The Old Days
I often think of the
times I was in care of the Homes. It all started in July 1929. We
left our home in Romsey spent the night at a home in Southampton,
then on to Stepney. From there my youngest sister went to
The Girls'
Village Home with our youngest brother, Gordon, but alas Gordon died
at the tender age of 14 months. My brother Albert and I went to
foster parents in the Suffolk village of Framsden on 15th July 1929.
From Stepney to
Liverpool Street Station on a train to Ipswich we still did not know
then where we were going, who we would meet, and on arriving at
Ipswich we were told we would meet a lady who we were to call
'auntie'. By the exit of that station we were handed over to this
lady and holding my brother's hand off we went with a new 'auntie'
to catch a bus to Framsden. At our arrival once again someone new,
'auntie's' mother, a very old lady who we were told to call 'gran'.
Wonderful! A new ,auntie' and 'gran' all in one day. Their names
were Mrs and Miss Oxborrow and the remainder of their family lived
next door or not very far away. We came to love that family for the
love, care, and devotion they gave us. Our mother came to visit us
on holiday a number of times whilst staying there. Then came 1935
when I was to leave them.
Back to Stepney I was
taken and what was to become of me now leaving my younger brother
with the people I loved so much. After a long ride in a lorry with a
number of other boys of my own age we arrived at a very large house.
I had arrived at Goldings. There I made many new friends and for the
next two or three years had the time of my life, learned a trade in
the cabinet makers' shop; and a few names I remember are The Rev
Macdonald governor; Mr. Jenkins, superintendent, who took
Bible classes in his home every Friday night;
Mr Maslin,
secretary; Mr Cruickshank, the sports master;
Mr. Tempest,
Mr Bishop, Mr. Bartell, Mr Barnes, Mr. Jones,
Mr. Patch,
Mr. de'Boeck, Mr. Whittaker, and
Mr.
Whitbread. The school captains were Levy, Cousins, Barber,
and Long.
While at Goldings one
boy and I became very close friends. He was Jack Parkinson. What a
great guy he was. Alas he was killed in action in Italy during the
War. After Goldings I went to work near Chingford and there again a
husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Ball, took me in as a lodger with
another boy from Goldings, John Barnes Here again I was
treated as one of the family. I left there in November 1940 and
returned to home to be with my mother, as did all our family.
Fredrick Betteridge
Reproduced from The
Barnardo Guild Messenger Spring 1984
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