The afternoons my mother were given off from work were often spent at the beach. If the boy was taken out by his parents when they visited him, it was possible to go further along the beach. I still had to be watched; the further you went the more interesting the finds: dead sheep that had been washed up amongst the dunes, and plenty of areas where barbed wire that remained from the war was still located amongst the more remote dunes. Lumps of wood and other debris could make marvellous items to play with; having been in the sea for long periods of time they were perfectly clean. If I found treasure like this it allowed my mother to take longer rests. Eventually it was necessary to return to the school and its rather strict order of life.

  If I played up or needed occupying in some way, there were always plenty of tasks I could help out with. Some were quite interesting: setting out the upper classroom with things for the following day’s lessons, often meant that odd extra pieces of drawing paper could be had and the more interesting shades of pencils obtained. Chores on the days when I had not been on my best behaviour could be anything from wiping down the play coats belonging to the other children to putting a shine on their spare shoes or cleaning their boots in readiness for group activities on the beach.  

The stay at the seaside did not last very long; my mother was getting a little restless owing to the rather poor irregular pay that she and another member of the staff received.

General ideas of leaving had been mooted between them for a little while. Whilst my mother and I lived on the premises and our food was supplied, the other member of the staff had to pay rent for a small local flat and also purchase her own food. With their wages dependent on payment from two lodgers in the small flat that adjoined the school, at the end of some weeks there were no wages until several days later. The decision was eventually reached that they were both going to leave together otherwise the one who remained would have the extra work.

My mother was aiming to get another job as a housekeeper; the other lady was going to return to Holland from where she originated, having come to this country to improve her English. Her family had a large farmhouse; my mother was invited to come and bring me. We could have an extended holiday and other work might be possible. Irrational moves like this would have been something my mother could have easily accepted. It was only for the simple reason that neither of us had a passport that the offer was not taken up. If there had been further time to get a passport for both of us, then our trip could easily have happened. My mother was tired of this location and wanted a new start as soon as possible.

Soon our cases were packed; a few extra clothes came my way – several garments from other boys that had been abandoned, usually because the boy had left the school or outgrown the item, became mine. These items of clothing were normally used by other boys when their own clothing had been mislaid or forgotten; at odd times even items belonging to the boarder or myself had to be lent to the day pupils when necessary.

Clothing that would last me for the next year was carefully packed into my case. Some of my outgrown clothing was left in its place; my mother thought that was only fair, the amount exchanged being about equal.

The day we all left brought total disruption for the plans for the cooking and general upkeep of the school and lodgers. Although both staff had given reasonable notice of leaving, no replacement staff had been arranged; it was thought that my mother might have changed her mind and stayed on, but her plans were made and there was no going back. We were off on a new journey. I was told that we were moving to another seaside rather than back to London.

AUTUMN

Our new location was in a small village near the coast. Again, we arrived in almost darkness, so our new home looked rather dark and slightly frightening. My mother was now a housekeeper at an isolated house. This was set in five acres of land. I was allowed to visit some of the garden area when there were no guests, but generally, I was confined to our small garden at the side of the house where our flat was. My mother normally looked after just a lady and gentleman during the week; however at the weekends their grown-up children attended; the time spent with me at these periods decreased.

Having been used to other houses surrounding us, this isolated house took a little getting used to. The house was at the end of a long tree-lined drive; there were no local streetlights anywhere near, so at night there was only moonlight. The house had formerly been used as a convalescent home. Next to our flat was a small summerhouse, which had a more macabre use in years past as a mortuary.

The wages my mother received for housekeeping were not a large amount. Three pounds a week had to pay for our food, heating etc. In the normal way, a housekeeper would have expected to receive these items as part of her wages, but in this job, she was expected to pay for her own supplies. As a bonus, we were allowed some vegetables from the garden. Food, clothing and heating were perhaps the main expenses of the week. With careful planning, my mother seemed to make ends meet. A few savings could occasionally be made; the farm next door supplied us with misshapen eggs at a reduced price. During the week, my main meals were in the form of school lunches. At two shillings and sixpence for the week, it ensured I was well fed.

Continued

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