Life in Coventry as I once knew it.

I am seventy four years old now so a lot has happened in my lifetime, I have seen many changes over the years but I will concentrate on the early fifties and how life was for me then.

I will start my story by telling you about the day that I came home from school and found out that my father had left home. The house that we lived in at that time was tied to his job which meant that as he had gone we had nowhere to live, So, you could say that he left us high and dry and wanting.

As we were not able to live there any more the authorities came and chucked us out onto the street .My poor mother was inconsolable.  There was no such help as what is given today to all and sundry.
I can remember it as though it was yesterday; there was utter disregard for all her possessions as the removable men let her wardrobes slide down the stairs, then threw them out into the street. Everyone was looking on, but we had nowhere to go so it was decided to push everything back into the house where us kids played at camping that night as we made our make shift beds on the floor.
The next day it started all over again and we got taken to Baginton Fields Hostels, What a flea pit place this was.

The vicar from St. James’s Church in Tile Hill took all my mother’s furniture to store in one of his old out houses until a place for us could be found. He even gave my Mum ten shillings to get us some food as the only money Mum had got had been given to the removal men.

When we got to the hostel it was to find that my brother Michael who was eleven years old at the time had to share a bed with my mother and his eldest sister Rita.  This consisted of two single cast iron beds that had been pushed together to make one double bed. Poor lad had to sleep between the two of them on the metal bar that was down the middle.
My twin sister and I faired a bit better but still had to share a single cast iron bed in a separate room.

The place was meant as a women and children’s hostel. However, this did not stop some men from arriving in the late hours. The room next to us made interesting viewing as sometimes during the course of the evening the husband of the woman would come and tap the window so that she would open it to let him in so that he could spend the night with her.
We found that we got a bird’s eye view of the goings on, as there was a big crack in the back of the wardrobe and either my sister or I would peep through the crack and give a running commentary of the happenings. The woman often came out in the mornings with a black eye.

We found that we had to share all facilities with the other residents. This meant that we had to take potluck if we wanted to use the sink to have a wash, or the stove for cooking etc. Actually we tried not to use them as best we could because everything was so disgusting. One of the women there had three children under four and would bring out the children’s soiled bed linen and do the best she could at washing it. Everything had to be washed by hand and in the communal sink. There was nothing to help make the work any easier; the washing got hung up on a line that was overhead and then left to drip-dry. We called them the Giles family. One always had to watch where one walked too, as it was nothing to find oneself stepping into something nasty.

We would make ourselves scarce each day because the conditions were so bad. It seemed better to walk the streets than to stay there.

My eldest sister worked at the Daimler, so had to cycle to work each day from Baginton to Radford. As it was winter it couldn’t have been very nice for her. Needless to say her employers didn’t know of her predicament as things like this were seldom talked about. One had to have one’s pride.

As we set out one morning the school attendance officer caught up with us and told my mother that we had to start school in the area, That won’t be necessary my mother told him as we will only be here for two weeks. I remember him scoffing. “You’ve got some hope”. Still, Mum was right as we got transferred to the Tile Hill Hostels as predicted and were given accommodation that consisted of three rooms.  This was just a couple of weeks before Christmas. What a wonderful Christmas present that was. We could all be together without having to contend with all the other folk around us.

My mother set out to arrange to have her furniture brought round then my brother, me and my sister, Pat, set to work in cleaning the place up in readiness for the furniture.

As we worked hard sweeping and polishing and washing the floors a knock came to the door. It was our next-door neighbour. He was an ex postman who had suffered ill health and had fallen on bad times.

He said. “Come on kids. Come and have something to eat” and we found that he had made us scrambled eggs on toast and a mug of hot chocolate each. What kindness to show to three young children. It is one I will never forget. It reminded me of the five children in the Enid Blyton stories.

Just then my mother arrived with the furniture men so we set to work to help get things straightened out before my eldest sister arrived home from work.
How lovely it was to be able to sit down as a complete family again without the intrusion of outsiders, and to have a decent meal.

Mum got herself a job at Fisher and Ludlow in Torrington Avenue in the works canteen.

For once in her life she bought something from a catalogue on tick, so that we would have a Christmas present.   She got us a table tennis set that we would erect and play with over the kitchen table and also a game of bagatelle. I still have the bagatelle to this day. It is perhaps my most treasured possession.

I can’t quite remember how long we stayed at the hostel but I know it wasn’t that long because my sister Rita told Mum that a housekeeper was needed at the Doctors surgery on Stoney Stanton Road, and that the flat above the surgery went with the job, so Mum applied for the position and got the job.

The job entailed being on call out of hours, it meant dealing with any emergencies that might arise.  There were also two surgeries, waiting room, dispensary and office that had to be cleaned each day, and fires raked out and made up ready for my mum to light in time for morning surgery.

The coke and coal had to be brought up in scuttles from the cellar; this job usually fell to us younger children. It was a really dirty dusty job, as the dust would get right up our noses.

I can remember my brother looking into my ears with an instrument that was left at the ready on the Doctors desk for just this purpose. We all had a go then at looking into each other’s ears.
It was amazing how one got their fun in those days.

We stayed there for three years before being given a council house in Wood End.

My sister Rita, I have to tell you went on to become Miss Daimler, which shows that rewards come in all sorts of ways.

My father: well I am not sure what became of him as although we did meet up with him a couple of times afterwards he did not hang around for long. However I must say that he was the best Dad in the world whilst he was with us as he showed us how to do many things, from gardening to painting to cricket and rounders and I can also remember what a really good juggler he was, as he could toss five tennis balls all at once. This in itself made him a hero to us kids.  He also saw that we were brought up in the proper manner making sure that we had respect for others at all times. So I will always be grateful to him for this.

Sadly my mother died in 1967 with cancer. She was an incredible person and greatly loved by us all. How could we ever forget her?   Rest in Peace Mum….xxxx

Written by: Josephine Oriel Vitols