‘Even if we knew,’ his companion added quickly.
They all sat in silence until Ruby appeared with the tea, at which point they made polite small talk, avoiding mentioning the war or the fact that Sarah was most likely now a young widow, like so many other women.
‘How did you know to come here?’ Ruby asked, as she knew that they had Maureen’s address in nearby Crayford Road as where Sarah and Alan resided.
‘We knocked and a neighbour said we would most likely find Mrs Gilbert here.’
Ruby was just grateful that Maureen hadn’t been home when they called.
The two men left after promising they would be in touch about Alan’s property or if they had any more news.
Ruby returned to the front room to collect the teacups and tidy up. ‘You wanted news, love, but not news like that. But hold on to the thought that he is only missing.’
Sarah turned to her grandmother. Her face filled with anger. ‘Only missing? Alan has been missing to me since last Christmas. You heard the men. He went missing just before the Dunkirk evacuation. That was the end of May. Where was he for the other months, and why didn’t he get in touch? No. Alan has been missing to me for much longer. He had moved on with his life and now so shall I.’
Ruby struggled to know what to say to Sarah. How could she advise a young woman whose husband was most likely dead, when she’d had a long and happy marriage until her Eddie passed two years before? ‘You’re in shock, Sarah. Give it time and don’t do anything you’ll later regret.’
Sarah shook her head. ‘No! Even if Alan walked through this door right now, he wouldn’t be the man I married. The only good thing we had between us is Georgina. For that I am thankful. The rest can go to hell. Now, I’m going to put Georgina into her pram and walk round to Maureen’s house and break the news to her before someone else lets her know that the RAF have been knocking on her door. Of course I’ll be gentle with her. I’ll always think of Maureen with fondness, but life moves on. I’d like you to come with me, Nan, but will understand if you don’t wish to.’
Ruby picked up her coat and helped Sarah put baby Georgina into her pram. She’d keep quiet for now, as she knew Sarah wasn’t thinking straight, but she couldn’t help wonder what else was in store for her extended family. Maisie was all at sixes and sevens since her husband was killed; Freda still didn’t know what was happening with that rascal of a brother; Alan, for whom she had more than a soft spot, was possibly lying dead somewhere in France; and her own son was facing goodness knows what at the cottage hospital. This war had a lot to answer for.
24
‘No! I am putting my foot down over this once and for all. You are not going on fire duty. If I see your name on the rota one more time, I will have no choice but to give you your cards.’
Sarah had never seen Betty so angry before. Everyone agreed that the month had been one of highs and lows, what with George’s accident, baby Georgina’s sudden arrival and Alan now officially presumed dead. At least George was now out of hospital and being cared for by his family.
‘But, Betty, we are short-staffed. We don’t even have someone full-time to cover the staff canteen since Maureen moved away to live with her sister.’ Sarah had been relieved when her mother-in-law decided to leave Erith. As much as she loved her, Maureen was a reminder of Alan and what might have been if the war hadn’t started and he had remained a trainee manager at Woolworths with prospects.
‘I know, but you are a mother now and you have to think about Georgina. I’m truly grateful to your grandmother for stepping in to make the staff lunches.’
Sarah smiled. ‘She is more than happy to help out, and everyone gets to see the baby.’ Sarah knew that under normal circumstances a baby would not be allowed in the staffroom, but Ruby was able to check on her granddaughter while she cooked and served and there was no shortage of people wanting to coo over her daughter. It also meant that Sarah could help Betty for a few hours more. ‘Nan says it is no different to being at home and caring for Georgina, and she loves to push the pram through the town.’
‘That’s all well and good, but as for fire-watch duties . . . what if something were to happen to you?’ Betty held her breath, not knowing how Sarah would take her next words. ‘With Alan no longer here, Georgina wouldn’t have a parent if you were killed.’
‘Betty, any one of us could be killed at any time. There’s a war on. If a bomb has my name on it, then I know I will leave Georgina well provided for with her godmothers and family.’
‘The christening was such a lovely day, wasn’t it?’ Betty became thoughtful as she recalled the previous Sunday, when the family had returned to St Paulinus Church for Georgina’s christening. There had been prayers for Alan, as well as other friends and family not able to be there. Ruby had begged and borrowed ingredients for a small cake, and Maisie had used fabric from Sarah’s bridal gown to make a beautiful christening dress, while Freda’s white knitted shawl kept the baby warm. Betty’s present to her goddaughter had been a generous gift of money that was to be invested for her future.
‘I was so pleased that Dad was finally out of hospital and able to attend. Mum’s a dab hand at manoeuvring his wheelchair now and is learning to drive so that Dad can get around as much as possible.’
‘Will he ever walk again?’ Betty missed seeing George at number thirteen.
‘If Mum has anything to do with it, he will. She plans to supervise his exercise programme, and he has already stood for a few minutes with the aid of crutches.’
‘Your mother is a changed woman since she became a grandmother. Who’d have thought the day would come when she would be seen out in broad daylight in her siren suit?’
Sarah giggled. ‘She’s seen Mr Churchill wearing his and has adopted his style as if it was a uniform. Maisie has received orders for two more in red and blue, and reckons she will be taking orders from Mum’s friends at the golf club before too long.’
‘Oh my,’ was all Betty could think to say.
‘So what work would you like me to tackle today?’ Sarah asked. She wanted to steer Betty away from talk about fire-watch duties. She liked to do her bit to keep her place of employment safe and secure from enemy attack. After all, if she was to be the sole provider for her daughter, she needed to have an income. These days, she never thought of Alan as her husband, as in her heart she was sure that if he had never perished in action, they would have drifted apart. He had changed too much for them ever to be a couple again. She was sad when she thought back to the days when she had first fallen in love with Alan and how they planned to be together forever. She grieved for what might have been if there had never been a war.
‘Well, I have to drive up to the Bexleyheath store to deliver some paperwork and to see if the new manager has settled in. It will only take an hour. Why not come with me and meet the staff?’
‘I’d love to. Nan is on baby duty and she knows not to expect me back until late afternoon. Even though the Bexleyheath Woolies is just a couple of miles away, I’ve never visited.’
For the rest of her life Sarah would remember the silence before the screaming and cries for help started. The silence could only have lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime as she lay in the rubble that was once a thriving store. One minute she’d been walking beside Betty as they headed towards the side entrance of the Bexleyheath shop, chatting excitedly about how they could copy the patriotic window display in the store, which showed local shoppers how to save money and make ends meet. Then nothing. Just the silence. There had been no warning at all that the store would be hit by whatever had caused the explosion.
Sarah licked her lips. They were thick with the dust that was still settling around her. She tried to swallow. The exertion made her cough. Slowly she stretched her arms and then her legs. Everything seemed to work without too much pain, but where was Betty?
Sarah tried to call, but however hard she tried, her words weren’t loud enough. ‘Betty, are you hurt? Can you he
ar me?’ she managed to croak. With no response from her friend, she started to feel around, catching her fingers on rubble and pieces of wood until they were sore and stinging, but still she continued. A wave of fear washed through her as she realized her dear friend could be lying dead beneath the walls of the company she loved so dearly, a place where she had found solace in work since losing her beloved fiancé after the last war. It wasn’t fair, she thought to herself as she grabbed desperately at the rubble. Rubbing at her eyes and clearing her throat as best she could, she shouted, ‘Betty, where are you? It’s Sarah, I’m trying to help you. Please, please speak to me.’
Sarah coughed. This time it wasn’t brick dust but smoke that she was inhaling. The building was on fire. She continued frantically to feel for Betty’s body, crawling on her knees into the small spaces around her, fearful now that they would both be consumed by flames. Betty couldn’t be far away, as they were together when what she presumed was a bomb had hit the building.
‘Betty, please, where are you?’ Sarah begged.
Sarah heard a small groan to the left of where she was crawling in the debris. ‘Betty, is that you?’ In the darkness, she pulled away part of a door frame and found her friend propped against the remains of a wall. She shook Betty’s arm. ‘It’s me. Betty, are you hurt?’
Betty could only groan in reply.
Sarah knew she had to get her friend to safety, as the smoke was getting thicker by the minute. But try as she might, she couldn’t budge Betty from where she was trapped. There was only one thing to do. Reluctantly she backed away to where she had started her search and called out as loudly as she could, ‘Help! There are two people trapped in here.’ She shouted and shouted until she felt faint. As she lay gasping for breath, she was beginning to think she would never see the outside world again or hold her baby in her arms until finally she heard the shrill tones of a whistle and then men’s voices.
‘There’s one alive in here. Give us a hand, Charlie!’
Sarah blinked as she was helped to her feet by two men as others pulled back the debris that had once been a thriving Woolworths store in a busy market town. ‘Please, you have to help my friend, Miss Billington. She’s one of our store managers. She’s trapped over there.’ She pointed to show where she had left Betty.
The men stepped carefully through the rubble that had once been the side wall of the Bexleyheath store. Within minutes Betty was being pulled from the building and gently carried to the other side of the road away from the smoke and dust. Shopkeepers were helping, bringing out chairs and water as well as soothing those who were distressed at what had happened.
Sarah helped the men carry Betty across the road to a chair and held her as her friend’s face was wiped clean and a nasty gash on her cheek covered with a bandage.
Betty’s eyes fluttered. ‘Charlie, is that you?’ she mumbled.
‘Is that her husband?’ the first-aider asked as she checked the bandage was secure. ‘It’s all right, love. You’ll see your Charlie soon,’ the woman soothed, not knowing that Betty would never again see her intended. ‘You’ve had a nasty bump on the head, but you’re one of the lucky ones. We’ll soon get you sorted out.’
It was then that Sarah looked across the road to what had been a busy Woolworths store only hours before.
Sarah put her hand to her mouth in horror. The large building did not have one window remaining, and from the gaping holes smoke and flames billowed out. Already a fire engine was positioned in front of a first-floor window with water from hoses aimed into the burning building. That was shocking enough, but what really distressed her was the row of bodies that were laid out on the pavement, each with a blanket covering the unfortunate staff and shoppers. What was she to do? Head office needed to be notified, and as Betty was out of action, it meant that Sarah, her second-in-command, was not only in charge of the Erith branch but would have to get in touch with head office and let them know of the devastation of the Bexleyheath store caused by enemy action.
She leant close to Betty, trying to make her understand. ‘Betty, I need to get back to Erith and organize help for the staff here. I’m going to find someone to sit with you. I’ll be back as soon as possible.’
Betty looked at Sarah’s face and mumbled a few words.
‘Sorry – I didn’t catch what you said, Betty.’
‘Charlie. I heard my Charlie . . .’
Sarah didn’t like to leave her friend while she was so confused, but she knew her duty lay with Woolworths. She grabbed hold of the first-aider’s hand. ‘I need to get back to Erith Woolworths and let everyone know what has happened here. Can someone sit with Miss Billington? She seems to be rather confused at the moment.’
‘Don’t you worry, my love – there’s plenty of people here to give a hand. I would think we’ll be taking her to the cottage hospital shortly, once we’ve helped those poor souls.’ Both women looked to the row of bodies. ‘You and your mate can count yourselves lucky.’
Sarah had never felt so helpless. The Erith branch of Woolworths may only have been a couple of miles away, but at that moment it felt like it was on the other side of the world. If she could drive, she would have been able to take Betty’s little car back to Erith. However, that too could be a victim of the explosion, as Betty had left it in a road just behind Woolies. No doubt it would be out of action. Sarah swore she would learn how to drive as soon as possible. If her mother could do it, then so could she.
‘Excuse me, miss?’
Sarah, deep in thought, had not seen the policeman in front of her and jumped as he spoke.
‘I didn’t mean to startle you, miss.’
‘Please don’t worry about me, Officer. I think we are all a little jumpy after what has happened.’
‘You can say that again, miss. I understand you want to get back to Woolworths at Erith?’
Sarah nodded and then explained about Betty being manager and needing to alert head office.
‘I thought that was the case, miss. I wondered if I could drive you back to Erith. Under circumstances like this’ – he nodded towards the burning building – ‘we have to follow certain procedures.’
As Sarah travelled back to Erith, she was told how news of the tragedy at the Bexleyheath store could not be made common knowledge. The kind officer explained that if the enemy knew they’d caused so much destruction, it would not be good. The news should also be kept quiet to keep public morale high. It all made sense to Sarah.
At Woolies, Sarah took the policeman to Betty’s office and soon had him talking to head office on the telephone. She was relieved to be able to hand over responsibility to others, as she was still reeling from the shock herself.
Maisie and Ruby were shocked to hear the news and were soon fussing around Sarah. Ruby found a clean overall and helped Sarah wash and change, as she’d refused to go home until she’d done all she could for the colleagues from the Bexleyheath branch.
‘You certainly had someone looking out for you today, love,’ Maisie said as they sat in the staff canteen fussing over baby Georgina. ‘This little one was almost an orphan! I didn’t expect to almost ’ave to take on my godmother duties so quickly.’
‘Thank goodness she has so many people to care for her if anything should happen to me.’ Sarah held her baby close, thinking what might have been if she had perished that afternoon.
‘Right, so what shall we do about Betty?’ Ruby sat down, wiping her hands on her pinny.
‘She will be at the cottage hospital by now. I’d really like to go and see how she is, but how can I with head office due to ring back with instructions?’
‘I’ll go,’ Maisie said with a determined look on her face. She stood up and started to unbutton her Woolworths overall. ‘She’s been bloody good to me since I lost my Joe and it’s time I started paying her back. I’ll borrow a bike and cycle up there right now.’
‘No, I need you to take charge downstairs and make sure everything ticks over while I’m in the office. The
police will be back soon, as head office are sorting them a list of staff members so their next-of-kin can be contacted.’
‘The poor blighters. Them bloody Jerries have got a lot to answer for, killing so many innocent people,’ Ruby said indignantly.
‘That’s something else, Nan. We are not to talk about this. If the Germans knew they’d caused such destruction, they would think they were winning the war and would gloat. That’s what the policeman told me. We are not to talk about it.’
Ruby nodded wisely. ‘That makes sense, love. Careless talk costs lives, as they say.’
‘Seems to me there’s already enough lives lost before anyone has done any talking,’ Maisie said angrily. ‘So what’s to ’appen with Betty? If she’s still rambling about her Charlie, like you say, then she could ’ave a bad ’ead injury.’
‘Well, we ain’t gonna know sitting here,’ Ruby said resolutely. ‘The afternoon tea break’s done and dusted, so I’ll walk up to the hospital and see to Betty. She was a godsend to me when your dad had his accident, so the least I can do is be there for her now. If needs be, she can come back to number thirteen for a while until she feels better. We can’t have her alone at her place when she’s poorly.’
‘Blimey, Mrs C. You’ll need a shoehorn to fit everyone into your house at this rate.’
‘Maisie, I’ll always find room for family and friends, don’t you fear.’
In the weeks that followed, number thirteen was a hive of activity. The girls all mucked in with caring for Georgina so that Sarah could work as many hours as were needed in Woolworths. Every one of them was a dab hand at changing a nappy or preparing a bottle to feed the growing baby. Ruby would push the baby’s pram to the store to do a few shifts in the staffroom kitchen to help out, safe in the knowledge that Georgina was doted on by the staff.
Head office had promoted Sarah to store manager, on the understanding that it was a temporary position until such time that Betty was back on form or they had found a male manager to take over. While the Bexleyheath store was being rebuilt, the able-bodied staff cycled to the Erith store to work, so there were extra staff under Sarah’s control as well.
The Woolworths Girls Page 29