The Woolworths Girls
Page 24
Ruby turned the large knob on the Bakelite wireless and waited for it to warm up, wondering what the news would be this evening.
‘Nan, any chance of a cuppa? I’m gasping. I think it’s all that talking we’ve done today.’ Sarah yawned and stretched her arms as she entered the room.
‘Sit yourself down, love. I was just thinking of making some cocoa. Would you fancy that?’
‘Lovely. I see you’ve let Nelson indoors again.’
‘He’s no trouble at all. He’s good company for me.’
Sarah laughed. She knew her nan had a soft spot for the stray dog. ‘I’m sure he is, as long as you can manage to feed him.’
‘There’s always a few scraps going, and I reckon he would guard the house a treat when we aren’t here. The wireless is just warming up. I thought I’d listen to a bit of news. See if anything is happening. Make yourself comfortable and I’ll get that cocoa.’
Sarah sat on the sofa and tucked her feet underneath her. She was feeling more tired every day and relished the time she could sit and just relax. Everyone was telling her to stop work and rest at home, but she still wanted to walk to Woolworths each day and be able to focus on her job to keep her mind off Alan and the dangers he must be facing. ‘The news is starting, Nan.’
Ruby handed Sarah her cocoa and made herself comfortable in her armchair. ‘Right, let’s have a listen and see what’s been happening in the world today.’
‘Oh my God, Nan! Something’s happened.’ Sarah turned the volume on the wireless as high as it would go. They listened intently as broadcaster Bernard Stubbs gave the grave news from Dover.
‘For days and nights ships of all kinds have plied to and fro across the Channel under the fierce onslaught of the enemy’s bombers, utterly regardless of the perils, to bring out as many as possible of the trapped BEF. There was every kind of ship that I saw coming in this morning, and every one of them was crammed full of tired, battle-stained and bloodstained British soldiers . . .’
‘What does “BEF” mean?’
‘Nan, it means “British Expeditionary Forces”. I wonder if all those ships I saw from the riverfront the other day were heading over to save our boys.’
‘They may well have been. Ssh, listen. It’s just too awful.’
‘ . . . Soon after dawn this morning I watched two warships steaming in, one listing heavily to port under the enormous load of men she carried on her decks. In a few minutes her tired commander had her alongside and a gangway was thrown from her decks to the quay. Transport officers counted the men as they came ashore. No question of units. No question of regiments. No question even of nationality, for there were French and Belgian soldiers who had fought, side by side, with the British at the battle of Flanders . . .’
Ruby pulled her handkerchief from the sleeve of her blouse and dabbed at her eyes. ‘Those poor lads.’
‘ . . . All of them were tired, some were completely exhausted, but the most amazing thing was that practically every man was reasonably cheerful and most of them managed a smile. Even when a man was obviously on the verge of collapse from sheer fatigue, you could still tell by his eyes that his spirit was irrepressible. And that is a thing that all the bombs in Germany will never crush . . .’
Ruby and Sarah remained silent, listening intently and not believing what they heard.
‘. . . Another man told me how he’d been on the beach at Dunkirk for three days with hundreds of his comrades waiting for a boat. Embarkation was often difficult because the pier had been bombed and the ships could not get close enough in. So they joined the ships in boats and paddled in the water some of the way. All the time the gallant German airmen were bombing and machine-gunning with no discrimination between the fit and the wounded, and with no discrimination between the warships and the hospital ships . . .’
‘How can they continue to fire at wounded men, Nan?’ Sarah asked as she listened to the horrifying news.
‘I don’t know, love. War is a mystery to me.’
‘. . . The organization at the port was excellent: the ships were being unloaded at an astonishing speed. No sooner were they emptied they were disappearing through the harbour entrance back to France to fetch more men home . . .’
‘God bless ’em all,’ Ruby murmured.
Sarah could only nod in agreement.
‘. . . On the station, I watched the men climb into the long waiting trains, where it was astounding to walk from carriage to carriage full of soldiers to find silence, for most of them were fast asleep where they sat . . .’
‘Those poor men must be completely shattered. I can’t imagine having to endure such torture. Fancy not knowing what was going to happen while on the beach.’ Ruby held her handkerchief to her face, not wanting to hear what came next.
‘. . . Train after train puffed out of the station, all full of sleeping men. All the way along the line, the people of England stood at the level crossings and the back gardens to wave at them. And so the men of the BEF came home.’
‘We are losing this war, aren’t we, Nan?’
‘It’s certainly a setback, Sarah, but we won’t say we’ve lost until Hitler’s walking up Erith High Street. Then he’ll ’ave me to face,’ Ruby declared defiantly.
Sarah was pretty sure her nan meant what she said.
They both sat in silence contemplating what the broadcaster had reported.
‘What the hell does that dog want?’ Ruby asked as Nelson started to scratch at the back door, barking and jumping to be let into the garden.
‘For heaven’s sake, lad, you’d better not be chasing next door’s cat again. I don’t want to have to face them if you ever catch him. Mind you, it would stop the bugger digging up my carrots and leaving his little parcels everywhere.’ Ruby eased herself out of her armchair and opened the door, whereupon Nelson raced to the Anderson shelter, barking furiously at the entrance. ‘Don’t say we have a rat in there. Vera reckons she’s seen them in her shelter.’
Sarah shuddered. ‘One of us is going to have to look, otherwise the neighbours will be complaining.’
Ruby armed herself with a broom. ‘If our lads can face the Germans, we can face one rat. Stay behind me in case it bites. Nelson, shut up and come here.’
The dog obeyed his new mistress and stopped his barking, although he stayed alert and bright-eyed. Sarah picked up a torch from where it had been left by the door in case of an air raid and reached for the poker beside the fire before following Ruby out into the dark garden. Nelson lay by the entrance to the Anderson shelter and growled quietly, his attention focused on whatever lay within.
Ruby leant closer to Sarah and whispered in her ear, ‘I’m going to throw the door back and holler as loud as I can. If anything gets too close to you, wallop it with your poker. That’ll scare off any rodents in there.’
Sarah nodded and raised the poker over her shoulder ready to take aim.
Ruby reached forward slowly and, using the broom, pushed open the door that George had built to protect anyone inside the shelter and bellowed, ‘Get out of there now, yer bugger.’
For a moment there was silence; then a plaintive voice called out, ‘Don’t hurt me, missus. I didn’t mean no harm.’
A face appeared at the door. In the dim light from her torch Sarah could see a young man. She felt that perhaps she’d seen him somewhere before, as there was something familiar about his features. She lowered the poker. ‘Come out slowly and don’t try anything stupid.’
The man climbed out of the shelter and walked towards the back door as Nelson followed close behind, keen to snap at his heels if he tried to run away.
‘Inside and sit yourself in that chair.’ Ruby indicated it with a nod as she closed the back door and pulled the blackout curtain across. Both women stood in front of him as he cowered slightly.
‘Now, where have you come from, and what were you doing in our shelter?’ Ruby asked, still holding the broom firmly and ready to bash him on the head if he dared to do anything
wrong.
At that moment they heard a key in the front door and a familiar voice. ‘It’s only me. I got off on time for once.’ Freda entered the room, her eyes widening in amazement at the scene in front of her. ‘Lenny? What are you doing here?’
A sob caught in the young man’s voice. ‘Sorry, sis. I had nowhere else to go. It’s that Tommy Whiffen. He found out where I was and came after me.’
21
‘I think the pair of you ought to sit yourselves down and do some explaining,’ Ruby said as Freda hugged the young man. They looked like two peas in a pod.
‘Aw, Lenny, where have you been? I’ve been that worried about you,’ Freda said.
‘I had a job on the docks for a good while and some digs, so things weren’t so bad. There’s always someone wants a job doing for cash and no questions asked. Then I bumped into a bloke who recognized me and I had to leg it a bit quick. I headed towards Erith, as I knew you were here, but then you’d moved and I had to sleep rough for a couple of nights.’
Ruby frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘I’ll explain as much as I can,’ Freda said. ‘You look fit to drop, Lenny.’
The lad nodded and leant back in the armchair.
‘Lenny got in with a bit of a bad crowd when we lived at home.’
‘But I didn’t mean to, sis.’
‘It’s all right, Len – I’ll tell Ruby and Sarah.’ She glanced at Ruby, who nodded for her to continue with her story. ‘After Dad died, Mum started courting another bloke. She said it was because we needed a father, but once he had his feet under the table, he changed overnight. He spent most of the time down the pub and we know he was carrying on with other women. Mum wouldn’t have any of it. She was smitten with him. Well, that’s when our Lenny started bunking off school and hanging around with Tommy Whiffen and his gang. I begged him to help me on the market and keep away from Tommy, but would he listen?’
Lenny bowed his head and looked ashamed. ‘I only did a bit of fetching and carrying for him until that time we got caught.’
Ruby’s face turned red and she glared at Lenny. ‘There’s no excuse for nicking stuff.’
‘I know that now, and I wish I hadn’t done it. It was just a bit of fun.’
Ruby’s heart softened. He did look contrite. Without a father figure around, any lad could go off the rails. ‘Carry on, Freda. What happened next?’
‘Tommy started moving into the big time. He wasn’t content with a bit of nicking. He broke into a warehouse and pinched some money.’
‘It was a lot of money, sis. Hundreds of pounds, which were wages for the workers.’
Ruby tutted. ‘Stealing the bread from people’s mouths. Terrible. Did you help him take the money, Lenny?’
Lenny was quick to respond. ‘No, I was the lookout. Bob, Tommy’s brother, was driving the getaway car, and his cousin Ned picked the locks so they could get in. All I had to do was stand by the gates of the warehouse and look out for the night watchman. If I saw him coming, I had to whistle like mad and jump on the running board as we made a getaway.’
‘Sounds just like one of those American movies,’ Sarah said, bringing in a tray holding cups of cocoa and a plate piled high with slices of bread covered in dripping. Lenny took the plate gratefully and tucked in as if he hadn’t eaten for days. ‘What happened next?’
‘I didn’t see the night watchman until he’d walked past me and had gone into the warehouse.’
‘He was reading a newspaper. He couldn’t even get that right,’ Freda sighed.
Lenny ignored his sister. ‘By the time I ran to the car, Bob was revving the engine, Ned and Tommy climbed in, and they took off with the loot. I tried to jump onto the running board, but they were going too fast and I fell and twisted my ankle.’
Ruby tried not to smile. ‘It don’t sound like you was made out for a life of crime, lad.’
Freda looked sad. ‘But that was only the start of it. Our Lenny was nicked and the others got away with it.’
‘What could they nick him for? It’s not a crime to read a newspaper, is it?’ Sarah asked as she sipped her cocoa.
‘It is when the night watchman is coshed over the head, the wages are gone, and all he can remember is our Lenny’s face,’ Freda declared.
‘Oh bugger,’ was all Ruby could think to say.
‘They sent me to prison for eight years.’
‘Eight years? But you’re no more than a kid. When did this happen?’
‘Two years ago.’
Ruby scratched her head in confusion. ‘I don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell them about this Tommy bloke, and why did they let you out of prison so soon?’
Lenny looked to Freda for help, but she nodded for him to explain. ‘Tommy got word to me that if I spilt the beans and told the coppers about his gang, he’d hurt our Freda, but if I kept quiet and served me sentence, he’d see me all right afterwards and Freda wouldn’t be hurt.’
Sarah gasped. ‘Was that chap that was hanging about your old digs the Christmas before last one of Tommy’s gang, do you think, Freda?’
‘I think it might have been. I’d sent Mum a Christmas card with a postal order inside for her Christmas box. I’d just written that I was all right, but the envelope may have given a clue to where I was.’
Sarah briefly explained to Ruby the reason why Freda had moved away from her first lodging house so quickly that Christmas.
‘Well, I never,’ Ruby declared. ‘I still don’t understand why Freda came to Erith. Not that you aren’t welcome,’ she added hastily. ‘And why did that bloke follow you?’
‘I decided to move down to Erith after I received a letter from Lenny warning me to stay away and saying that he had escaped from a prison down near Maidstone. The envelope had Erith on the postmark. He’d had to have posted it somewhere around here, so if I hung around long enough, I thought I might just find him before he got himself in any more trouble. I think when I sent my card to Mum, before that Christmas, my stepfather would have seen it and guessed by the postmark where I was. No doubt Tommy Whiffen was sniffing around asking where we were. Our stepfather will do anything for a few bob in his pocket to spend at the pub or down the dogs. He would have shown Tommy. I’m such a fool.’
‘You’re no fool, Freda,’ said Sarah. ‘You just wanted to protect your family. Anyone would have done the same. Lenny, why did you escape from prison? Wouldn’t it have been best to tell the governor what you knew?’
‘It was horrid in prison, and when I told someone I was innocent, they started knocking me about and calling me names and everything. I didn’t have anyone to talk to in there and knew I couldn’t face another six years behind bars. I did plan to go back to the Midlands eventually and tell the coppers what arrested me, but I was worried about Freda down here on her own. Then I was frightened in case they sent me back to prison.’ He looked so tired and close to tears. ‘I ended up not knowing what to do, and then I thought that I’d left it too long to tell them I was innocent. When the war started, I didn’t think anyone would be bothered with me, so I carried on doing odd jobs and that. Freda, I don’t know what to do.’ He looked at his sister beseechingly and Freda turned to look at Sarah and Ruby. What were they to do?
‘I think before we make any decision, we should let this lad have a wash and some shut-eye. You need your sleep as well, Sarah. It can’t be doing that great-grandchild of mine any good you being up so late. Get yourself up to bed. Freda, take your brother out to the scullery and show him where the soap and water are. There’s a few bits of clothes that were my Eddie’s you can put on while your own clothes are washed. No doubt they’ll drown you, but needs must. I’ll get you a blanket and pillow. You can sleep on the settee for tonight and Nelson will keep you company. I’ll make sure the house is locked and bolted. No one will come to any harm tonight. They’ll have me to answer to if they want to come in here and cause any trouble.’
Lenny gave Nelson a wary glance but nodded in agreement.
‘I’m fine, thanks, Nan. It’s summer, so I’m not really cold.’
‘I know, love, but in your condition you have to take care,’ Ruby said as she sat down on the end of the bed, the blanket on her lap.
Sarah laughed. ‘What’s happened to all that talk about women being able to work and have a baby as well as keeping the family home in order?’
‘I stand by that, but I can spoil my granddaughter, can’t I? By the way, how does Maureen feel about you staying here? Is she all right on her own?’
‘She’s fine, Nan. It was Maureen who was pumping tea down us when Maisie collapsed at Woolies. She told me to stay and be with Maisie for as long as it takes.’
‘That’s good of her. It’s been a rum old day. Who would have thought Maisie would find out about her Joe like that? Bad enough to hear your husband’s dead, let alone in the middle of a busy shop and from that awful woman Doreen Taylor too.’
‘It was good of you to go and sort her out, Nan, and pick up what belonged to Maisie. When I looked in just now, she had fallen asleep holding her wedding licence. The poor girl’s got a lot to face in the coming days.’
Ruby nodded. ‘She’s strong and she’s got us to help her through it.’
‘Nan, I was wondering . . . Do you think that Joe was caught up in the evacuation at Dunkirk? The bit we heard on the wireless sounded awful. So many men injured and killed. We are definitely losing this war.’
Ruby thought for a while. ‘We won’t lose this war, Sarah. Don’t think it for a moment. It may take months, years even, but we will win. The British have a spirit that no German can break.’
‘You’re right there, Nan.’
‘As for Joe, I don’t think we’ll know for sure, but it may have been a while ago that he died. We know he was on foreign shores, and most likely he was over there, but news takes a while to travel, especially in wartime. Maisie will know more one day, but she may have to face the fact she won’t have a body to bury. It happened in the last war. However sad it is to stand at a graveside, it helps no end when a woman is grieving for her man.’