Mum told us many stories about her life, and all of you here today, and watching online, will have heard some, if not most of these stories, or at least a version of them. Mum did live an interesting life and that is why she had so many strong memories.
Mum was born in Central St in London on 8th July 1928 the youngest of the family with four older sisters and a brother: Flo, Ethel, Lil, Nell and Jim. Her father James died when mum was 2 months old from the effects of the battle of Loos in 1915. Mum said she always knew her dad, as the family were always talking about him, so that his memory lived on. So mum grew up in a single parent family when there were no handouts but as mum told us she never went hungry. Her mum Emily had to fight for a widows pension and succeeded with the help of the local MP. She took in washing and provided child care. A tough life.
Mum’s earliest memories were of Mr Lowcock  picking her up to give her a kiss but mum didn’t like his whiskers. Mrs Raggit, with her many missing teeth, loved mum“me Glady” as she called her. Mrs Raggit bought mum a red coat and hat, and we have a photo of mum in it, albeit a black and white photo.
As her mum was always busy, mum was brought up by her sisters, and Lil would bathe her in the tin bath in front of the fire. But there were always ructions as mum thought it was still too cold and wouldn’t stand up to be dried, even though the towel had been warming by the fire.
Mum moved from Central St to Riversdale Rd and then Moray Rd and attended Stroud Green School. Here mum made many friends but one that remained a lifelong friend was Maisie Jones, who mum supported during some challenging times.
From there, in 1939, mum was evacuated to Godmanchester in Huntingdon. Mum only stayed here a short while as there had been very few  bombing attacks in London. The charabanc would come up with parents each Saturday to visit the evacuees. They would sit under a big tree on the green with the smell of freshly backed bread wafting from the bakery. One time mum’s mum visited and found that mum had a bruise and found out that mum had been given the task of cleaning the windows. “You’re not here to be used as a skivvy, you’re coming back” but as the coach was full mum had to wait another week when her sister Lil came to collect Mum.
In January 1940 mum with other children from Stroud Green School were evacuated again, this time to Cornwall. When they arrived, it was like a cattle market with the hosts either only wanting boys or only wanting girls, and then the children wanting to stay together, twins, brothers, sisters.
Mum along with her friend Christin Dodd were allocated to two sisters. Mum and Christine had a lot of problems at this billet. They were sent around Truro selling bundles of firewood; if her mum had found out about it she would have gone mad. Christine Dodd was a pretty girl and one of the sisters tried to put mum’s hair in rags to make it curly. Mum wasn’t having that. Another time mum was sent to the corner of the lane to see if the sister’s latest “boyfriend” was waiting, and got very upset if mum said there was no one there. The locals said mum and Christine should not have been billeted with these sisters. Finally the school headmaster told them to get their things together, and then while the sisters were distracted, they made a run for it.
It was after this billet in early Autumn 1940 mum got scabies but probably contracted during that time with the two sisters. Mum had a stay at the scabies hospital in Perranporth where her feet were painted with gentian violet; walking was very painful.
Mum returned later to the hospital to visit one of her school friends that had been admitted with scabies. At age of 12 mum walked on her own 50 minutes down the country lanes to Chacewater station to get the train to Perranporth and then back again. When mum got there the nurses wouldn’t let her in ”you’ve had your turn” they said, “ you can talk to your friend through the window”. So a bit like COVID isolating now.
 
The next billet was the complete opposite, Mrs Sampson was lovely, and mum and Christine got lots of good home cooked food. The idyll did not last for long when an aircraft on a bombing raid over Plymouth jettisoned its bombs nearby and shrapnel from the explosion smashed through mum’s bedroom wall. Her and Christine thought each other had fallen out of bed. The locals came running to help but fortunately no one was hurt. However, the next four nights were spent sleeping under a haystack. Then Mrs Sampson got nervous and said she could only take one evacuee. Consequently mum volunteered to move on, much to her disappointment. This was compounded when later Christine was given a bike by the Sampsons. Mum did get to have a ride on the bike but Christine unfortunately hadn’t told mum that the brakes didn’t work and mum cut her leg so bad the muscle was popping out. The nurse or doctor just pushed it back in stitched mum up but leaving a life long scar as a memory.
Mum moved on to Mrs Avers who lived in the school house in Baldhu. Dennis the lad who lived on the farm next door became a lifelong friend. In later years mum once phoned Dennis, and his wife Vivienne  answered. “Whose calling?”, “tell him its Gladys”, “ooh I don’t know a Gladys”. “If I say Bessie”, “ooh yes we know Bessie” named after Bessie Bunter. So clearly despite the rationing mum had plenty to eat.
Each day mum had to collect the milk not from next door farm but from Mrs Avers’ sister 30 mins walk away at her farm in Three Milestone. Mum had to go alone as two children together would dawdle.
Mum slept in a dormitory with the other girls and at night it was so dark they used to ask each other to come with them if they needed the outside toilet. “if you don’t come with me I won’t come with you”. When Mrs Avers went to market everyone was locked out come rain or shine and the toilet was the woods across the lane.
A visiting teacher staying with them asked at breakfast time “where is the butter and sugar”, “we don’t have that” she was told. Well you do while I’m here Mrs Avers is paid for it to give to you. Well that stopped when the teacher left.
Normally they got one slice of bread and marge and one of bread and marrow jam. Mum didn’t like marrow jam but was caught when swapping with another girl. Next morning then only got the one slice they liked.
During this time two youngsters were bombed out of Plymouth and mum was given the task of looking after them and bathing them.
Mum went to church three times on Sunday not the one right next to the school but a walk away. One was Billy Brays chapel a famous historic preacher in the area another a travelling preacher, which unchaperoned seems strange by today’s worries. At that age they went as much for something to do but on the way used to stop and paddle and play in the stream until someone reported them and put a stop to that.
At the local first aid competition between schools, mum was asked do you faint. Yes she says “when I see blood” and so had points deducted. “why did you say that” asked the headmaster, “well I’ve always been brought up to tell the truth”
Evacuation in Cornwall was challenging but also an adventure and a character building experience. Mum certainly spent her childhood looking out for and helping people.
When mum returned to London Mrs Avers tried to get her to stay offering her sixpence a week but mum said no; maybe thanks but no thanks!
Mum’s final school report before returning to London age 14 said she passed her First Aid with honours; she had been a capital prefect and a tower of strength to the group. Her reference letter said that mum “proved herself a hard-working girl. Pains-taking, conscientious, and reliable at all times, willing and anxious to help and be of service, and ever happy and cheerful whatever she had to do. She was an extremely popular girl with all whom she came in contact…… I have not the slightest hesitation in recommending her very highly said the headmasters.
 
When mum returned to London the family had moved to Woodstock Rd but unfortunately mum’s dolls house with battery powered lights had got lost in the move. The reason to move was to get an indoor bath but this needed repair and that was not allowed under war restrictions so it was back to the tub in front of the fire.
 Mum got her first job with Bradbury Gratrix as an accounts filing clerk. Invoices were put on a nail and the bundles tied together with string. During bombing raids they had to hide under their tall Dickensian desks as there was no time to get to the air raid shelters.
Then Mum tried to be machinist like sisters but that didn’t work out well. So after moving to Ever Ready mum joined Rowntrees both times as a filing/office clerk
Mum had met dad through her brother Jim who had both become best friends in REME in the army.
So dad was a regular visitor to Woodstock Rd. Mum thinking dad was coming to see Jim asked her mum “I don’t know why Dave keeps calling” so her mum said “well I know he’s not coming to see Jim”. They used to go out together with Jim and his  girlfriend and then wife Ethel. One time Dad asked mum to go and see Oklahoma in the West End with him. Mum says “shall I ask Jim and Ethel”, dad says “do you have to”? We’ll hear shortly the song that became their song when their courting officially started
So mum tells her mum that they are going to get married, in those days under 21s had to get parental permission. The wedding is the day after mum’s 21st birthday. “Well you didn’t hang about there” says her mum.
Mum got married in Swanley with food being sent over from extended family in Canada and her sister Ethel making the dress. Mum looked so young that Uncles Jack and Wal teased mum to keep hold of those marriage lines as no one will believe you are married.
They honeymooned in Shanklin and had probably the driest sunniest holiday ever; however after that mum became known as the rain queen as it always seemed to rain when she went on holidays.
They lived initially in Crayford and when they had to move out there was no other accommodation available so mum and dad lived apart for a year back in their old homes.
Then they moved above the old Co-op in Swanley high St; where I lived for my first 3 months. Rather poignantly they have just demolished the Co-op in the last couple of months.
There is no doubt that rural Swanley then was a lot quieter than now and mum did feel lonely when dad was at work having been used to a large family around her. When dad was on nights mum would listen to the drinkers leaving the old Working Men’s Club, then it would go silent.
December 1952 mum and dad moved to Kingswood Avenue which then was the last house, at the end of the road, then next to open fields. A bit scary on winter nights so Mum would stock up with coal indoors when dad was on nights to avoid having to go out.
When they were building the houses next door I pushed the back door bolt across and locked mum out. One of the builders had to climb in through the bedroom window to unlock the door, accompanied by much cheering!
Clive and Paul came along and hopefully we all gave mum & dad pleasure as well as challenging moments.
As dad worked on the railway we did get to take holidays by train and the first I remember was mum taking us back to Perranporth in 1962 followed by Weymouth in ’63 and Bognor in ’64 and yes we had rain.
As we grew up mum and dad were there to support us and if we were ill mum especially would be there caring and looking after us. I thought back to this during mum’s latter few years and at the end it was we who were there to care for her.
But even then we were grateful for the help from mum’s carers Pauline, Jo, Zofia, Marie, Alison plus of course Roy, who are here today or watching online.
As we all left home mum and dad had more time to spend on themselves and travelled a lot to Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and of course Australia to see Uncle Jim and his family. They went to Tenby in Wales but it was closed, well all booked up for a local holiday. So with nowhere to stay they came back home.
Eventually they bought a car and once dad had retired mum would come home from work and they would shoot off in the car. Mum always described herself as an outdoor girl and loved to travel and talk to people.
Dad sadly died too early in 1993 and mum was distraught; they had been so close too each. Her sister Flo was a great support then and they used to phone each other twice per day. When sister Ethel was terminally ill mum travelled every day to Brighton to her.
At this time mum became the expert gardener she probably wasn’t when dad was around. “Is this a plant or a weed she would ask then”. Mum did a great job after dad passed away even laying a paved rose garden
Mum still travelled with her friends whether it was Lochs and Glens coaches to Scotland or longer distance to Australia. And of of course day-trips, whether it was just jumping on a bus, any bus, travelling to the end where there would surely be an M&S just to blow away the cobwebs. Or at  Paddington station asking “what time is the last train back from Poole?”, “what day are you coming back?” “Today!” They got lunch and boat trip in before the return train.
In mum’s later years the extensive arthritis progressively made gardening and travelling more and more difficult and her inability to get out made life increasingly frustrating and lonely especially accompanied by the pain. Even lying in bed did not ease the pain significantly.
So how to remember mum, well her school reference I mentioned above said so much but if I can pick out a few words, a happy cheerful person that loved her family and loved to travel and meet and talk to people.
RIP mum we’ll always miss you.