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BESSIE WEBB - HER STORY

CHAPTER FOUR - ENGLISH MISERY
1) London
2) Southsea
3)Gibraltar
4) Back to business

1) London

I had let my parents know of the day and time of my arrival, so it came as a shock to me to find that there was no one there to meet me. After waiting for a while I decided the best thing to do was to get a taxi. On arriving home I found my mother ill and my father the worse for drink. My brother Will said that things had gone from bad to worse. The business which they had built up was now almost nothing and the money I had regularly sent Mother my father had spent in gambling and drink.
I did what I could for my mother and gave my brother some money to buy some food. I started to clean the house which was in an awful state. I knew now that I could not have my baby there so I made enquiries and found a Nursing home in Stockwell. I explained the situation to the matron, she was most kind and said I could have Alice with me. Mary was born on March 12th 1929. I had told the matron of my circumstances and she advised me to find somewhere else to live. One of her nurses found a room and she came to my home to collect my belongings which I had not even unpacked.
When I saw the room my heart sank. I sat on the bed and wept, both the little ones cried too. All that was in the room was a bed, a dirty old table and a chair. I knew I could not stay there, so had to pull myself together and look for somewhere else. I found another place which consisted of a kitchen and bedroom, small but clean.

I was frantically writing letters out to Steve telling him what I'd done, he sent me money every week. I got very despondent and down being on my own and while I was there in Acre Lane, my eldest brother Will, he came, and he never came, only on a Sunday, so that he could get a meal off of me, and my father came and I didn't want him, and I said 'I don't want you calling on me, I don't want to you to come and see me'. Anyhow, they left off coming after a time.

Steve was in a very bad way. He was very, very busy but things grew very nasty. There was trouble in the streets of India, all over the place. People were fighting one another, terrible things were happening and it was decided it was no good my going out to Steve there, he said it wasn't safe. So I stayed here in England. He wanted to come home, but he didn't know what to do. So it dragged on and on, the years went by until in the finish, I said either he must come home to me or I must go out to him.
So, that was what was decided, he said very well he would wind up all his affairs and come home.
I went several times to see my parents but they ignored the children which upset me terribly. I decided to devote myself to my little girls. Steve wrote to say he was doing his best to come to England but things were not going too well and asked me to be patient.
Several months went by and one day a cousin of mine came to visit me. I was very surprised as I had not seen him for years and did not care for him very much. He said he had come with a message from Aunt Bessie whom I was very fond of. She had been in touch with an uncle Will who was a widower and lived in Southsea, he wanted someone to keep house for him, she thought it would be ideal for myself and the children. I gave it a lot of thought and decided to go.

2) Southsea

The house was not too large and had a garden and was close to the beach. Several months went by when one day I collapsed. My uncle called the next-door neighbour who got me to bed then sent for a Doctor who, after looking at me, took my temperature and said he did not know what was wrong. He said to put an ice bag on my head and stay in bed. After two days I was no better so the neighbour sent for her own doctor. He gave one look at me and threw the ice bag across the room, he then examined me and asked a lot of questions. He said it was nervous exhaustion and I had had a breakdown. I was to stay in bed and not worry about anything, this was easier said than done but I found he had talked to my neighbour and made all arrangements with her, she was wonderfully good to me. After a few days I was able to get up and gradually became my normal self.
The children seemed quite happy and as I had no rent etc. to pay I was able to save most of the money that Steve sent me. We had been there nearly twelve months when the blow fell. It was a Sunday and I was in the kitchen peeling potatoes when my uncle came behind me and put his arms around me and made improper suggestions. I was astounded and thought he was joking, but no, he meant it and said 'be nice to me and you can have anything you want.' All I wanted at that moment was to get away from him. I went to my neighbour and told her. She said she was not a bit surprised as he went about with other women when his wife was alive. Well that finished me. I started packing and next day I found someone who was driving a van to London and asked him if he would take us with him as I had accumulated a few extra boxes. I told my uncle I was leaving and when we were ready to go he had the audacity to get up beside the driver. I sent a telegram to my father as there was nowhere else for me to go. When we arrived at my father's house my uncle asked the driver how much it was and was told it had

been paid. He told my father he did not know I had any money. On arriving home I found my mother still very unwell. My father said he had had the doctor, also my brother Will was very ill and the doctor said he did not think he would live much longer. He died a few weeks later. The first thing I had to do was to get the place clean and buy some food for us all. It was no good giving them money as my father would only take it and spend it on drink and horse racing.
I did what I could to keep the girls happy by taking them into a park which was about 10 minutes walk, also sometimes to Aunt Bessie who lived a bus ride away at Wandsworth, she was getting on in years and had suffered a slight stroke.
One day I could not stand my father's abuse and swearing any longer so I packed a suitcase and took the girls out. They said, 'where are we going?', I said ' I don't know'.

3) Gibraltar

We went to the railway station and I picked out the nearest seaside place which was called All-Hallows-On-Sea. On arriving there I made enquiries to find a place to stay. I was very lucky in asking the porter on the platform who said his wife could put us up. His house was only a little way and when I saw his wife and told her my plight she asked us in. At the back of the house was a farm and in the front were fields which led to the sea. We stayed three days and were very sorry to leave.
Arriving back home I did what I could to help but it was no good. In desperation I wrote to Steve and told him I could not endure this life on my own any more. Either he must come to me or I must return to India. He wrote by return saying it was not safe for me to go to India as there was a lot of rioting and shooting going on and English people were leaving the country. He himself could not leave as the company he was managing was booked to go to the Far East. He said he had a house in La Linea, his brother and wife were living in it but there was plenty of room for us. I was to go to Gibraltar and his brother Albert would meet us.
So, once again I packed our belongings and went to Thomas Cook and booked our passage. My sister-in-law was very good and helped me with the girls. We had to get to Victoria and the only way was by tram. On arriving at Victoria I was told I had just missed the boat train, in fact we just saw the end of the train. I had to get to Tilbury, so in desperation I had to get a taxi and told the driver how the situation was. He said he would do his best and we arrived just as they were going to take the gangway up. Seeing me with the children they stopped and two men came and picked up the girls and carried them up. I wished they could have carried me. I was shaking all over but they were very kind and made me sit down for a while, then a steward came and shewed us to our cabin. The sea journey was quite good and the sea air revived my spirits. I had met Albert when I first went to Gibraltar and soon recognised him waiting for us on the quayside. He said he was first going to take his and Steve's sisters who lived in Gibraltar, they were Mary and Emilia and were very anxious to see the children and myself. I had named my first daughter Alice and my second daughter Mary. We were greeted very warmly and offered a meal with them after which Albert said it was time to go to La Linea. We had to cross the border as La Linea was in Spain and there we were searched to see if we were carrying any contraband. Steve's house was quite a big one and I thought we could be happy there. I had not met Albert's wife but Steve had told me it was not a love match, she had been married before but her husband died leaving her with a son and hardly any money. Albert was sorry for her and the boy and so married her to give them a home. She was an English woman and so I thought she would be company as I could not speak Spanish. I was to be disappointed for when Albert introduced her she just ignored us and walked away. I concluded that she resented us coming and thought I would turn them out. I tried to be friendly with her but it was no good. We settled down and I took the girls into Gibraltar several times to see Mary and Emilia and met Mary's grown up children. Then one day, months later, the blow fell. We were all sitting outside on the patio when Albert's wife picked up the kettle of boiling water and threw it at me. Luckily it missed me but it gave me a terrible shock. She accused Albert of making love to me which was ridiculous and she knew it was a lie. I got the girls and we went out and walked until we came to the beach. Albert must have told a neighbour to go in and tell Mary and her daughter Mercedes came and found us and took us back to Gibraltar. Albert came the next day and said his wife had gone from the house and was going to stay with some friends. We went back to La Linea but I did not feel very happy.

4) Back to business

Another month went by, then I received a telegram telling me my mother had died, a week later I had a letter from my aunt Bessie telling me my father was in a terrible state and begged me to return home. Well, I just did not know what to do. I talked it over with Albert but he said he could not advise me, I had to do what I thought best, it was not fair to keep uprooting the girls, on the other hand what sort of life would we have if we stayed in La Linea with Albert's wife's jealousy, for that was what it was. If only Steve had been with me, things would have been much different. I told Albert I would return to England, he was very good and made all the arrangements for me and so once more we found ourselves on board ship.
I had sent a telegram to my sister-in-law and on arrival at Victoria she was there waiting for us, she told me she had done all she could to keep what was left of the business going but my father was not capable of working in the laundry any more so that my brother Ronald and his wife were left in charge. My brother was enjoying himself taking what money he wanted; in my father's eyes he could do no wrong.
Having arrived and got settled down I surveyed the situation. The premises were good and the materials were there, could I build the business up? I thought it over very hard and decided I would give it a try. I spoke to my father and said if he would give me full control, I would not ask him for any money and I would pay the rent and keep us all. He agreed to this but unfortunately I did not ask for this in writing as I should have done.
The first thing I did was to find a printer and have leaflets printed to shew our laundry prices and have them delivered to the houses. I told him I would let him work for me and would pay him a good wage. I also told Gladys my sister-in-law what I intended to do and she said she would help me all she could. She was a very good ironer and had worked in a large laundry. So we set to work to clean the place up which consisted of a large ironing room where five women could work, with two large racks with shelves on which to put the finished work. The next room was the drying room which had a large stove with ledges around it on which the irons were placed to get hot, there were lines overhead and a guard with rails on which to dry clothes. In the good weather the clothes were dried outside as there was a good drying ground. The next place was the wash house which had a very large copper, the clothes were put in a cylinder which revolved first one way and then the other and this was operated by a gas engine. The clothes were rinsed in two large tanks and put through a mangle which had rubber rollers, how my arms ached after turning the handle for about an hour, still I got used even to that. As the months went by more and more customers came to us and I was able to engage another ironer. I now thought I could build the business up and if Steve could get home we could make a living for us all.

To chapter 5

DID YOU KNOW BESSIE LOPEZ (WEBB) A.K.A. NANA? I WANT TO CREATE A STORIES AND MEMORIES PAGE BUT YOU'LL NEED TO EMAIL ME THE CONTENT FIRST!