
Pam Howes
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
The Factory Girls of Lark Lane
Hear more from Pam
Books by Pam Howes
A Letter from Pam
The Lost Daughter of Liverpool
The Forgotten Family of Liverpool
The Liverpool Girls
Acknowledgements
Dedicated to the memory of the wonderful band of Liverpool musicians who are sadly no longer with us, including John Lennon, George Harrison and Billy Fury. Your music lives on in our hearts forever.
1
August 1945
Alice Lomax dashed a hand across her sweaty brow, and wrestled the final sheet out of the old washing machine and into a sink of cold water for rinsing, before feeding it through the mangle. She cranked the handle round and round, catching the drips in a bucket underneath. It had been a good idea of her husband Terry’s to fix her mam’s old mangle, as wringing out the wet sheets and towels by hand had been hard work, but the strength it took to turn the wheel on the contraption meant she’d have arm muscles to equal any of the fellas who worked down the docks at this rate. One day, when Terry managed to find a new job, they’d hopefully be able to buy another machine with one of those electric wringers on top that were all the rage now. Anything for an easier life. To make matters worse, she’d got her four-year-old daughter hanging around her legs again, wiping her sticky fingers on her skirt. There was never a minute’s peace at the weekend.
‘Cathy, if you’ve finished your toast and jam, go and find Daddy please, love. Tell him to wipe your face and hands in the bathroom. Let me get this lot out of the way and then we’ll all go down to the park. You can have a go on the swings, and if you’re a good girl he might buy you a cornet from the ice-cream man.’ Alice hoped she sounded persuasive enough.
Cathy pulled a face as Terry came up behind Alice, slipped his arms around her waist and dropped a kiss on top of her head.
‘Leave my mammy alone,’ she shrieked, stamping her feet.
‘Now stop being rude to your daddy,’ Alice ordered, dropping the sheet into a basket on the floor with the rest of the washing. ‘Say you’re sorry. Look, Daddy is sad,’ she cajoled as Terry did a pretend pout. ‘Give him a big love better.’
‘No!’ Cathy folded her arms across her chest and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout that equalled her father’s. She stomped out of the kitchen and into the back sitting room.
‘I’m sorry, love,’ Alice said to Terry, seeing his dark brown eyes cloud with hurt. Eyes just like their daughter’s, and they both had the same thick, dark brown hair too. Peas in a pod, as everyone said. ‘It’ll take time. She’s so used to being with just me and Brian or your mum. I’m sure you’re not the only daddy to come home from the front line whose kiddies don’t want to know. One day it’ll click, and you and Cathy will be the best of friends, you’ll see.’
Terry nodded and picked up the kettle, but not before Alice had seen him blink away tears.
‘I do hope so,’ he said quietly, filling the kettle at the sink and putting it on the gas hob. ‘I’ve waited a long time to be with her.’ He sighed. ‘I’ll make us a brew while you hang that lot out.’
‘That’ll be lovely.’ She felt sorry for Terry. He was trying his best with Cathy, but the stubborn little madam was unbending.
Alice picked up the basket of washing and carried it into the small back garden, where the remains of a home-made wooden coop stood. It had housed her young brother Brian’s two chickens during the war, when everyone was encouraged to be self-sufficient: to dig for victory by growing vegetables, and keep fowl for eggs, if they had the space. The elderly chickens had since been returned to the farm they came from and the coop would be chopped up and used as firewood when the winter months arrived.
Alice took a sheet from the basket, ready to hang. She didn’t normally do the washing on a Sunday, but tomorrow she was going back to work at Lewis’s store after a couple of weeks off with Terry, following his demobilisation. She’d used up all her annual holidays now, but it had been good to spend the time with him, getting to know one another again and adjusting to being a family. Prior to that, all they’d had was a one-night honeymoon in 1940, following a hasty marriage, before he was sent overseas with his troop. That one night together had resulted in the conception of Cathy, who Terry had only met for the first time in June.
Alice finished pegging the sheets and towels onto the washing line and pushed a wooden prop underneath to prevent them dragging on the small lawn. She chewed her lip as she wondered how best to help her little daughter and Terry to bond. The constant tantrums were wearing for them all. Later today they would be going to Terry’s mother’s place. Hopefully Granny Lomax would have a few suggestions as to what to do. She’d always looked after Cathy while Alice worked and she knew her granddaughter inside out. A nice walk in the park first and then a tasty Sunday dinner would finish the day off perfectly, Alice thought. Her brother Brian, who she’d brought up following the death of their parents, was out for the day with his pals but would be joining them for his meal later.
‘Tea’s brewed,’ Terry shouted from the kitchen. ‘Shall I bring it out and we can sit on your dad’s bench and drink it?’ He carried two mugs outside and Alice joined him on the old bench her dad had made, which sat under a shady apple tree.
She took a welcome sip and sighed. ‘That’s a good brew, just how I like it, sweet and not too strong.’
Terry nodded. He looked worried. ‘Do you think she’ll be okay with me tomorrow?’
Alice shrugged. ‘I hope so. Until you start work again, we might as well as try. Oh, I know your mum will still offer to look after her, but it’ll be best if we persevere and get her used to being with you. I think if I’m out of the way, she’s got no choice but to let you do things for her. She’s probably feeling a bit jealous because she’s not getting all my attention right now. If it gets really bad and you find you can’t cope then you’ll have to walk her round to your mother’s. But we won’t know until we give it a try, will we?’
She leant her head against him and breathed in his scent. He’d used her Camay soap to wash with. It reminded her of the shower they’d shared on honeymoon, when he’d lathered her from top to toe in Camay bubbles and then made love to her while they were still in the shower. Mixed with the smell of his Old Spice shaving stick, it made her tummy flutter with longing. Her Terry; how dearly she loved him. She’d missed him more than she’d thought possible and it was good to have him home. Much as she loved Cathy and Brian, she wished with all her heart that she and Terry could have some time alone, even just for half a day. But it was unlikely to happen; no one had offered to look after the kids yet, so they’d just have to get on with it.
* * *
‘There’s your friend Sadie,’ Terry said to Alice, pointing to a young woman clutching the hand of a small boy who seemed to be arguing with her. They were queuing at the ice-cream seller and the little boy was dancing impatiently from foot to foot as he tried to loosen her grip.
&nb
sp; Alice called out and Sadie Romano turned and waved, a look of relief crossing her face.
‘Thank God for that,’ she said as they reached her side. ‘He’s being a right little pest today.’ Sadie let go of his hand. ‘Now see, Gianni, here’s Cathy. I bet her daddy will know how to sail a boat better than Mammy will.’ She held out a canvas bag with a large sailboat inside. ‘There’s also a sort of stick thingy in there with a hook on the end so you can pull the boat back in to shore,’ she said to Terry. ‘My brother bought it for him and was going to come with us today, but he’s not feeling too good, so it’s down to me. Gianni’s upset because Uncle Harry promised to be here and also because I won’t let him go near the lake on his own. He’s so giddy; he’s bound to fall in.’
Terry nodded solemnly. He bent down to speak to Gianni. ‘Let’s have our ice-creams and then we’ll go to the boating lake and see what we can do. This is a job for men, wouldn’t you say so?’
Gianni smiled, his big brown eyes lighting up. ‘Can Cathy sail the boat with us?’
‘If she wants to,’ Terry said, looking at his daughter, who was holding onto Alice’s hand. ‘Want to sail Gianni’s boat with us, Cathy? After we’ve had our ice-creams, of course.’
Cathy shot him a look from under her heavy fringe and gave him a half-smile and a slight nod. He smiled back and took his place in the queue. It was a small acknowledgement from her, but better than nothing.
‘Shall we go and sit on that bench, Sadie?’ Alice suggested. ‘Terry will get our order. Wafers for us two and cornets for the kids,’ she instructed Terry and led the way to a bench near the Palm House. Sefton Park was busy with families out for a stroll and the brass band was warming up on the bandstand ready for their afternoon session.
‘Isn’t it nice to see things getting back to a bit of normality?’ Alice said. ‘It’s good to have all the children back with their families and people not looking as anxious, waiting for the air raid sirens to go off at any minute.’
‘Yes,’ Sadie agreed. ‘And not having to cart flipping gas mask boxes everywhere as well makes life much easier. How’s her ladyship getting on with Terry?’ She nodded in the direction of Cathy, who was running around following Gianni as he played his favourite aeroplane dive-bombing game.
Alice puffed out her cheeks. ‘We’re still not making much headway, but I’m back in work with you tomorrow, so he’s going to try and manage on his own with her. His mother will be in if it all goes pear-shaped, so he can whizz her round to hers. Hopefully he’ll be working himself soon and then she’ll be back with Granny Lomax as usual until she starts school in January. He’s got a couple of late afternoon interviews booked in for next week to fit in with when I finish work, so with a bit of luck he might get a job soon. But we both think that him seeing to Cathy on his own for a few days while he’s still at home may help them bond a bit better.’
‘I’m sure it won’t take long. He’s very patient. Gianni loves Terry. It will all be fine. Here he comes with our wafers.’
Terry had given the kids their cornets and was making his way across to them. Gianni and Cathy had flopped onto the grass nearby and Terry sat down next to Alice on the bench.
‘That’s them two sorted while we enjoy these,’ he said, handing Alice and Sadie their wafers, raspberry syrup dripping from the squares of greaseproof paper wrapped around them. ‘Beautiful day, isn’t it?’ He looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled. ‘You’ve no idea how good it is to see skies that aren’t full of aircraft, and smoke and flames from planes that have been hit, and not knowing which ones have gone down. Ours or theirs.’
Alice smiled wistfully. ‘We had our fair share of that here as well. Okay, we could dive down the nearest shelter while you boys had to be on your guard out in the open, but you can see for yourself the mess Liverpool is in. We got absolutely hammered.’
Terry nodded his agreement. ‘I was shocked when we came out of Lime Street station on demob day and saw the state of some of the buildings nearby. It’ll take years to rebuild, but we’ll get there. We’ve a lifetime in front of us to get the place back on its feet again, and the workforce to do it now the boys are home. Oh, I know a lot of you women won’t agree with that as we’re slowly taking over your jobs again.’
‘Hey, I don’t mind in the least,’ Alice said. ‘I’d rather be selling knitting wool at Lewis’s any day than making aircraft wings at Rootes. And I’m sure half the female workforce will probably agree with me now they’re back in their usual jobs. And a lot want to spend time just being mothers again now their children are back home after being evacuated.’
‘You know what we could all do with,’ Sadie said, and licked the drips from her wafer.
‘No, what?’ Terry asked.
‘A good night out at the Legion. What about next Saturday? We could rally the usual gang. Your old workmates, Alice; my friend Jenny; and we could ask Millie to sing.’
‘Sounds like a great idea to me,’ Terry said. ‘I fancy a good night out. A few pints and getting together with old pals would be really nice. But you’re back in work at the Legion next Saturday, aren’t you, queen?’ he directed at Alice, who worked part time at Aigburth British Legion as well as at Lewis’s store.
Alice nodded. ‘Yes, I’m due back in again next weekend, but I get regular breaks so can join you all when I’m having ten minutes. I think it’s a good idea to have a bit of a reunion.’
‘We’ll ask my mum if she’ll let Cathy stay over and Brian as well, maybe,’ Terry suggested, nudging Alice slightly. ‘Gives us the chance to have a bit of time to ourselves later, eh, gel?’
Alice blushed and smiled as he raised an eyebrow.
Sadie laughed. ‘Have you two not had a minute to yourselves since Terry got home?’
‘You guessed it,’ Terry said. ‘I suspect my mother thinks we’re enjoying playing happy families after so long apart, but it would be nice to get a bit of time without the kids.’
‘I’m sure it would. Is Millie home next weekend?’ Sadie asked. Millie was Alice’s best friend and former co-worker at Rootes, until she’d left to become a singer. ‘I know that her and Jimmy take turns at staying at his mam’s in Blackpool and at her mam’s here.’
‘She’s in Blackpool this weekend and then back on Monday to help her mam with the hairdressing salon,’ Alice said. ‘Although her mam said she’s shutting down now the war’s over. Millie’s dad said he wants his front room back now he’s not out every night with the ARP. He was complaining about being invaded with gossiping women last time I went round to have my hair trimmed.’
Terry laughed. Millie’s mam ran a front room parlour and he didn’t blame Millie’s dad one bit for wanting his privacy back.
‘You can pop round in the week and invite her and Jimmy then,’ he said. ‘I’ll nip in the Legion one night as well and tell Jack and Arnold to expect a party and to make sure the pianist is there to accompany Millie.’
‘She’ll love that,’ Alice said. ‘She’s not done any singing for weeks. She misses the band as well. The war ending has brought such a big change for us all really. Millie was used to trekking up and down the country and entertaining the troops after she left Rootes. She said she was really bored recently.’
Sadie nodded as Terry got to his feet and picked up the bag containing the boat.
‘Right, I’ll go and do my bit of entertaining now. See if I can coax a smile from my daughter again. See you in a bit,’ he said, making his way over to Cathy and Gianni, who were shrieking with excitement as he walked towards them.
‘Have fun,’ Sadie called. ‘I’ve been thinking, you know,’ she continued in a lower voice to Alice. ‘Millie could do with looking for a proper job until her and Jimmy get married. I wonder if they’ll settle here or Blackpool?’
Alice shaded her eyes as she watched Terry reach out for Cathy’s hand. The little girl ignored him and ran on ahead towards the boating lake with Gianni.
‘I don’t think they’ve decided yet,’ she
said. ‘But you know what a little home-bird Millie is; can’t see her going too far from Liverpool. Maybe she could enquire at Lewis’s and see if there are any jobs available with us. Have you heard any word from Luca since the war finished? I wondered if they’d got back safely to Italy.’
Luca was Sadie’s estranged Italian husband and the father of Gianni. His family fairground had reportedly returned to Italy a couple of years ago when the government started rounding up Italian immigrants as prisoners of war.
Sadie shook her head. ‘Not a dickey bird. I would imagine they’ll let things settle before they get back on the road again. I’d like to know that he’s okay, but that’s all. I don’t want him to come looking for us and if he does he’s not taking Gianni. I’ll do my best to be out of town if they show up in Liverpool. I just can’t go back to that dangerous lifestyle. All those shady characters that come and go when the fair sets up and dismantles, and the packs of dogs roaming around. Never knowing whether I’m coming or going with all the moving around. I can’t deal with all that again.’
Alice nodded. ‘Don’t blame you. You and Gianni are nicely settled back home anyway. He’s enjoying school and you love your job.’
Sadie smiled. ‘I do. But I’d love to work in a library eventually, so I’m going to start looking around when things settle down a bit more. I might not be qualified enough, but I won’t know if I don’t ask. Shall we walk over to the boating lake and take a peep, see if Cathy’s talking to Terry yet?’