by Howes, Pam
‘I’ve got shoelaces,’ one woman called. ‘They’re quite new so if you drop one in the water it will help sterilise it.’
‘Perfect,’ Marlene said as the woman handed over a brown shoelace. ‘Right, let’s get on with it then.’
She spread a couple of the tea towels under Alice. As Alice had lifted her bottom her waters had broken and gushed all over the blanket. Marlene had whipped it away along with Alice’s wet knickers and made her comfortable.
‘We’re in business,’ she said as Alice let out a yell and grabbed Millie’s hand again. ‘Just go with the flow, gel, an’ tell me when you get a feeling like you need the lavvy, number twos, I mean. That feeling means the baby is getting ready to be pushed out. Do that panting thing in between your contractions. An’ think on this, you’ll ’ave something nice to tell your Terry in your next letter. ’Ave you thought of any names?’
Alice grimaced and shook her head. ‘Not really, but I told Terry I like Catherine for a girl’s name, Cathy for short, and maybe James after my late dad, Jimmy.’
‘Oh, I love Cathy,’ Millie said. ‘It’s such a pretty name. And Jimmy is Terry’s best friend, so that would please him too.’
Alice looked up. ‘Then Cathy it will be, and maybe Millicent and Marlene as extra names.’
‘Oh, chuck.’ Marlene’s eyes filled. ‘Thank you. I’ve never ’ad anyone named after me before. But you just watch; it’s bound to be a James!’
She knelt between Alice’s legs and encouraged her to bear down with each contraction and then pant in between.
With one final push, Catherine Millicent Marlene Lomax arrived just after eight o’clock, the same time as the end-of-air-raid warning siren sounded. As she took her first breath in Marlene’s arms and let out a loud wail, a cheer went up and people started crying and hugging each other. Congratulations were called out to Alice, who was still surrounded by her wall of co-workers to protect her privacy.
Tears tumbled down Marlene’s chubby cheeks as she wrapped the baby in a clean tea towel and laid her on Alice’s chest. She deftly cut the cord and tied the end with the shoelace, breathing a sigh of relief. Millie stood by her side in stunned silence, her hands over her mouth.
Freddie shouted from the shelter doorway that he was going inside to call for an ambulance.
‘As soon as they can, Fred. I’m trying to see to the afterbirth but we might need a bit of ’elp,’ Marlene shouted, looking worriedly up at Millie. ‘Take the baby while I get Alice propped up a bit more. One of you ladies can go out an’ tell that bus driver not to go anywhere without me. Millie, you go with Alice and I’ll nip in to your place on me way ’ome an’ tell your mam so that she won’t be worrying about where you are. I’ll tell ’er to go round an’ let Terry’s mam know. They’ll probably both make their way to the ’ospital.’
A clanging bell outside the shelter door heralded the arrival of an ambulance.
‘Thank God for that,’ Marlene said, wiping her sweaty brow. ‘They can take over now. Well done, gel.’ She gave a pale-faced Alice a peck on the cheek. ‘We’ll look after your presents, don’t worry about anything. Just go an’ finish the job in the ’ospital.’
Alice blew her a kiss as she and Cathy were lifted onto a stretcher. ‘Thank you so much. I couldn’t have done it without you.’
‘My pleasure, chuck.’
11
October 1941
Alice smiled proudly at her tiny daughter nestled in Millie’s arms. Dressed in a white lace gown and pretty matching bonnet, Cathy had looked suitably unimpressed, frowning as the vicar sprinkled holy water on her forehead and made the sign of a cross before handing her back to her waiting godmother. Millie, Marlene and Freddie had done their god-daughter proud today. After Cathy’s traumatic entrance into the world in the shelter at Rootes they’d all visited the hospital regularly to check up on the new arrival and her mother, who had been rushed to theatre on admission with a retained placenta that had required a surgical procedure.
Alice had no hesitation in asking them to be Cathy’s godparents after all the support they’d given her, and Terry had agreed she’d made good choices in his reply to her wonderful news. Mrs Lomax had arranged the christening and invited everyone back to the bungalow for a celebration buffet afterwards. She’d produced a parcel she’d brought down from the loft when Alice arrived home with Cathy. Alice opened the tissue-wrapped gown and lacy cap and looked enquiringly at her mother-in-law.
‘It was Terry’s,’ his mother said. ‘I kept it, just in case. But you can have a new one if you like,’ she continued as Alice’s eyes filled with tears.
‘Oh no, this will be just fine. It’s beautiful and it will be lovely and very special for Cathy to be christened wearing her daddy’s gown. Maybe we can get her a girlie bonnet to wear instead of the little cap.’
‘We will indeed.’ Granny Lomax looked adoringly at the dark-haired, blue-eyed baby she cradled in her arms. ‘I think she’s the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen.’
‘Me too,’ Alice said, smiling, ‘but I think we might be biased.’
When Alice’s mam had arrived back from Wales soon after Cathy’s birth, she had a surprise in tow. Young Brian had insisted on coming back to Liverpool with her. He’d told them all that now he was nearly ten he should be home to look after them. His new niece needed her uncle, he said. Mam and Brian had moved back into the house and Alice had stayed on at Granny Lomax’s, as Terry’s mam insisted they all call her now.
Alice felt worried about Brian being brought back home to Liverpool, but was enjoying having her little brother dropping in each day. He’d grown, so wasn’t so little any more. He was nut brown from the sunshine and fresh air and playing outdoors all summer and he’d gained a fair bit of weight, but that would drop off now he was back on Liverpool rations. Mam had got him a place in school again close by and he’d also been offered a short newspaper round as soon as Mam was back in work at the newsagent’s. He loved it and enjoyed earning his own pocket money. He’d saved up from his wages and had bought Cathy a little pink rattle that she loved, and he spent ages singing nursery rhymes and talking to her. It made Alice’s heart swell to see the way her daughter never took her eyes off Uncle Brian.
Mam had written to Rodney at his usual forces address to let him know he had a niece, but there had been no response. None had been expected, but she still insisted that it was only right and proper in case he’d been found alive and well and letters from home would be good for him. Alice had nodded and let her get on with it. If it made her mam feel better to think there was hope, then who was she to dash that hope away? After all, hope was the only thing they had to cling onto until they heard otherwise.
In spite of the regular air raids, the partly demolished state of the city and the tragic loss of so many lives, the people of Liverpool did their best to try to carry on with life. Nothing dented their renowned sense of humour. When Alice took a tram over to Speke with Cathy to pop into work to see her friends one dinnertime, Freddie rushed towards her and whisked his god-daughter away to the other side of the canteen, where she was fussed over and passed around like a parcel. When she was handed back she was dressed in a tiny blue overall like the Halifax girls wore, with a red spotted hanky fashioned into a turban on her head.
‘Our latest recruit,’ he said as Alice laughed at her daughter, who stuck her fingers into her mouth and chomped on them. Not in the least bit bothered by all the adulation she was receiving, Cathy wanted her feed and let out an impatient wail.
‘Any idea when you’ll be coming back to work?’ Marlene asked as she stuck the feeding bottle into Cathy’s searching mouth.
‘Not until after Christmas,’ Alice replied. ‘I don’t really want to leave her just yet. But I can’t survive on peanuts so I’ll get myself sorted out as soon as I can. She’s still waking up in the night and I’m so tired during the day, I’d fall asleep on the bench.’
Alice sighed; she received the statutory army wife
’s payment of twenty-one shillings a week. Terry sent what he could when he could, but there was always the danger of paper money going missing in transit. If it hadn’t been for Granny Lomax’s generous hospitality, she and Cathy would have starved as they’d never be able to eat as well at her mam’s with Brian there as well now. Granny Lomax excelled herself at providing hot meals for them all, and her mam and Brian came round for tea several nights a week. Granny’s friend with the farm kept her well supplied with rabbits and vegetables and the occasional chicken; although he liked to keep them for egg-laying, he had promised her one for Christmas this year. In return for her feeding them like kings, Brian helped with a few jobs around the house and garden. One day he came running inside from the garage, excited because he’d found Terry’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle stored under an old blanket.
‘I can’t wait for our Terry to get home,’ he said. ‘He can give me a ride on the back of his bike.’
Granny Lomax pulled a face. ‘Dangerous, those things. I hated him going out on it. I’m glad Alice stopped him riding it.’
‘Oh, I didn’t really stop him,’ Alice said. ‘But I wouldn’t get on it when we were going out, so we always used the tram or bus. But I know he rode it if I wasn’t with him.’
‘Yes, well.’ Mrs Lomax pursed her lips. ‘Let’s hope he gets rid of it when he comes home. He’s got responsibilities now.’
As Christmas approached, Granny Lomax suggested they take a trip into the city one afternoon to see what was happening with the clearance of the lovely buildings that had been damaged and to do a bit of Christmas shopping. They dropped Cathy off at Alice’s mam’s and made their way to the station. The trains from Aigburth were still running regularly to Lime Street and as they came out onto the street Alice was pleased to see that the Adelphi in the distance had suffered nothing more than a few broken windows that were currently boarded up. It was a different matter with Lewis’s store though, where only a few months ago they’d chosen Cathy’s pram. It was practically demolished by the shelling and workmen were in the throes of pulling down dangerous parts and boarding up the rest. They called into the Kardomah café for a cup of tea before starting their shopping. A middle-aged couple were saying that the German air assaults were diminishing now that Hitler had lately turned his attention towards attacking the Soviet Union.
‘I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him,’ Granny Lomax said to the thick-set man on the table behind them, after listening to the man pontificating that he knew exactly what Hitler’s tactics would be next. It was unusual to see a man out with his wife these days as most were away fighting or doing other war-related work. ‘He’s leading us into a false sense of security. He’ll be back with a vengeance, you mark my words.’
‘I think he’s had enough,’ the man said. ‘He knows he can’t beat us now. Anyway, what do you women know about these things? You should all bugger off back into the kitchen where you belong and leave this war to us men to sort out.’
Alice suppressed a giggle as Granny Lomax got to her feet, her face flushing an angry shade of red. She pointed a finger at the man and poked him in the chest.
‘I’ll tell you what we women know,’ she began, drawing herself up to her full five-foot-four. ‘If it wasn’t for the women of this world we’d have lost everything. Women have kept this whole country going. My daughter-in-law here has been building the Halifax bombers that are fighting our battles. What job have you been doing while she’s been hard at work in Rootes factory?’
‘He hurt his back before the war started,’ the man’s wife said. ‘Didn’t you, Arthur? He can’t lift anything so the forces wouldn’t have him.’
‘He could do ARP work, a lot of men do that who can’t be signed up. Some were even injured in the last war but they’re still doing their bit for King and country. My poor boy is on the front line, God knows where, helping to keep the likes of you alive. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
Alice chewed her lip. Her mother-in-law really had the bit between her teeth today.
The woman got to her feet. ‘Well I hope your boy comes back safe and sound, Missus, but my Arthur here can’t do nowt about it. It’s not his fault. Come on you,’ she said, yanking his sleeve as he slurped the last of his tea.
He followed his wife, putting on a limp as he passed Granny Lomax, who shouted after him.
‘Bad back, huh! It’s all my eye and Betty Martin. You’re just lazy.’
As the shop door closed behind the couple, a ripple of applause sounded and smiles lit up faces.
‘Well said, Missus.’ A woman with a red headscarf nodded in Granny Lomax’s direction. ‘Armchair bleeding politician, he is. Nowt wrong with him that a rifle up the backside won’t cure. Always been a lazy bugger, has Arthur Fairfax.’
‘Yes, well.’ Granny Lomax sat back down, her lips twitching. She started to laugh.
Alice joined in. ‘What are you like?’ She grinned. ‘He could have floored you then.’
‘I don’t think he’d have dared, do you?’
‘I suppose not. But still…’
‘That was for Terry, and all the lads who are doing their best for us all.’ She picked up her cup and took a sip of tea as Alice shook her head. ‘Now if I could just get my hands on that bloody Hitler…’
12
February 1942
Alice groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Cathy was crying again. She glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. Three thirty, middle of the flipping night, well, Saturday morning. She crawled out of bed and went over to the cot in the corner of the room. Her daughter was rosy-cheeked and snot from her runny nose had been rubbed across her cheeks by her chubby fists. At nearly six months Cathy was cutting her back teeth, and didn’t they all know about it. There’d been a few sleepless nights when her front teeth came through, but this latest lot had been going on for the past few weeks and showed no signs of finishing any time soon. Alice scooped Cathy up and sighed. She was wet through too and would no doubt assume it was breakfast time. But as her baby shot her a winning smile Alice’s heart melted and she cuddled her close.
‘Little monkey, aren’t you?’ She wiped Cathy’s nose, changed her nappy and carried her into the sitting room. ‘Now sit still for a minute,’ she ordered, putting her down on the rug, ‘and I’ll warm you some milk.’ She gave Cathy her pink rattle from Brian to play with and some coloured wooden building bricks.
In the kitchen Alice leant against the sink, yawning, while the milk heated in a small saucepan. This just wouldn’t do. She was hoping to go back to work next week. Already she’d had more time off than she’d planned to. But Cathy’s teething and the subsequent sleepless nights had put that plan on hold. There was no way Alice could concentrate on her job without a full night’s sleep. And not only that; Millie had told her a few of the Halifax girls had recently been moved upstairs to munitions. She really didn’t want to do that. She had her daughter to think about and with one parent already putting his life on the line daily, she couldn’t run the risk of making her an orphan in the event of another explosion.
She poured the warmed milk into a bottle and took it through to Cathy. While she fed her baby, Alice went over the recent conversation she’d had with Millie.
‘I’m thinking of leaving Rootes,’ Millie had announced out of the blue.
‘What? Why? Where will you go?’
‘I thought about joining the Land Army. I’m sick of being stuck indoors and of being in the city. I fancy some country air and not spending as much time rammed together in flipping air raid shelters with flatulent old men and moaning women.’
‘Erm, well I get the old men thing, but I think most of their wives have got cause to moan at the moment, Millie.’ Alice stared at her friend, whose look of determination shocked her. ‘And you hate cows; they always used to scare you as a kid. What if you’re asked to milk them?’
The idea of neat and tidy Millie grappling in the mud with a cow was beyond anything she could im
agine. She’d always thought that Millie would finish the war out at Rootes and then start a proper hairdressing course at a smart city centre salon when it was all over.
‘If you leave Rootes, I don’t fancy going back.’
‘Come with me, Alice. Join the Land Army. It’ll be fun.’
‘For one thing I can’t leave Cathy. And it’s not really my idea of fun.’
‘Terry’s mam would look after Cathy, surely.’
‘Not on a full-time basis with me miles away, and unable to come home at night. I just can’t do it.’
‘Well I’m going to apply,’ Millie said. ‘I just want to do something different. I feel a bit down at the moment. There’s hardly ever a word from Alan and even when there is it’s almost like he finds it’s a chore to write to me.’
Alice nodded. ‘I understand and I don’t blame you on that score, but have you talked it over with your mam and dad?’
‘Not yet. I will do this weekend, though.’
‘I might have come with you if I didn’t have the baby. I’m going to have to look for a job if you go away. I’m not going back to Rootes without you there.’
‘Tell you what we need to cheer us up,’ Millie said. ‘A good night out. There’s a dance on at Aigburth Legion on Saturday night. We should go. A few of the girls from work are going and it’s to raise money for wounded soldiers. There’s a buffet and a raffle and they’ve got a band on that plays Glenn Miller stuff.’
‘How much is it?’ Alice chewed her lip. She was a bit skint as usual but really fancied a nice night out. She hadn’t had one in ages.
‘Let me treat you,’ Millie said generously. ‘An early birthday pressie.’
‘Okay.’ Alice nodded. ‘It’s not my birthday for ages yet, but you’re on, thank you. I’ll look forward to being human again for a while and wearing clothes that are not covered in baby puke and dribble.’